2019 Illinois Aviation Hall of Fame Inductee: 
Keith Mueller, GSLBAA Member
Illinois Aviation Hall of Fame

Keith Mueller is a flight instructor, mechanic and aviation educator. He has flown as a corporate pilot and served many hours as a flight instructor. Mueller began as a mechanic for Ozark Airline, which was later merged into Trans World Airlines and then finally became part of American Airlines. Mueller retired from American as Central Regional Manager for Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering in 2015.

Mueller was a flight instructor and Assistant Chief Flight Instructor with the Belleville Area College Aviation Program in the 1980s. He later became the part-time coordinator for that program until it was discontinued. Belleville Area College became Southwestern Illinois College (SWIC) and Mueller, while still working at the airlines, became the part-time Aviation Program Coordinator for SWIC. He developed the Aviation Pilot Training Program, the Aviation Management Program and then the Aircraft Dispatcher Program.

In addition to Mueller’s significant accomplishments with the airlines and SWIC, he has a long history of volunteer service in the aviation community. He has promoted aviation to local school districts teachers and students in St. Clair, Madison, Randolph and Monroe counties. In 2017, he was a planner and participant for a STEM Aviation Day at MidAmerica Airport that was attended by over 200 local teachers. He is a member of EAA Chapter 64 and participates consistently in their Young Eagles program. He provides leadership in the Greater St. Louis Flight Instructor Association, and volunteers at the Greater St. Louis Air and Space Museum. He is always a willing mentor to young adults interested in aviation. We salute you for your contributions to the aviation program at SWIC, your mentorship efforts and your devotion to the aviation community.