Karl Maier Aircraft Pilot Death – Chief Warrant Officer Five and 2015 AAAA Hall of Fame Inductee, Karl Maier has passed away. He was announced dead through a social media publication that reads
“It is with a heavy heart that I have to type out these words. God has decided that he needed only the best of the best when it comes to helicopter pilots, and he brought home CW5 Karl Maier yesterday.”
Who was Karl Maier?
After completing Warrant Officer Candidate School and earning his aviator wings in 1984, CW5 Karl H. Maier enlisted in the US Army in December 1975. He was successfully assessed to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Group (Airborne) in July 1987.
Over the course of the last 26 years, CW5 Karl Maier has had an immeasurable impact on Special Operations Aviation, serving in every capacity from platoon instructor pilot to Regimental Warrant Officer.
His involvement in every combat operation since 1987 places him at the highest level of Special Operations experience. His invention of the Night Vision Goggle (NVG) and his pioneering flight techniques and procedures, which he developed and proven through more than two decades of combat, have revolutionized the efficacy of Army Aviation on the battlefield.
About Karl Maier
CW5 Maier was awarded the Silver Star for overseeing the recovery efforts of injured people following an MH-60 shootout in 1993, while serving as the main planner and flying lead for the Special Operations Task Force Ranger during Operation GOTHIC SERPENT in Somalia. Minutes after it was shot down, he located one of the two Blackhawks while operating the MH-6 “little bird,” Star 41.
His copilot saw a dead soldier, his stomach heavily gushing, leaned against a wall. He moved the bird up the street between two stone homes and placed it on a hill, despite it would have been much easier to land in a large crossroads close to the injured soldier.
While his copilot rescued two severely wounded soldiers from the ground force, he engaged the numerically superior approaching enemy with his MP5, firing hundreds of rounds through his door opening to defend the wounded.
Karl Maier Achievements
For more than twenty years, Karl, the epitome of a subdued professional, managed to avoid sharing his experience with anyone who would ask. missions JUST CAUSE, DESERT SHIELD, DESERT STORM, GOTHIC SERPENT (Somalia), UPHOLD DEMOCRACY, JOINT ENDEAVOR, ENDURING FREEDOM (OEF), and IRAQI FREE-DOM (OIF) were among the many missions in which CW5 Maier took part. CW5 Maier has deployed five times to OIF and seven times to OEF since 2003, offering unparalleled leadership and experience in advancing US strategic goals.
As the first Chief Warrant Officer of the Regiment, CW5 Maier assumed duties in April 2006, supervising and counseling the 300+ Warrant Officers in the Regiment and offering direct assistance to the Regimental Commander. CW5 Maier is the perfect example of a Special Operations Aviation Officer because of his work as a Night Stalker Flight Lead and excellent educator for the entire Regiment.
Karl Maier honors
Maier held the record for the longest tenure of any Night Stalker in the 160th SOAR (A) until his retirement ceremony. He had served in the same company for the most of his time in the unit, having joined in 1986. Karl participated in almost everything you’ve read about the 160th in books. CW5 Karl Maier’s contribution to the 160th SOAR(A) goes well beyond his individual accomplishments.
For numerous generations, he served as a mentor and counselor to enlistee soldiers, commanders, and aviators. Many of the responsibilities found in the Aircrew Training Manual (ATM) and NVG Tactics Techniques and Procedures (TTPs) that characterize modern Army Aviation were developed with Karl Maier’s assistance. CW5 Since the Night Stalkers he has trained over the past 26 years have continued to uphold the high standards to which he has trained them, Maier’s legacy will endure for many years to come.