The Georgia World War II Heritage Trail joins the aviation community across our state and nation in mourning the passing of Pat Epps, a Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame inductee and Living Legend of Aviation. A lifelong aviator, entrepreneur, and steward of one of Georgia’s greatest aviation legacies, Pat Epps has Flown West, leaving behind a legacy that will continue to inspire for generations.
Born in Athens, Georgia, Pat entered life already surrounded by aviation history. His father, Ben Epps, is remembered as Georgia’s first aviation pioneer. Though Pat lost his father at the age of three, his mother ensured the Epps children continued to fly — and they did. All six of his brothers and one of his sisters became pilots, and Pat himself soloed at age 16 in a Piper J-3 Cub before attending Georgia Tech to study mechanical engineering.
After college, Pat began his career at Boeing as a flight test engineer on what would become America’s first jet airliner, the Boeing 707. He later served with distinction in the U.S. Air Force, excelling in the T-34, T-28, and B-25 before flying the C-97 Stratocruiser and C-123 Provider. That discipline and passion for flight shaped every chapter that followed.
In 1965, Pat founded Epps Air Service at DeKalb–Peachtree Airport with just 19 employees and a single hangar. Over the next five decades, he grew it into one of the nation’s premier independent FBOs — a 21-acre operation employing more than 150 people, recognized as one of America’s top aviation service companies.
Pat’s adventures extended far beyond business. From 1981 to 1992, he co-led the famed Greenland Expedition Society, achieving the extraordinary recovery of a WWII P-38 Lightning buried under 265 feet of ice, the aircraft now known worldwide as Glacier Girl. In 1994, he piloted a DC-3 to Normandy to honor WWII paratroopers during the 50th anniversary of D-Day.
His contributions to aviation earned him numerous honors, including the NBAA American Spirit Award, the Jack Doswell Award, recognition at the 1988 Gathering of Eagles, and induction as a Living Legend of Aviation in 2007. His legacy will also be celebrated at the 23rd Annual Living Legends of Aviation® Awards on January 23, 2026.
Our hearts are with his wife, Nita, his children Patrick, Marian, and Elaine, and the entire Epps family.
Pat Epps lived the aviation life in full — with courage, enthusiasm, generosity, and a joy for flight that inspired all who knew him. Georgia’s aviation story is richer because of him, and his legacy will forever soar.