Here’s a list of all of our authors.
Metropolitan Airport News Editorial Contributors
Benno Baksteen
The author Benno Baksteen, has forty years operational aviation experience and has spent his whole working life in what became known as a safety culture. He started his flight training in 1966 at the Government Flight Academy in Eelde and after his military service with the Royal Dutch Naval Air Force he joined KLM Royal Dutch Airlines in 1970 as First Officer on the DC-9. He got his first Captaincy in 1982 and in 2006 he retired as Captain on the Boeing 777 after being a B747 Captain from 1988 until 2003.1 Articles
Mike Lentes
First as a Civil Air Patrol cadet – then as a pilot – Mike found that “altitude affects attitude.” With that in mind, his focus now is to interest the next generation in aviation and is founding a weekend av camp in northern Arizona for kids – Little Brothers. He is also active in his aviation business and spends time writing about its history when not hiking in the mountains.1 Articles
Lisa Hellerstedt
Communications Coordinator at Delta Air Lines1 Articles
Dawit Habtemariam
Dawit Habtemariam writes daily stories, conducts research and assists BTN’s editorial staff. Before joining BTN in 2017, he wrote instructive content for Fortune 500 executives and startup founders.1 Articles
Lia Ocampo
Born and raised in the Philippines, Lia worked for the U.S. Government for 22 years. She came to New York City in 2012 as an immigrant. In 2014, Lia achieved her dream of becoming a flight attendant. Her flying stint allows her to meet amazing people, create beautiful memories and inspire her to do the things she loves: writing and photography. She became a first-time author in 2020 with What We Know for Sure: Inspirational Stories of Filipino Special Immigrants in America. Lia is a mentor and resource speaker for immigrants. She splits her time between Florida and New York while pursuing her writing, love of travel, and passion for helping others.1 Articles
Chaplain Chanoch Lebovic
Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with 58,000 members nationwide. CAP performs 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and was credited by the U.S. Air Force with saving 155 lives in fiscal year 2018. Its volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and counterdrug missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to more than 25,000 young people currently participating in CAP cadet programs. CAP has been performing missions for America for 67 years. For more information, visit www.gocivilairpatrol.com.1 Articles
Pamela Sakowicz Menaker
Pamela Sakowicz Menaker is the Communications Partner at Clifford Law Offices. As an attorney with two degrees in journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Pam combines her experience in these two fields in handling the press in the many high-profile cases handled by the firm.1 Articles