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Alvin R. Guthery Jr., commonly known as Rick Guthery, is an FAA Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) based in Miami, Florida, operating as Signature Flight Support. Appointed as an examiner with the South Florida Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) in 2000, Guthery conducts practical tests for Private, Commercial, Instrument, ATP, CFI, and CFII certificates. His FAA authorizations are strictly limited to the helicopter (rotorcraft) category, and he does not conduct airplane checkrides.
Guthery began his commercial aviation career in 1982 with the U.S. Army, training at Fort Rucker, Alabama, in Class 83-43 "Royal Blue." He flew UH-1H Huey helicopters on active duty until 1988, deploying to Central America, Egypt, and locations within the United States, and continued his service in the Army Reserve until 1999. In 1988, he began flying AS350 helicopters for his father Al Guthery's commercial aerial filming company, International Helicopter Service. Guthery later joined the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department Air Rescue Bureau in 2000, where he piloted Bell 412EP helicopters for medical transport, firefighting, and search-and-rescue missions, eventually serving as the Training and Standardization Commander before retiring in 2020. In July 2001, he incorporated Helicopter Partners, Inc., based at Miami Executive Airport, which provides helicopter pilot licensing, training, sales, and charter services.
During his career, Guthery survived a high-profile helicopter crash on March 8, 1990, when the AS350 helicopter he was piloting experienced engine failure at 700 feet between Fisher Island and Cat Cay. He executed an autorotation into the Atlantic Ocean and survived a 17-hour ordeal at sea before rescue. In 2019, while serving on a technical advisory committee for a Miami-Dade Fire Rescue helicopter procurement contract, Guthery was investigated by the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust regarding communications with an AgustaWestland lobbyist; the commission ultimately cleared him due to a lack of sufficient evidence.