Heather Michele Howley

Heather Michele Howley is an FAA Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) based in New Windsor, New York, who conducts checkrides exclusively for Rotorcraft-Helicopter certificates and ratings, and does not conduct airplane checkrides. Her FAA pilot credentials include a helicopter Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certificate, Commercial Pilot certificate, Certified Flight Instructor (CFI), Instrument Flight Instructor (CFII), and Advanced Ground Instructor (AGI) certificates. Although she holds private pilot privileges for Airplane Single Engine Land (ASEL), her examiner authority is restricted to helicopters, specifically for Private, Commercial, Instrument, and ATP levels in Robinson R22, Robinson R44, Bell 206, Bell 407, and Bell 429 models. Howley took her first flight lesson at age 20 in California and has accumulated over 10,000 total flight hours. In 2008, she founded Independent Helicopters, LLC, with twenty-five dollars in starting capital after her previous employer, Silver State Helicopters, went bankrupt. Operating out of Stewart International Airport and Saratoga County Airport, her company is a certified Woman-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) that offers flight training, utility patrols, scenic flights, and charters, and collaborates with Dutchess Community College. Beyond her business, Howley is an active FAASTeam Representative for the Hudson Valley, a board member of the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, and the founder of the Marius Ivascu Aviation Foundation, which provides flight training scholarships in memory of her late husband.