Bascom Newton Lockett Jr.

A quote from Leonardo da Vinci sums up the life of Bascom Lockett. “Once you have tasted flight, your eyes will be forever skyward.” Bascom was born in Bristol, Virginia on January 28. 1924. He attended the Virginia Military Institute, but was called into service as a World War II combat pilot after attending for one year. He often said that the one year at VMI prepared him well for the next phase of his life. At age 19, he completed advanced aviation training and graduated as a B-24 pilot in the Army Air Corps. It was during this training that he married his high school sweetheart, Phyllis Sawtelle. Mr. Lockett went on to fly 40 missions in the South Pacific, attaining the rank of captain. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross: Air Medal with Six Oak Leaf Clusters and Three Bronze Campaign Stars. His war time flying would set the stage for a career in aviation taking him to many locations from Fairbanks, Alaska to Oklahoma. He left the Air Force after 10 years to join a fledgling government agency, the Civil Aviation Agency, predecessor to the present Federal Aviation Administration. Mr. Lockett became Chief of High Altitude Flight Inspection and the head of the Jet Operations Branch of the FAA. This brought him from Oklahoma City to Washington, DC, in 1957. He resided in Alexandria, Virginia with his family for the remainder of his career. He was instrumental in the establishment of commercial aircraft navigation at high altitudes as airline travel transitioned from propeller-driven to jet aircraft. As that mission reached completion, Mr. Lockett turned his focus to research and development of a supersonic commercial airliner, the SST. The government cancelled the project in 1971. His final years in the FAA were with Airport Safety Division serving as the Deputy Director, Airports Service. He retired from the FAA in 1979. He became an aviation consultant with Howard, Needles, Tammen and Bergendoff for 10 years before ultimately devoting full time to boating, golf at the family condo at Bryce Resort and being an avid Washington Redskins fan. He and his wife moved to South Carolina for four years before retiring to Charlottesville to live at Westminster Canterbury of the Blue Ridge. His wife of 74 years, Phyllis Lockett, died on June 7, 2018. He is survived by two children, Ann and Richard, five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donation to the American Heart Association.