Jason Dahl Flight Training Scholarship Fund Accepting Applications

For those enrolled in college-level aviation courses, the Captain Jason Dahl Scholarship is an option. Dahl was the pilot in command (PIC) of United Flight 93, one of the airliners hijacked on 9/11. The crew and passengers fought back, and the Boeing 757 crashed in a field outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania, rather than hitting the intended target in Washington D.C. 

Dahl, born in 1957, was a lifelong aviator, earning his private pilot certificate before he obtained a driver's license.

In 2002, Dahl's friends and family established the Captain Jason Dahl Scholarship Fund at San Jose State University, where Dahl earned his aviation degree, and at Metro State University in Denver, where Dahl resided. Since that time, the scholarship has grown to a national offering, and the Dahl fund is an IRS-recognized nonprofit supported through corporate and individual donations.

Joseph Schmidt, one of the previous scholarship winners, is the president of the Captain Jason Dahl Scholarship Fund. Schmidt grew up in New York and was a child on 9/11 but still remembers seeing the smoke from the Twin Towers. In 2014 he received the scholarship that enabled him to become an airline pilot. 

When not volunteering his time with the scholarship fund—all of its staff are volunteers so all money raised goes to the effort—Schmidt serves as a first officer for JetBlue. He's understandably proud of the pilot training the scholarship fund has provided over the years.

"We have awarded $533,000 to over 250 people at 45 collegiate aviation schools across the nation," Schmidt said. "Of those winners, 175 are pilots at regional and major airlines around the country."

According to Schmidt, most of the scholarship money is donated by pilots. As the 25th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, there is a concerted effort to sustain the fund as many of the pilots currently moving up through the ranks were too young or not born to have memories of the infamous terrorist attack and its impact on aviation.

To be eligible for the scholarship, the applicant must be a full-time college student and have completed at least one semester at an accredited four-year U.S. college or university program. The applicant must also be majoring in aviation or an equivalent field. 

The deadline for this year’s applications is April 15. More information may be found here.