The Michael A. Dornheim Award is presented in honor of the late Michael Dornheim, a longtime reporter and editor at Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine.
The award is presented annually as part of the National Press Club's journalism awards, which recognizes and honors professional journalists for their outstanding work for the public, either independently or as employees of editorially-independent news and media entities. The recipient must be a working journalist writing about aerospace, defense, the airline industry, or aerospace science and engineering. Entrants may enter up to 6 examples of work, and the winner receives a $1,000 prize.
Winners + Michael A. Dornheim Award Winners, 2008 to present Year of award Author Publication - 2026 Joel Schectman & Arun Viswanatha Wall Street Journal For "The Pentagon Disinformation That Fueled America's UFO Mythology," yearlong investigation covering seven decades of UFO reports concluded the U.S. military fabricated evidence of alien technology and allowed rumors to fester to cover up real secret-weapons programs. The reporters got the Pentagon to respond and received letters from even the strongest UFO believers, saying the story “opened their eyes to the truth.” 2025 Tony Bartelme Post and Courier For "41 Seconds," the first account by a decorated Marine pilot who ejected from his F-35B Lightning II after a cascade of failures that left the pilot flying blind at low altitude in severe weather. While the commandant of the Marines later blamed the pilot, this series prompted Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama to criticize the commandant in a congressional hearing. 2024 Emily Steele, Sydney Ember, & Mike Baker The New York Times For their insider look at issues facing air traffic controllers in their investigative piece, “Flight Risks.” 2023 Craig Whitlock & Nate Jones Washington Post For the three part series, “Foreign Servants: Retired U.S. Generals, Admirals Take Top Jobs With Saudi Crown Prince” that revealed more than 500 retired U.S. military personnel — including scores of generals and admirals — have taken lucrative jobs since 2015 working for foreign governments, mostly in countries known for human rights abuses and political repression. 2022 Christopher Freeze Air Line Pilot magazine For his 8-part series, "ALPA at 90," which highlighted aviation safety technologies or topics that the labor union championed. 2021 Kiera Feldman Los Angeles Times For a year-long investigation revealing how mechanical problems on airplanes can cause heated jet engine oil to leak into the air supply — a phenomenon known as “fume events” — which could sicken passengers and crew members. 2020 Valerie Insinna Defense News For the in-depth feature series, “The Hidden Troubles of the F-35.” 2019 Mark Harris Freelance For research, investigative reporting and writing of the aerospace industry, particularly in the satellite sector. 2018 John Donnelly CQ Roll Call For stories on F-35 ejections and military accidents that exemplify solid and uncompromised investigative journalism. 2017 Elan Head Vertical magazine For stories that raised significant safety concerns about helicopters. 2016 W.J. Hennigan Los Angeles Times For a variety of strong stories on defense topics - from pilots flying drones to flying in a U-2 spy plane. 2015 Thomas Frank USA Today For “Unfit for Flight,” a five-part series that revealed the hidden dangers of private aviation. 2014 Sara Sorcher National Journal For stories that explored defense procurement, civil applications of unmanned aerial vehicles, federal budgeting and congressional oversight. 2013 Bart Jansen USA Today For his stories on air travel 2012 Nathan Hodge Wall Street Journal For coverage of U.S. defense policy. 2011 Christopher Castelli "Inside The Pentagon" For his reporting on the Defense Department's failure to put required cockpit voice recorders on V-22 Ospreys. 2010 Andy Pasztor & Susan Carey Wall Street Journal For their coverage of the crash of a Colgan Air turboprop near Buffalo, New York. 2009 Sally Adee IEEE Spectrum magazine For the story "The Hunt for the Kill Switch" 2008 William J. McGee Multiple For his combined works in Consumer Reports; Condé Nast Traveler; Money Magazine; USA Today
Namesake Michael A. Dornheim (1954–2006) was a journalist at Aviation Week for more than two decades. After a dinner with friends on June 3, 2006, he drove away from the restaurant, suggesting he would take "the back way." Nine days later, law enforcement officials found Dornheim's car had run off the road and descended 350 feet. Landing inverted, Dornheim was found deceased at the scene.
Dornheim was awarded two more writing awards posthumously.
Notes
References