NBAA Marks Passing of Distinguished Attorney, Former Tax Committee Chair Gary Garofalo

Contact: Dan Hubbard, 202-431-5970, [email protected]

Washington, DC, Aug. 31, 2026 - The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) today paid tribute to longtime aviation attorney and former NBAA Tax Committee Chair Gary Garofalo, recognizing his decades of service to the industry and foundational contributions to aviation law and policy. Garofalo passed away Aug. 22.

"Gary was the consummate attorney with an outsized passion for aviation," said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. "His fingerprints are all over the Federal Aviation Regulations [FARs] and the legal opinions that guide our industry. He will be deeply missed by all who knew him, and his influence will endure among those who operate in business aviation under the principles and guidelines he helped develop."

Garofalo was a longtime member of the NBAA Tax Committee and served as its chair for two years. He later spent two years as chair of NBAA's Operational Excellence Strategic Focus Team, coordinating the work of the association's Tax, Domestic Operations and International Operations committees to ensure a fair and equitable regulatory environment for the industry.

After earning a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Garofalo received a degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1965 and then joined the legal team at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

During his three years with the agency, Garofalo worked across a broad range of legal matters, including FAA licensing requirements, enforcement cases, development of airworthiness directives and interpretation of the FARs. He then entered private practice, and in 1972 became a founding member of Washington, DC-based Garofalo Goerlich Hainback PC, known today as GGH Air Law.

Throughout his distinguished career, Garofalo represented business aircraft owners and operators, air taxi and commuter operators, fixed-base operators, FAA-certificated repair stations, commercial airlines and other industry stakeholders. He retired from GGH in 2021.

Garofolo also served on the FAA's Fractional Ownership Aviation Rulemaking Committee, whose recommendations led to the fractional ownership regulations contained in Part 91 Subpart K, as well as the steering committee for the FAA Part 125/135 Aviation Rulemaking Committee.

A respected speaker and author, Garofalo presented numerous papers at NBAA conferences and other leading aviation and legal gatherings. He also published articles addressing FAA and Department of Transportation regulatory matters.

He later served as chair of the Air and Space Law Section of the Federal Bar Association's Transportation Committee, and as a founding member of the National Transportation Safety Board Bar Association, and as a member of the American Bar Association's Forum on Air and Space Law.

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Founded in 1947 and based in Washington, DC, the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) is the leading organization for companies that rely on general aviation aircraft to help make their businesses more efficient, productive and successful. The association represents 10,000 company and professional members and provides more than 100 products and services to the business aviation community, including the NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE), the world's largest civil aviation trade show. Learn more about NBAA at nbaa.org.

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