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The move from Elizabethton is not good news for missionary work in hard-to-reach areas, observers say. David Bothwell, senior vice president of international services for the Jungle Aviation and Research Service (JAARS) of Wycliffe Bible Translators, graduated from the Moody Aviation program in 1979. A former missionary pilot in the South Pacific, Bothwell said Moody has supplied roughly half of the 60 pilot-mechanics and 30 aviation maintenance technicians used by JAARS around the world.

"If the program goes away, it will have a huge effect," Bothwell said. "We will be hurting even more than we are now. The need is not being met by existing mission aviation programs."

Annually about 25 pilots have graduated from Moody's program, which is highly selective. It provides specific missionary pilot training, such as how to land on dirt airstrips, that may not be available elsewhere. Other mission aviation training programs exist, such as one at Prairie Bible Institute. The largest air fleets belong to Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), JAARS, Africa Inland Mission, and New Tribes Mission.

A Moody employee, who asked to remain anonymous, said that MBI approached both MAF and JAARS for financial assistance to keep the program running in its current form. Both declined, the source said, because they were financially unable to help.

JAARS President Jim Akovenko told CT that representatives of his organization, MAF, and Moody Aviation were discussing alternatives but had not reached any conclusions before MBI's decision. He said JAARS is "certainly not in a position" to help financially.

Simon Wunderli, a pilot with MAF in Uganda, graduated from the Moody program in 2000. Wunderli said the decision to phase out the Elizabethton training "came a bit as a shock." Wunderli, from Switzerland, said he "never even considered that Moody would be shutting its doors—especially since Moody is one of the main suppliers of pilots to various mission organizations."

Safety is another consideration, Wunderli said. "Since flying here in Uganda, I've had the opportunity to prove that Moody was the right place to study," he said. "I've seen other pilots who were not trained specifically for missionary aviation but got their training in a normal flight school. There is a noticeable difference between us."

Moody and the 39 employees at Elizabethton will also be affected by the decision. Moody spokeswoman Heidy Hartley said that some faculty will be relocated to Spokane in August for the beginning of the new semester. Some instructors will remain at the Elizabethton campus for two years as the program is phased out but others will be let go after this school year. The CT source said that all employees discharged in the current Moody restructuring will receive severance packages.

"Shutting this school, in my view, means a great loss to Moody, as [it is] giving up instructors and teachers who are hard to come by because of their many years of experience," Wunderli said. "These people receive little pay for what they are dedicated to do. It also means a big loss of impact in the community of Elizabethton. Students are known all around for their conduct and their standards."

Edward H. Robinson, director of missionary aviation technology for Moody Aviation, was traveling and unavailable for comment.

Todd Hertz is assistant online editor for Christianity Today. Stan Guthrie is associate news editor.

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February (Web-only) 2003, Vol. 47