Paralyzed Pilot Goes Beyond His Limits

Grant Korgan rediscovers freedom in backcountry skies after a life-changing injury.

Grant Korgan

Monday, June 15, 2026 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Grant Korgan flying a Carbon Cub FX-3 [Credit Grant Corgan]

Key Takeaways:

After a lifelong dream of flight, Grant Korgan's aspirations were nearly ended by a 2010 spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed.
With unwavering determination and his wife's support, he defied expectations, becoming the first spinal cord-injured athlete to reach the South Pole and, nine years post-injury, earning his private pilot certificate.
Korgan further established himself in aviation as a multi-rated instructor and co-founded the Moment Foundation, leveraging flight for humanitarian missions and transformative experiences for others.
Through backcountry flying in a Carbon Cub FX-3, he rediscovered a profound sense of freedom and reconnected with nature and the adventurous spirit he thought he had lost.

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The Sierra Nevada has a way of telling the truth. Up high, the air is thin, the consequences are real, and the horizon keeps daring you to go one ridge farther.

It’s the kind of country that makes a Carbon Cub FX-3 feel less like a machine and more like a key that unlocks backcountry places most people only ever see from a trailhead sign or satellite map. To me, it opens the door to something even bigger—a return to the wild places that shaped my life long before aviation became my calling.