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:

Grant Korgan, who harbored a lifelong dream of flight, suffered a paralyzing snowmobiling accident in 2010, which initially seemed to end his aviation aspirations.
Despite this life-altering injury, and driven by his wife's unwavering support and his own extraordinary resilience, he not only became the first spinal cord-injured athlete to reach the South Pole but also rigorously pursued and achieved his private pilot certificate and multiple instructor ratings.
Now a CFI and co-founder of AOA Jets, Korgan and his wife founded the Moment Foundation, using aviation for humanitarian missions and "hero flights," while he personally reclaims backcountry freedom in his Carbon Cub FX-3, allowing him to connect with nature on his own terms.

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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.