Ian Yoon Ju Won

Ian Yoon Ju Won was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on November 6, 1965, to Yoon Ju and Barbara Y Won. He was raised in Kaneohe, Hawaii, until he began studies at the University of Washington in 1983. Ian was always quietly understated, focused on achieving the very best for himself, his family, and friends.

January of 1999 proved to be the most auspicious time in the life of Ian and Pearle, his devoted wife of 25 years.  Following courtship and planning the future together they decided to get married in Honolulu, Hawaii.

In the lucky year of the Golden dragon 2000, Pearle and Ian welcomed Benjamin Mori Won into their family with open arms and loving hearts! Ben instantly took center stage and became their primary focus for all their hopes and dreams, and a promising future together. They continued to thrive as a family and strengthen their family bonds.

Following Ian’s graduation and Masters from UC Berkley, his parents gifted him a car. Of course, they were probably thinking a Toyota truck, that’s when Ian selected his first Porsche.  In true consistent form, it was his third Porsche 911, his dream car, that brought the biggest smile to his face. He always aimed for the best in life and worked tirelessly towards that end. Ian was also an avid bicyclist and Pearle, his dear wife and life partner often saw him gazing, focusing, and reflecting on his STP accomplishments, as he vowed to compete in another annual race.

Ian’s professional career spanned over 30 years in the aerospace industry where he started out as a stress analyst at Boeing and rapidly moved up to a lead engineer as well as an FAA designee. From Boeing, he came to the FAA in Seattle Aircraft Certification Office (ACO) where he worked in the Airframe Branch. Ian rapidly absorbed the FAA working norms and was promoted to the Transport Airplanes Directorate Standards staff where he worked on development of regulations and associated policies. In that position, Ian established strong connections with aviation colleagues across the United States as well as prominent Foreign Civil Aviation Authorities in Europe, Canada, as well as Brazil.

As a natural progression for Ian, he was selected as the Airframe Branch Manager in the Seattle ACO and subsequently advanced to the Office Manager. Most recently, he took on the challenge of managing the Boeing Aviation Safety Office. In that role, Ian led many advancements in oversight and engagement with Boeing. He fearlessly took on complex challenges leading to improvements within Boeing as well as the FAA.

In recognition of Ian’s contribution to the FAA safety system, on May 1st, Senator Maria Cantwell made the following comments on the Senate floor to her colleagues inclusive of the President of the United States:

Mr. President, I want to take a moment to give my condolences to the family of Ian Won. Ian Won was one of these people who helped to understand the certification process at what is called the Seattle BASOO office, that's the office of the FAA that oversees certification. We need people to stand up like Ian Won did and said that the certification is only good when the FAA says it's good. And that's the kind of people we need in this system. And we recently lost Ian to cancer, but we will remember his dedication to getting aviation right.

The Senator’s remarks are truly an accurate reflection of the contribution that Ian made to the world of aviation. He set a standard that inspires all his colleagues to follow.

We will miss Ian’s presence, his calm collective engineering mindset where he would analyze and assess every detail to the nth degree before speaking.  And yet, underneath life’s weathered armor, he still managed a very soft, genuinely kind heart, which is the gift that will be missed the very most.