John Cane is a retired Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel and a former AV-8B Harrier pilot and squadron commander.  He holds a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airline Transport Pilot certificate and he is a FAA Certified Flight Instructor. 

He has extensive experience in aviation, particularly in the areas of accident investigation, flight operations, aircraft maintenance, aircrew and maintenance personnel training, aviation and ground safety, safety management systems, and safety process improvement.

Mr. Cane has investigated numerous aircraft accidents, both civilian and military. While in uniform, Mr. Cane held key roles in several high-profile military aviation accident investigations, and 2005, he served as the senior investigating officer of a high-profile AV-8B Harrier crash that occurred in a residential neighborhood within the city of Yuma, Arizona.

In 2018, Mr. Cane earned a Master's of Science degree in Aeronautics (with Distinction) from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, where he specialized in Human Factors in Aviation Systems.  In 2012, Mr. Cane earned a law degree from the Charleston School of Law. 

As testimony to his aviation experience, in 2012, Mr. Cane was selected to serve on the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) First Officer's Qualification Aviation Rule-Making Committee, which was chartered to make recommendations to the FAA Administrator regarding flight experience and training requirements for First Officers involved in Part 121 regional airline air carrier operations. Between 2014 and 2015, Mr. Cane served on the FAA's Air Carrier Training Aviation Rule-Making Committee, which was chartered to make recommendations regarding training and operations conducted under parts 121, 135, and 142.

Between 2007 and 2009, Mr. Cane commanded an AV-8B Harrier squadron during a rigorous combat deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Under his leadership, the squadron was selected as the “Most Outstanding Attack Squadron in Marine Aviation,” which earned the Marine Corps Aviation Association's prestigious “Attack Squadron of the Year Award” for 2009.  His squadron also received the Chief of Naval Operations “Aviation Safety Award” in both 2008 and 2009, in recognition of exemplary safety, operational excellence and contributions to the improvement of Naval Aviation safety.

Between 2006 and 2007, Mr. Cane served as the Deputy Commanding Officer of Marine Aircraft Group 13 and supervised the flight operations and maintenance activities of four subordinate AV-8B Harrier squadrons and a Maintenance/Logistics squadron, which combined comprised of approximately 2000 personnel and 64 AV-8B Harrier aircraft.

Between 2000 and 2002 Mr. Cane served as the Program Manager for the RQ-14 Dragon Eye – the Marine Corps' first operational back-packable unmanned air vehicle (UAV). A Rapid Acquisition Program, Dragon Eye UAV transitioned from concept to fielding in an unprecedented 2 year period, and it achieved significant success in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Secretary of the Navy nominated this program in 2001 for the Department of Defense’s David Packard Excellence in Acquisition Award for “exemplary innovation and best acquisition practices.”  A Dragon Eye UAV is currently on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

Mr. Cane completed Naval Aviator training in 1990 and is a graduate of the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) Aircraft Investigation Course, the U.S. Naval Aviation Maintenance Officer’s Course, the U.S. Naval Safety Center's Senior Officer’s Aviation Safety Course, the U.S. Naval Aviation Quality Assurance Course, and the U.S. Naval Justice School’s Senior Officer's Legal Course.  

Mr. Cane was accredited as an aviation auditor, under the International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO) by the International Business Aviation Council, and he holds a Certificate of Management in Aviation Safety from the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. 

Mr. Cane is the recipient of the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Medal, as well as numerous other military service awards.  

Dragon Eye, the Marine Corps' first back-packable Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C.