Over the past five years, Newtown Square Friends & Neighbors has featured many inspirational stories from our community. This month, we are
excited to check back in with Sean O’Donnell, a pilot, Engineer, traveler, musician and motivational speaker. If you recall, Sean’s story first appeared in our September 2020 issue, and if you don’t, you can catch up by reading about his journey online at NewtownSquareMag.com.
When we first featured Sean, he was living in Newtown Square but has since relocated to Naples, FL. “While I loved living in Newtown Square, I knew eventually I wanted to move south,” Sean explained. “When COVID hit, I decided I wanted to live somewhere warm, where I could be outside and enjoy my life.” So, he sold his home in Florida Park, packed his bags and found the perfect spot to build a home in Naples.
Growing up, Sean was an active child who played piano and guitar, participated in group sports and discovered a passion for helping others through athletic training. But, on September 18, 1995, a few weeks after Sean started his Senior year in high school, he endured a life-changing injury: While riding his motorcycle home from school, he was hit by a distracted driver. Sean was thrown from his bike and landed on a rock and broke his back, making him a T-4 Complete Paraplegic, which means he doesn’t feel anything from his chest down. “From day one in the hospital, my dad challenged me to get back to school before November 1,” said Sean. Precisely 42 days after his accident, Sean returned to high school and graduated with his class with a 3.8 GPA.
Sean then attended Villanova University’s College of Engineering, and graduated in 2000 with a degree in Computer Engineering. While in college, he raced wheelchairs semi-professionally. He also started doing some public speaking and was making an impact regarding accessibility on campus. “My neurosurgeon encouraged me to tell my story because people would see it as inspirational.” Over the past 25 years, Sean has been booked
for over 500 speaking engagements.
Sean said that since he was young, he felt “the flying spirit” in him. “After I saw The Right Stuff and Top Gun, I knew flying was something I wanted to do!” In 2005, when he was 27, Sean had the opportunity to ride with another Newtown Square resident, Dr. Bob McAndrew, in his Pitts S2B. Sean was hooked and immediately began researching how to get his pilot license. Due to his disability, he needed a plane with hand controls, specifically for the rudder inputs, which pilots usually control with their feet. “It was not an easy task because I could find only one plane with that type of design, the Sky Arrow,” recalled Sean.
Soon after, he discovered Able Flight (AbleFlight.org), a nonprofit offering scholarships to people with disabilities to learn to fly the Sky Arrow. Sean applied and was granted a scholarship, and in June 2007, he began his training. On July 13, Sean soloed for the first time; ten days later, he became a licensed pilot. “I never worked harder at anything in my life, and nowhere had I ever found a more practical application of STEM that I had studied in school. It was magical watching science come to practical life!” exclaimed Sean.
Sean felt the need to give back to Able Flight for helping make his dreams come true, so he purchased his own Sky Arrow and made it available to the program so that others could train, thereby expanding the program and helping more people. “Nothing is more important to me than giving someone like me, who dreams of flying but doesn’t know how to get there, the opportunity and mentorship to get it done.”
He is now a spokesperson for Able Flight and serves on their advisory board. Since Sean received his scholarship, the program has awarded hundreds more scholarships and licensed more than 100 pilots with disabilities ranging from paralysis to amputees to those who are deaf. “Able Flight is growing, and we are actively raising funds to purchase two new planes,” Sean explained. “In addition to using aircraft, Able Flight provides scholarship recipients with an all-expense paid training experience including materials, lessons, transportation and housing.” Sean said that each scholarship costs $9,500. Able Flight currently awards seven scholarships yearly, but with more funding, they want to increase that to ten.
Sean said life on the West Coast of Florida is treating him well. In addition to flying his Sky Arrow, he enjoys boating, fishing and taking helicopter rides with his girlfriend and their friends. “I love Naples,” he said. “It has that small town feel, and it’s peaceful and serene here.” Sean did say that he comes back to Newtown Square from time to time to visit his family and friends. “I enjoyed living in Newtown Square, but Naples is my home now, and I am truly living my dream.”