Zoe joined the CAA on 19 July 2021 as RPAS Technical inspector within the RPAS Sector team. Before joining the CAA, she worked as a Flight Safety Officer with The British Airline Pilots Association.
She was a keen air cadet, and her dream was to join the RAF to fly fast jets. Later, she decided to become an airline pilot instead. She qualified for a scholarship while working for a helicopter company based at Fairoak’s in surrey. Her role was to clean and refuel many types of helicopters. While doing her day-to-day job, she applied for a scholarship to fund her to qualify for PPL(h). She was chosen for this and received her helicopter licence at the age of 17. She was one of the youngest helicopter pilots in the UK.
As an alternative to flying, she pursued a career in air traffic control. She trained and worked as a Flight Information Services Officer (FISO) at Fairoak’s airport in Surrey for several years. Later, she also completed her basic ATCO training with NATS. She has also spent some time working with Bombardier Skyjet as an operations controller helping to manage a fleet of aircraft.
She was passionate about safety and educating the aviation sector, especially new entrants such as RPAS. This passion led her to join RPAS Sector Team at the CAA. She always displayed the highest level of professional integrity and CAA values in her role.
Alongside her aviation work, she also ran her own personal training company specialising in triathlon and open water swimming coaching. At one point, she lived and breathed a triathlon. She enjoyed sports, mainly running, cycling, and horse riding.
Zoe was married to Michael Reeves and mother of two girls (five and seven years old) and an Irish terrier. She had a very positive outlook on life and will be greatly missed.