Ulysses Lee "Rip" Gooch, who was a leader in the Black aviation industry and Kansas' oldest serving state senator when he retired at the age of 80, has died.
Jackson Mortuary's website says Gooch died on Wednesday at the age of 98. The cause of death was not listed.
Gooch was a member of the Kansas Aviation Hall of Fame and part of the inaugural class of the Black Aviation Hall of Fame in Memphis. He logged around 20,000 hours of flight time over his more than 50-year aviation career.
