Flight lessons inspire a new pilot tool

When air traffic control asks a pilot to "hold for a number to call," it's never good news. As outlined in the FAA's March 2021 Air Traffic Bulletin, the phrase refers to a "Brasher notification," named after a 1985 incident involving Republic Airlines Flight 77, flown by Capt. Jack Brasher, who deviated 700 feet from his assigned altitude. Six months and 150 flights later, Brasher was notified that the FAA intended to pursue certificate action. His defense was that he couldn't recall that particular flight, and ATC said nothing to him at the time to prompt his memory.

In response, controllers have since been trained to immediately alert pilots to potential deviations. A Brasher notification gives the pilot an opportunity "to make note of the occurrence and collect their thoughts for future coordination with Flight Standards regarding enforcement actions or operator training," notes FAA Order JO 7210.632.

This notification is called for when a pilot makes a serious mistake—taxis onto the wrong runway, misunderstands a clearance, moves when they shouldn't, and risks safety.

For most pilots, receiving a Brasher notification is a nightmare scenario. For one Maryland father-and-daughter duo, it became the inspiration for a solution. Lloyd Clark, a lifetime AOPA member and certificated flight instructor, and his daughter Lilli Clark, a student pilot with about 40 hours, developed NoBrashers—a web-based safety application built from real tower feedback to help pilots slow down, communicate clearly, and stay out of trouble on the ground.

"We call that a Brasher," Lloyd recalls ATC telling him during a visit to the control tower at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. When he asked what pilots could do better, the answers were surprisingly simple. "Just slow down. Be really sure that you've got the okay to move." That advice, along with tower tips like declaring "student pilot" and asking for progressive taxi instructions, became the backbone of NoBrashers.

Rather than functioning like traditional software, NoBrashers serves as a quick-reference safety checklist pilots can consult before and during ground operations. It provides structured prompts—encouraging pilots to open airport diagrams (which Lloyd notes an examiner can fault candidates on if not open on a checkride), brief their taxi route, think through what they plan to say on the radio, and speak early when they need help declaring "student pilot," for example.

There are no accounts to create, no logins. Just operational guardrails when pilots need them most—and the service isn't monetized.

Lloyd holds a doctorate in artificial intelligence and emphasizes this is about applied safety, not tech for technology's sake. He uses modern tools to build quickly; test fast; and iterate based on real feedback from ATC, flight instructors, and student pilots.

But the origin story runs deeper than a tower visit. Lloyd didn't become a flight instructor to build hours or chase airlines. He did it all for one student—his daughter. "She's actually my first and only student," Lloyd said proudly. Lilli recently soloed and is now deep into ground study for her written exam and eventual checkride. "I have about 40 hours, and I soloed fairly recently in August. Right now, I'm sixteen so I'm not quite ready for my checkride yet."

Lilli files in the Washington, D.C., Special Flight Rules Area (SFRA), where mistakes aren't just inconvenient—they're security risks. "Along with radios you also have to file a flight plan in order to enter or depart the SFRA. So, with that added complexity and having to switch radios, it's important for us not to get tailgated by an F-16," Lilli said. "A lot of people rush things and don't ask for help when they need it," she added. "And that can lead to accidents and people getting hurt or losing your license." In co-developing NoBrashers, Lilli already understands something many pilots learn the hard way: Humility saves lives.

Their approach to aviation is deeply collaborative. Lloyd retook ground school so he could attend with Lilli—and his wife even joined because for the Clarks learning to fly is a family affair rather than an isolated pursuit.

Meanwhile, Lilli is already tackling and presenting her second aviation safety project using AI—this one focused on bird-strike prevention. "I'm very passionate about these things. And I think planes are already safer than cars, and I want it to stay that way."

It's not theoretical work—it's applied engineering, built on real data to solve problems. And it mirrors her dad's approach: Identify a risk, build a tool, test it, and improve it.

Career-wise, Lilli already knows her direction. "I would like to be a corporate pilot," she says, "That's my dream job." But she isn't choosing between flying and engineering. "I'd like to have a background in engineering. I want to continue building apps for safety."

That mindset—shared learning, shared responsibility—is what makes No Brashers unique. It isn't a startup chasing profits; it's a family project built from listening, learning, and turning real-world feedback into something useful for pilots everywhere.