You can thank Redmond engineer Don Bateman for this lifesaving technology.

More than 40 years ago, Bateman invented the "ground proximity warning" system that prevents pilots in poor visibility from flying a perfectly functioning airplane into a mountain or some other obstacle.

The technology eliminated the "No. 1 killer in aviation for decades," said Bill Voss, chief executive of the Flight Safety Foundation. "It's accepted within the industry that Don Bateman has probably saved more lives than any single person in the history of aviation."

Read the profile in the Seattle Times.