Overview
Jeffrey Epstein employed a small team of private pilots who flew his Boeing 727 (colloquially referred to as the “Lolita Express”) and his smaller Gulfstream jet over a period of roughly fifteen years. These pilots accumulated frequent-flyer knowledge of who boarded, where the planes went, and what they observed during flights — making them significant witnesses.
Lawrence “Larry” Visoski
Visoski was Epstein’s primary longtime pilot, having flown for him for approximately two decades. He was the first witness called by the prosecution at Ghislaine Maxwell’s November 2021 trial.
At the Maxwell trial, Visoski testified about the general character of Epstein’s flight operations, passenger loading procedures, and the demographics of passengers he observed. On cross-examination, defense attorneys questioned him about specific passengers and whether he had ever witnessed conduct that would have indicated criminal activity during flights.
Visoski’s testimony was significant because the prosecution used him to establish the timeline and geography of Epstein’s operations — confirming that the properties and travel patterns described by victims were consistent with the flight record.
David Rogers
David Rogers was another pilot employed by Epstein. Like Visoski, Rogers was deposed in civil litigation related to the Epstein case and appeared in the context of the flight logs.
The Flight Logs as Evidence
The pilots’ logbooks and the formal flight records for Epstein’s aircraft became central evidence in civil litigation and eventually in the Maxwell trial. The logs recorded passengers by name in many instances, linking prominent individuals to specific flights. The publication and analysis of these logs — particularly by journalists — was a significant driver of public attention to the case.
Victims’ attorneys used the flight logs to corroborate travel patterns described in victim testimony, establishing that victims were aboard aircraft traveling to the specific properties where abuse occurred.
Witness Limitations
Pilots’ direct testimony about conduct aboard aircraft or at destinations was limited by what they could actually observe from the cockpit. Defense attorneys in the Maxwell trial argued that the pilots’ testimony established only the existence of travel, not the conduct that occurred.
Broader Significance
The pilots’ willingness to testify — and the physical existence of the flight logs — represents one of the stronger documentary evidence threads in a case that defense attorneys sought to diminish through challenges to victim memory and credibility. The logs provide an objective, contemporaneous record that corroborates victim accounts.