What is the most ethical course of action the reporter could
take?

investigate the claims without revealing that the pilot is
her uncle; the fact that he is a relative will not affect her
reporting
tell the editor-in-chief about her relationship to the pilot,
and ask that the story be assigned to another reporter
convince the editor-in-chief not to run the story, because
the reporter knows that her uncle is a skilled pilot and
believes that the allegations are false
research and write the article, but have a colleague edit
it before it is submitted to make sure there are no signs
of bias