One tribute which accurately included the names of Root, Barker, Hutain, Rowe and Michels before they were more widely known said Dan Ragan was the sixth dead crew member. “It was exciting to feel that love every time your presence was near.” “You had so much passion for your work and for your relationships,” one tribute to Michels read. In the clip, Michels says the bomber’s impressive exterior had just been repainted and looked “almost factory fresh”, but he then invites viewers inside, which was the plane’s “real jewel”. Michels’s name matched that of a man seen in a Facebook video showing off a B-17 at a Wings Over Dallas show three years ago. “Curt touched the lives of thousands of his fellow members, especially the cadets who he flew during orientation flights or taught at flight academies and for that, we should be forever grateful.” “I reach to find solace in that when great aviators like Curt perish, they do so doing what they loved,” Bowden’s post added. His most recent position was as the chapter’s maintenance officer. Rowe spent 30 years with the Ohio chapter of the non-profit Civil Air Patrol, the agency’s commander, Pete Bowden, said in a Facebook post on Sunday. “He said he loved any opportunity to show off the planes to whoever wanted to see them since they were a piece of history,” one tribute to Hutain read on Sunday.Ī number of tributes to Root, Barker and Hutain also said men named Curt Rowe and Kevin Michels were killed in Saturday’s collision. In late July, he told the Ohio news station WKEF that pilots like him would “try to create a history lesson, a very entertaining history lesson” whenever they took to the skies for spectators. Hutain, for his part, often flew in a re-enactment of the 7 December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor titled “Tora Tora Tora”, according to a biography of him available online. Even after retiring from serving on the city council and flying for American Airlines, his love for community was unmistakable.” “He was a friend and someone whose guidance I often sought. “Terry Barker was beloved by many,” Mizai said. The mayor, Armin Mizani, also called Barker a “husband, father, Army veteran” who was flying Saturday to honor “the greatest generation”, which is how Americans refer to their compatriots who helped defeat the Axis powers during the second world war. Meanwhile, the mayor of Keller, Texas, described Barker as a former city council member there. That tribute added that Root was “quiet, yet friendly, no matter how accomplished he was as a commercial pilot”. You are loved, and we are all better for having known you.”Īnother recalled Root being as interested in historic race cars as he was in old airplanes. “To say you will be missed is the world’s biggest understatement, my friend. “Len tragically died doing what he loved: flying a warbird in an airshow,” read one tribute to Root. Yet, as is often the case, people who knew the pilots had already gone online to grieve their unexpected deaths despite a lack of official identification. Meanwhile, numerous people identifying themselves as acquaintances of United Airlines pilot Craig Hutain said he was aboard the single-seat Kingcobra.Īuthorities as of Sunday morning had not officially identified any of those who were killed during the disaster, which was captured on several videos circulating on social media. “Our hearts go out to their families, friends, and colleagues past and present,” read the statement from the Allied Pilots Association union.
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