An Arizona pilot was killed in a crash in Plano, Texas on Tuesday. Elzie Monroe McDonald’s daughter told ABC15 he was flying to the Dallas area to visit his sister.
She said the 87-year-old made the flight to the Dallas area dozens of times since moving to Aguila, Arizona nearly two decades ago.
Neighbors and friends say McDonald was a leader in the local aviation chapters and was passionate about getting kids involved in aviation.
A preliminary FAA incident report said McDonald was aborting a landing when he crashed, but Plano Police said the National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation into the crash.
In a community like Aguila, where aviation is more than a hobby, neighbors like Carolyn Jones told ABC15 this has been weighing heavy on their minds.
“We just saw him on Saturday,” said Jones. “We had lunch with him, and we do see him on a regular basis. To know that one of your friends has died in an airplane accident just is really shocking, and it’s really sad.”
