The tight-knit aviation community is mourning the loss of an experienced pilot in Cheatham County.
CHEATHAM COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — The tight-knit aviation community is mourning the loss of an experienced pilot in Cheatham County.
It appears his high-performance plane took a nosedive into the Cumberland River. Officials identified the pilot and the sole occupant of the plane as Darel Whittaker. Although friends and family knew him as “Dazz.” Originally from Australia, he was 51 years old.
According to FlightAware, Whittaker’s plane appeared to be making circular turns for about 12 minutes before the path stopped.
Blake Butler, a pilot based in Shelbyville with nearly 40 years of flight experience and a friend of Whittaker’s, said the air space where the Aussie was flying is known for aerobatic practice.
“If you are practicing for an aerobatic performance, it’s very strenuous,” explained Butler. “You probably would not be up in the air for more than 30 minutes. The airplane also burns a lot of fuel.”
Now, fellow pilots remember Dazz for his passion for aviation.
“Dazz wanted to be an airshow pilot and competed in aerobatic competitions previously,” Bulter said. “He was a delightful person and I recently saw him a few weeks ago at aviation event in Dayton, Tennessee.”
“Dazz was a wonderful pilot,” Butler said. “He was a flight instructor; he had done aerobatic competitions.”
The aviation community is already small, but now in moments like this, it’s even smaller with the loss of his friend.
“Being that it was nearby, I wondered if it could possibly be someone I knew,” he said. “Aviation is a very small community and immediately my heart went out to both the pilot and the family, even before I had any idea of who it may be.”
This crash marks the third small deadly plane crash here in Middle Tennessee so far this year.