|
Written by Steve Frank
|
|
Thursday, 05 July 2012 05:08 |
We’re hearing more about the crash of the North Carolina National guard C-130 that crashed in South Dakota Sunday evening, killing four, including a Boone man. Ryan S. David, 35, was killed while serving as the plane’s navigator, along with Lt. Col. Paul K. Mikeal, 42,
of Mooresville; Maj. Joseph M. McCormick, 36, of Belmont; and Senior Master Sgt. Robert S. Cannon, 50, of Charlotte. The C-130 crashed while fighting a woodland fire in southwestern South Dakota, one published report saying that the plane may have hit a massive down draft while making its third run to drop a fire retardant/water mix on the fire. The crash occurred around 6:30 p.m. Mountain Time Sunday near Edgemont, S.D. David joined the guard in 2011 after service in the active-duty Air Force, according to Lt. Col Robert Carver, and he is survived by his wife and one child. Three crews and C-130s flew from Charlotte to Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., last weekend to assist with fighting forest fires in the Rocky Mountain region, according to Carver. Gov. Perdue ordered all North Carolina state flags to be lowered to half-staff on all state facilities from sunrise to sunset this past Tuesday in tribute to the Guard members who died. WBTV is reporting that all four will be added to the North Carolina Air National Guard Memorial in October. The TV station spoke to the family members of Joshua Marlowe of Cherryville, injured in the crash, who said this was the Marlowe's first fire run in the United States, but he had trained with several firefighting missions during tours to Afghanistan. Family members received a call around 2:30 a.m. Monday morning, informing them of the crash. While the station was talking to the family, they learned that the 28-year-old father of three was upgraded from critical. Marlowe was the load master and one of six crew members aboard the C-130 plane. His step-mother, Kim Marlowe, told WBTV that Josh has been upgraded from critical to serious condition. Doctors worried about bleeding on the brain, smoke in his lungs and Marlowe says Josh has broken ribs. |