POLK COUNTY, Fla. — Family and friends of the victims killed after two planes crashed in Winter Haven on Tuesday are being remembered for their love of flying.
NTSB officials said two small planes collided mid-air over Lake Hartridge, which killed the four people on board the two planes.
Faith Baker, 24, and 19-year-old Zachary Mace flew in a Piper Cherokee for Sunrise Aviation.
Investigators said 78-year-old Lou DeFazio and 67-year-old Randall Crawford were in the second plane, identified as a Piper J-3 Cub owned by Jack Brown's Seaplane Base.
Baker has been remembered as kind, dedicated, and determined. She attended People's Church in Winter Haven. Numerous church members came together to talk about the friend they lost.
"She talked about moving up the aviation ladder, flying commercial one day. She was a very driven individual," said Kristi Merritt.
Tristen Rose has attended the church for more than a decade. He met Baker when she joined about three years ago and was recently at her wedding last year. He dressed as a panda bear on her wedding day.
"Her and her husband met when she worked at Panda Express at the time, so we kind of had a joke that I would be the ring bearer at their wedding," said Rose.
Friends said Baker was really shy until you got to know her.
"Faith was a very shy young lady, very sweet young lady, but very determined, very strong to be able to accomplish her goals," said David Burton, Music Pastor at People's Church.
Mace attended Summerlin Military Academy and graduated with the class of 2021. Polk State College is mourning the loss of the student pilot.
"Our Polk State College family is devastated by this tragedy," said Polk State President Angela Garcia Falconetti. "We extend our deepest condolences to their families, friends and colleagues."
DeFazio was an avid pilot and served in the United States Air Force.
He had a love of flying since he was a child. He also was a commercial pilot before retiring at the age of 60 in 2004. Friends said he split his time between Texas and Winter Haven. He taught others how to fly seaplanes.
Crawford was a long-time customer of Jack Brown's Seaplane Base.
As for Baker's friends, they said she loved to worship God and sing at church.
"She loved you. She loved to fly. She loved to worship. She loved to pray. She loved to sing, but most of all, she loved God," said Merritt.
"I spent a lot of time thinking. There's so much that we don't know even though we come to church every week and are part of this, but today, she knows the fullness of Jesus...more than any of us," said Rose.
NTSB officials previously said the two people in the Piper Cherokee were practicing flight maneuvers around the Winter Haven Regional Airport. On Thursday, NTSB officials retracted that information stressing information may change as officials investigate the incident.
NTSB officials now believe the Piper Cherokee did one full-stop landing and two go-around maneuvers. Officials have recovered most of the wreckage of the two planes.
"Today, we reviewed video evidence that has been shared with us as well as air traffic information. We do know that the right wing of the Cherokee came off during the impact sequence. Again, it has not yet been recovered," said Lynn Spencer with the National Safety Transportation Board (NTSB).
According to video reviewed by the NTSB, the J-3 Cub attempted to dive to the right right before the collision.
"We know from radio transmissions that were made on the Common Traffic Advisory Frequency which we call CTAF, that the PA-28 Cherokee was announcing its location and its intentions. Approximately 30 seconds after the Cherokee announced that they were performing a short approach to Runway 29 at Winter Haven, we have another transmission announcing that they are making a left-based turn to Runway 29. About 4 seconds after that last transmission of the base turn, we hear the emergency locator transmission that would indicate that the impact has occurred. We do not hear any transmissions by the J-3 Cub," said Spencer.
In the airspace where the crash occurred, it is not required for pilots to communicate or even have a radio, according to NTSB officials.
Officials said the second plane, a Piper J-3 Cub, was approaching a landing near its base. NTSB officials said at this point, they do not know what each pilot could see.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Board are investigating.
NTSB officials said a preliminary report may be available within two weeks. A factual report will be available in the next 12 to 18 months, according to NTSB officials.
