WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A pilot killed when his twin-engine Cessna 310 plummeted into a Wichita neighborhood has been identified as a former Cessna engineer who owned an aviation company in Colorado.
KSNW-TV reports Wichita Fire Chief Ron Blackwell on Saturday identified the pilot as 47-year-old Aaron Waters of Parker, Colorado.
Family members say he was the owner and president of Aircraft Certification and Systems Engineering, based in Parker.
Waters' twin-engine airplane crashed soon after takeoff on Friday afternoon, just moments after he radioed that he needed to return to the airport and then quickly issued an emergency call.
Blackwell says Waters likely died a hero because he was able to steer the aircraft away from homes in the area and crashed into some woods near Cowski