Tragedy claimed this young pilot's life who was on the verge of accomplishing her dream. She wanted to become an airline pilot. However, she sadly died during a plane crash. It happened moments after skydivers jumped from her plane.
26-year-old Melanie Georger was piloting her single-engine Cessna when the crash occurred. She crashed on Niagara Scenic Parkway near Niagara Falls, according to the Niagara Country Sheriff's Office. She was the only one onboard and was headed back.
"Where it landed was just off the parkway. We look to the west near Fort Niagara, it's full of soccer players today," Niagara County Sheriff Michael Filicetti told WIVB Sunday. "We're lucky where it landed, but it is an unfortunate incident."
Authorities are investigating the incident. A skydiver opened up about the moments before the crash.
"Everything was great," Jeffrey Walker, who jumped out about 30 minutes prior, said. "It was great weather, low winds, very calm winds. Everybody was excited. Everybody was in a good mood." He said the pilot calmed him during his jump.
"I never even got nervous at the door ready to jump," Walker said. He questioned what happened in the moments after they jumped.
Young Pilot Dies
"It's not like skydiving planes once a week fall out of the sky and you just kind of dodge it," Walker said. "This is a fluke accident. Something went wrong."
Meanwhile, her father released a statement saying Georger died doing what she loved.
"Friends and family, my life as I know it ended today. My beloved daughter, my best friend and one of the two lights of my life passed away suddenly today," Paul Georger wrote.
"Melanie was a pilot, on the cusp of realizing her dream to fly for the airlines. She was doing what she loved, flying for a local skydiving company, when her plane crashed. She had discharged her passengers and was flying back to pick another load when she crashed. Kelli, Tim and I are devastated. She was only 26."
"My life is much darker today and will remain so for a long time. To my tweety pie, my girlie, my beloved and my heart, I'm already looking forward to the day that we reunite and I will have a huge hole in my heart and a never ending ache until then. Stars and butterflies, my love," Paul Georger concluded
