Three longtime Civil Air Patrol members were killed on Tuesday after their Piper Cherokee Six crashed in a residential neighborhood shortly after taking off from Hawkins Field Airport (HKS) in Jackson, Mississippi.
The CAP Mississippi Wing members killed in the crash included Col. John E. Tilton Jr., former member of the Civil Air Patrol’s board of governors and Alabama Wing and Southeast Region commander; the Mississippi Wing’s standardization/evaluation officer, Lt. Col. David Williams; and Capt. William C. Young, finance officer for the Maj. James McKinnie Composite Squadron.
The Piper PA-32-300 reportedly crashed in a residential area shortly after takeoff at about 5:10 p.m. The men were headed to an FAA safety meeting in Raymond, Mississippi, about 30 miles away.
According to news accounts, one of the pilots on board called the tower for clearance to return to the airport, but within minutes the airplane had crashed. One person in a house suffered minor injuries.
