Link to article in Skyward Aviation's hometown paper:
http://observer-reporter.com/main.as...SectionID=&S=1
More from same source:
Jonathan Martin's wrapped Christmas presents were awaiting his return home when the plane he was piloting crashed in poor weather Wednesday on the West Coast, killing him and another local pilot.
The second victim, Brett Karpy, had just celebrated his 34th birthday vacationing with his family in Florida before returning to work at the Washington County Airport-based Skyward Aviation.
Their families on Thursday were preparing funerals after receiving word that the Learjet 35-A the men were flying had crashed short of a runway in Truckee, Calif., en route to pick up two passengers. The pilots were the only people on board at the time of the crash.
"We're devastated. It's just a nightmare," said William Karpy of Eighty Four, the pilot's father.
Martin's ex-wife, Nancy, of Prosperity, said the couple's two sets of twins also were devastated.
"It's the most horrible thing they could ever imagine," she said Thursday.
The plane was met with rain and wind gusts of up to 40 mph at Truckee Tahoe Airport north of Lake Tahoe, said Placer County Sheriff's Sgt. John Giovannini. The airport had issued a warning on its Web page saying pilots might encounter "turbulence, downdrafts and wind shear." The flight left Twin Falls, Idaho, sometime between noon and 1 p.m. PST before crashing in a ball of flames about an hour later.
Skyward President Ronald A. Corrado issued a brief, typed statement Thursday, confirming that the two crew members were from the Washington area. He referred additional comment to the National Transportation Safety Board.
The NTSB said the plane was flying a "positioning flight," one that moved the crew from one place to another to pick up passengers. The plane crashed 28 feet short of the runway, an NTSB spokeswoman said.
Nancy Martin said two men from Skyward came to her home in Prosperity Wednesday night to tell her about the crash and that there were no survivors.
Martin, of Washington, is survived by twins, Amy and A.J., both 13, and 10-year-olds Kelly and Caity.
He was a former paramedic at Washington Ambulance & Chair Service, where he was remembered Thursday as being a model employee, outgoing and dedicated to his work.
"It's a sad day here," said Rodney Rohrer, operations manager of the ambulance service. "All of our employees are pretty low today. They had a lot of respect for him."
Martin also had his own woodworking shop and had made furniture for people.
Karpy was a graduate of Canon-McMillan High School.
"He was a really good kid," said Canonsburg Councilwoman Jean Popp, a longtime friend of the man's aunt, Dorothy Vehar. "He did so good for himself."
Karpy, who lived with his parents, was relatively new to Washington County Airport, having previously flown from Allegheny County Airport. He was seriously injured about four years ago in a wind-gliding accident in North Carolina, Popp said.
He also is survived by his mother, Joyce, and a brother, Royce.