A son speaking out after his father was one of two people who died in a plane crash this week.
A Piper PA28-161 was on a long flight lesson, crisscrossing the state. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, they took off in Pompano Beach, went to Sarasota, then Melbourne, and then made their way back to West Palm Beach.
Thats when the unthinkable happened.
“As a son, I can only say he was an amazing person and a father," Giorgio Damjanic said.
329 medal events. 32 sports. Endless drama. Catch all the action at the Paris Olympics. Sign up for our free Olympics Headlines newsletter.
The 22-year-old, who is named after his father, said his old man was a musician and educator. The last time he was his father was in Italy for his graduation, a week before the unthinkable happened.
“It was kind of shocking, a regular person doesn’t notice it in the moment, but even now it’s hard to realize it’s a difficult time, as you can imagine,” Giorgio said.
On Wednesday at 2 p.m., there were reports of a plane crash at a pond in North Palm Beach County Airport after the NTSB said they were performing a touch-and-go landing.
Local
It left two dead: a flight instructor, and Giorgio’s father, a private pilot who was finishing his last lesson before his rating exam.
It was a dream almost fulfilled.
“The funny thing was that he lived basically his entire life on a plane," Giorgo said. "A lot of times he would say if anyone asks me where I live, I’m just gonna say on a plane.”
The National Transportation Safety Board said as of Friday they do not know the cause of the crash, but over the next 30 days will be examining flight track data, air traffic control records, aircraft maintenance records, weather conditions, personal history of those on board, additional videos and more.
"An NTSB investigator arrived on site the morning of July 11 to begin the process of documenting the scene and examining the aircraft. The plane has been recovered to an offsite facility for further examination," the NTSB said in a statement.
Family members are waiting for the answers that NTSB’s preliminary report will hopefully provide.
But as of now, Giorgio said he’s finding closure in this tragedy.
“He died happy. And he died doing what he loved. And that’s an important thing for us to think about especially in this time," he said.
