Who is Barrett Bevacqua? Student pilot crashes into Oregon home, dies along with instructor as survivor battles for life
HILLSBORO, OREGON: Two people who died when a small plane crashed into a house in Oregon on Tuesday, October 3, have been identified as a student pilot named Barrett Bevacqua, 20, and his instructor Michele Cavallotti, 22.
The third occupant, another student pilot, Emily Hurd, 20, survived with serious injuries. All three were roommates.
Cavallotti is reportedly an Italian national and was an instructor with the Hillsboro Aero Academy, a flight school that partners with Horizon Air Ascend Pilot Academy where Bevacqua and the survivor, Hurd, were enrolled.
Barrett Bevacqua's father says 'he was a renaissance man'
Bevacqua, who was from Newberg, dreamed of becoming a pilot since he was two years old, his parents have revealed.
“He knew from the time he was two that that’s what he wanted to do, to be a pilot. He was definitely living his dream,” Haley Bevacqua, his mother, told KPTV.
“I tell this story all the time. Everyone else, when they had a two-year-old, was watching 'The Lion King' a hundred times. We watched 'Top Gun' a thousand times," she said.
"He was a renaissance man," Barrett’s father, Matt Bevacqua said, adding, "He brightened up a room, he had a smile that just melted you. He made other people better."
Matt said Barrett was also passionate about football, baseball, singing, cooking and hunting.
He said, “Barrett was a shining star," and that “we're blessed that we had 20 amazing years with him.”
Barrett’s sister, Brooklyn Bevacqua, said he would want people to keep living how Barrett lived.
"And I think our family and all of our friends will do that for him when we can,” Brooklyn Bevacqua said.
Who is Emily Hurd?
Hurd, who hails from Spokane, said she started school at the Hillsboro Aero Academy this year and had been pursuing her goal to become a commercial pilot.
(Emily Hurd/ KXLY)
Josiah Neale, a longtime friend of Hurd, told KXLY that he was shocked to see the video of the plane spiralling down and crashing into the house.
"You see them on the news and you're like, 'Oh wow, that much sucks,' and then you see that video of the plane spiraling down, and you know that's your friend in the cockpit. It's hard to believe," Neale said.
He said Hurd liked adventure. "At first, I was like, 'Oh yeah, of course, she survived,' and then the more I thought about it, I was like, 'Oh, wow'. That's truly just a gift from God. God has a plan for her," he continued.
Emily Hurd had emergency surgery for a broken back
Hurd's family said she had emergency surgery for a broken back and was still under sedation. KXLY reported they had asked for prayers as she battles numerous other injuries.
"We look at all facets of flight, and this was an instructional flight, so they could have been doing a manoeuvre at this point. We just don't know," an NTSB official said on Wednesday, October 4, as per New York Post.
No one in the home on North Cedar Street or on the ground was hurt in the crash. Hillsboro Aero Academy said in a statement that it was "deeply saddened" by the incident and expressed its condolences to the families of the victims.