Who was Craig Hutain? Montgomery pilot who started flying at age 10 was among victims of Dallas air crash
DALLAS, TEXAS: Six have been confirmed dead in the horrific Dallas mid-air crash on Saturday, November 12, at Dallas Executive Airport. Two historic airplanes, a B-17 Flying Fortress and one Bell P-63 Kingcobra crashed mid-air during the Dallas air show.
A Montgomery pilot, Craig Hutain, was one among those who died in the terrible collision. He started flying for the airlines in 1982 and has flying hours of more than 34500 in total. His friend, Dale McLeod, stated that they've both flown together off and on for 25 years. He further added that Hutain "lit up any room he was in," and described Hutain as "one of the best pilots I've ever flown with," reported WFAA.
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Who was Craig Hutain?
Craig was born in Montgomery and obtained a license to fly in 1975. He has flown some major flights, including North American T-6 and P-51 Mustang, Bell P-63 and P-39, Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, B-777, B-737, MD-80, Falcon 50 and 900, DeHavilland Twin Otter and Dash 7. According to Tora Tora Tora.com, he stated, "Started flying with my father when 10 years old, in a J-3 cub. Developed a love for sport flying, Biplanes, Radial engines, and Aerobatics after moving west and working at Santa Paula Airport (California). Soloed at 17 years old." According to the outlet, he is married to Lori for 20 years and has two children, Traci and Kelli. His four grandchildren are Leon, Jude, Arlo, and Paige.
He also became a flight instructor and taught Primary, Tailwheel, Instrument flight training, and Aerobatics. However, he started flying for the airlines in 1982. Craig is also rated as an Airline Transport, Commercial Glider, and Seaplane Pilot, as well as a Flight Instructor. Meanwhile, he also owns a Vans RV-8 and began flying with the CAF (Commemorative Air Force) in 2009. During his tenure, he also flew the CAF aircraft including, North American P-51 MUSTANG, Dixie Wing, Atlanta, Bell P-39 AIRACOBRA, Centex Wing, Bell P-63 KINCOBRA (2), P-63 Sponsor Group, Houston, Dixie Wing, Atlanta, and Tora Tora Tora: Zero, Kate.Val. According to his Facebook profile, he studied Aeronautical engineering at California Polytechnic State University.
Meanwhile, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said the National Transportation Safety Board was leading the investigation and was trying to understand the cause of the tragedy. “One of the things we would probably most likely be trying to determine is why those aircraft were co-altitude in the same air space at the same time,” Michael Graham, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, said at a news conference.