Jason Flood was supposed to take part in a big aerobatic competition this weekend at Hammonton Municipal Airport. Instead, his fellow pilots are hoping he’ll pull through after being critically injured in a plane crash this week.
“We miss him. We’re all praying for him and hoping everything will be alright," said Dennis Thompson.
Jason, 20, was at the controls Tuesday when a banner plane he was flying went down at a grass field in Egg Harbor Township, Atlantic County, New Jersey.
"It went straight down and it was spinning, straight down into the ground," said a 911 caller.
Firefighters had to cut Jason out of the wreckage.
“It had to be catastrophic to happen, for him not to be able to get out of a situation,” said David Crescenzo who knows Jason. "He's very gifted. Very talented. Very conscientious pilot. He's not a risk-taker."
Jason first flew with his dad when he was 12 and has been flying solo since he was 16. He has a love for aerobatics and flies his own plane when he competes in airshows. On Tuesday, he was flying another plane, trying to pick up or hook an advertising banner, when police say he either lost control or the plane had a mechanical problem. Fellow pilots say they'd be surprised if human error caused the plane to go down.
“He’s a safe pilot. He’s a good pilot, even though he’s young, he’s got more experience than most of these guys you’ll see fly today," Thompson said.
Jason is in critical condition at Cooper University Hospital. It could take federal investigators a year or more to issue their findings on what caused the crash.
