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Three young Niagara men are being remembered for their love of flying following a fatal plane crash in rural Pennsylvania last week.
19-year-old Ben Jeffries is described as an energetic and vibrant young man, who only recently found a passion for flying. Jeffries was learning to fly at the St.Catharines flying club and recently got involved in the Air Force with his uncle.
“This summer he called me up and said I think I am ready and so he came to work with me and chatted with a few Air Force personnel and decided the Air Force was for him and made that decision that flying was his life.” Allan Wallace, Ben’s uncle.
Friends and family poured into the George Darte funeral home in St.Catharines Wednesday to remember both Jefferies and 18-year-old Corey Mijac. Both had graduated from Governor Simcoe Secondary School in and were students at the St.Catharines flying club. Mijac dreamed of becoming a commercial pilot.
Funeral services were also held for 25-year-old instructor Rifat Tawfig. He earned his instructor qualification earlier this year and had about 400 hours of flight experience. The three men were killed after returning from a training flight in the U.S. The small aircraft, a piper cherokee, was flying to Niagara District Airport from Richmond, Virginia when it disappeared from radar. The plane was found a day later in Potter County, Pennsylvania. Investigators say it could be weeks before a cause is determined.
