|
Flight ends in tragedy
 Media Credit: Mary Collins
Jeremy Collins, SCSU aviation major, died in an August plane crash.
|
|
Jeremy Collins is flying with angels.
The SCSU senior died in a plane crash Aug. 13.
Collins, 22, a professional flight major, was piloting a Cessna 172 Skyhawk from St. Cloud to his hometown of Phillips, Wis. when his plane went down in a cornfield northeast of Shell Lake, Wis. He was the sole occupant of the aircraft. The crash occurred about 11:30 p.m. in VFR (visual flight rules) weather. He was not flying an SCSU Aero Club aircraft.
"He had flown to St. Cloud to go to the (Twin) Cities and take his multi-engine CFI (certified flight instructor rating) checkride for flying," Jeremy's mother Mary said, "and he finished that and was on his way home back to Phillips when the crash occurred."
The crash was reported early in the morning of Aug. 14, when Jeremy was officially pronounced dead. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the accident. Nothing conclusive has yet surfaced, but the investigation will not be completed for three or four months, Mary said.
Steve Anderson, SCSU associate professor in the aviation department, said, "There is no accident report out necessarily, it's certainly not finalized, so we don't speculate."
Mary said her family could not imagine what might have happened to Jeremy, who had logged almost 400 hours of flight time.
"He's flown at night a lot," she said. "He had his instrument license. He had his commercial license. He had his multi-engine license. He was experienced. We have no idea what happened. He'd been flying for five years."
Anderson added, "Just a tragedy."
Jeremy's mother said he decided to attend SCSU because of the university's nationally accredited aviation program, and because SCSU was not too far from his hometown.
Anderson said that Jeremy was just about to graduate.
"We went back and looked and he had completed all of his course requirements, so I guess he will graduate now," Anderson said. Jeremy's family will receive his diploma.
In addition to his mother, Jeremy is survived by his father George and his sister Jenny.
Before coming to SCSU, Jeremy went to Phillips High School, where he was active in a variety of sports, especially wrestling, Mary said.
"He wrestled from kindergarten through high school," she said. He loved doing construction-type work and carpentry. He also enjoyed riding his Honda motorcycle and working on his 1977 Chevy truck that Mary said he "rebuilt from the bottom up."
"Jeremy enjoyed anything that went fast," she said. "I'm not sure when he started his love for flying but he got his private pilot's (license) when he was in high school yet. He planned on going into the Marines this fall, to the pilot program."
Ultimately, his dream was to become an airline pilot working for a major airline.
"Then he wanted to make enough money so he could open a hotrod shop and build hotrods," she recalled. "He knew how to party and have a good time, but he also knew what he wanted out of life, and he went for it.
"We're trying to remember the good things. Jeremy definitely lived a full life in his 22 years. He made an impact on all the people he met and he didn't sit around and waste any time. He did everything he wanted to do. He loved flying."
|
|
|
|
|
|
