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Days before his death, meteorologist and pilot Roland Steadham, who was killed in a small plane crash in Idaho, an instructor at a local flight school spoke of his love of flying
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A week before the accident, Stedham visited students at an aviation college to talk about aviation issues
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Studham was on a flight with another passenger when tragedy struck on Tuesday, January 27
Chief meteorologist Roland Steadham, 67, died in a small plane crash in Idaho on Jan. 27, days after he publicly expressed his love of flying.
Jim Baker, an aviation instructor at PR2TA, said Stidham was an experienced pilot and had visited a classroom at PR2TA a week before the fatal crash, Idaho News 6 reported. Baker said he often invites Stidham to speak to students.
“The last thing he said before get out of class was, ‘I’ve enjoyed flying for many years… it’s been very good to me… and I really encourage you to pursue aviation,'” Baker told the outlet.
“‘Flying in the air and seeing the world from a different perspective is everything,’ were his last words to our class,” he added.
Idaho News 6/YouTube
Baker went on to say that he was saddened to learn of Stedham’s death only days after he and his students saw him in person.
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“We have this guy [Steadham] In our classroom, sharing concepts about aviation – like he had done many times before – in this case he was talking about inversions and how to make it go away, so we did a lesson on weather in PR2TA’s aviation class,” Baker said, adding, “To hear this happen… was so tragic. “
“This is what we teach in class, you know, incidents are happening. But when it happens in your backyard, to someone you may know, it hits harder and my heart goes out to the family,” he continued.
Baker added that he hopes the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will eventually determine the cause of the crash so aviation students can at least learn from the tragedy.
“The best encouragement we can tell students is that it’s all about learning and hoping that the same thing doesn’t happen,” he told Idaho News 6. “You know, we have these organizations, including the FAA, to determine what happens in situations like this and how to prevent them from happening again.”
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The Gem County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that officers responded to a report of a plane crash near the Payette River west of Montour, Idaho, at approximately 10:58 a.m. local time on Tuesday, January 27.
A preliminary investigation revealed that “a small aircraft clipped power lines and crashed on the ice in the river.” Officials said two male passengers were on board and died from their injuries.
The accident caused a power outage in the area, and crews immediately began repairs once the scene was secured. Officials did not say who was piloting the plane at the time of the incident.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating the incident, the FAA said in a statement shared with PEOPLE.
“The National Transportation Safety Board is responsible for the investigation and will provide further updates,” the agency said.
PEOPLE reached out to the NTSB on Thursday, Jan. 29, but did not immediately receive a response.
Studham is a husband, father of six and grandfather, according to CBS affiliate KBOI. He was also an experienced pilot who “flew Emmett’s small planes.”
Studham attended the University of Utah and Brigham Young University before beginning a career as a meteorologist in 1995, according to his LinkedIn page. During his more than 30-year career, he has worked at stations in Florida, Utah and Idaho.
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