FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. — Friends are remembering the 75-year-old Jacksonville pilot who was killed in a plane crash on Friday.
Authorities said Thomas Harvey was the only one on board the private plane when it crashed on its way to Palatka.
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Harvey worked as a pilot at Skydive Palatka. And, if you add up the thousands of hours, he spent flying planes, it’s more than a year of his life spent in the sky.
Skydive Palatka owner Art Shaffer said Harvey was a dear friend whose specialty was not only being a pilot but making everyone laugh.
“In his second life, he’ll probably come back as a standup comedian,” Shaffer said.
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Harvey, also known as Tommy, was known to family and friends as lighthearted and fun.
“He was always smiling and laughing, and he always lit up the room,” Shaffer said.
Shaffer met his friend nearly four decades ago. And when Shaffer bought Skydive Palatka in 2005, Harvey hopped on board as his pilot.
“He’s very experienced; he understood the business. He and I have been friends for 39 years now, so it’s been pretty hard on me and our whole skydiving family,” Shaffer said.
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Harvey was a veteran who served in the Air Force and worked as a crew chief in a flight refueling plane during the Vietnam War.
Shaffer said Harvey had been jumping since 1973 and had over 9,000 flying hours.
Harvey didn’t let his age stop him from going up in the air, either. At age 75, he had more than 1800 jumps.
“You wouldn’t think he is 75 years old,” Shaffer said. “I mean he was just always so full of energy.”
On Friday, Shaffer said he and the company manager were waiting for Harvey to return with the plane.
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“We were actually waiting for him to get here so we could go eat dinner,” Shaffer said. “And I walked in, and Mariah’s following the flight, and she said, ‘I don’t think – I think something is wrong.’”
They went searching for the plane and met with deputies where the plane was found near the Volusia-Flagler County line.
The National Transportation Safety Board said he took off from Sebastian just before 6 p.m. and then crashed in a wooded area almost an hour later.
“It was one of those nights that’s hard to believe – it was just never going to be him,” Shaffer said.
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Since the news broke, hundreds of people have taken to social media to share their happy memories, and condolences.
“We miss you, Tommy,” Shaffer said.
NTSB will be investigating the wreckage in Jacksonville to learn what went wrong.
A preliminary report is expected within 30 days of the accident. The preliminary report will contain factual information gathered during the initial phase of the investigation. A probable cause of the crash, along with any contributing factors, will be detailed in the final report, which is expected in 12-24 months.
Witnesses to the accident or those who have surveillance video or other information that could be relevant to the investigation are asked to contact the NTSB at witness@ntsb.gov.
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