Dad of 4 and Delta Pilot Killed in Plane Crash Remembered as ‘Beloved Husband and Father’

Dad of 4 and Delta Pilot Killed in Plane Crash Remembered as ‘Beloved Husband and Father’ https://ift.tt/gsxDijF

Justin Westbrooks was one of two confirmed deaths in the Florida plane crash

Justin Westbrooks.
Credit: GoFundMe

NEED TO KNOW

• Justin Westbrooks, a Delta pilot and father of four, died in a crash involving his World War II-era plane
• A GoFundMe has been created to support his partner, Amanda, and their four children
• Westbrooks graduated from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and worked his way up to captain at Delta Air Lines

A Florida man was identified as one of the victims in a plane crash on Monday, April 13.

Justin Westbrooks, a pilot for Delta and a father of four, was flying his World War II-era AT-6D “Texan” plane when it crashed near the Williston Regional Airport in Williston, Fla.

Westbrooks and another unnamed passenger both died in the crash.

Justin Westbrooks.
Credit: GoFundMe

Flight instructor Thomas Porter operates out of the Williston Regional Airport.

“We go through multiple hours of ground training, a lot of flight time, we go through all the weather, physics, aerodynamics, all that stuff, so it's a pretty good amount of information you go through to get your license,” he told WCJB. “A lot of the time, it just boils down to sometimes it's something the pilot doesn't have control over. Maybe a flight control fails, or something in the fuel or the engine was bad, it's not something they can recover from.”

Justin Westbrooks (far right) with family.
Credit: GoFundMe

“There are times when there's not really anything you can do, but we can at least minimize the chances, you know, making sure that you're doing your correct pre-flight, all of your flight controls look good, the oil samples, fuel samples, quantities, all the stuff,” Porter added. “So really just putting the nail on the head, making sure that your training is done correctly and that you're in the right mind space, the right headspace, and it always is just really, really sad when this kind of thing happens.”

Westbrooks' loved ones are now honoring him in a GoFundMe, which will benefit his partner, Amanda Westbrooks, and their children.

The fundraiser explains that Westbrooks attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and graduated with an Aeronautical Science degree in 2009.

From there, he was a first officer at Atlantic Southeast Airlines from 2010 to 2016.

Westbrooks then began working at Delta as a first officer on the B-737.

He eventually became a captain and Line Check Airman on the B-757/B-767 aircraft. He was also described as a "beloved husband and father."

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Justin Westbrooks with cows.
Credit: GoFundMe

"His sudden loss has left a deep void in the lives of his family and all who knew him," the fundraiser page reads.

They added, "Now, Amanda faces the immense challenge of raising their four children on her own. She is a devoted stay-at-home mom who homeschools Kensie, Barrett, Logan, and Peyton."

PEOPLE reached out to the Levy County Sheriff's Office for comment, but they did not immediately respond.