W.Va. Airman Killed in Crash: ; Charleston Mans Plane Goes Down in Ohio During Aerobatics Test for Air Show Certification
Charleston Daily Mail › December 23, 2011
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Summary
A West Virginia Air National Guard officer and pilot who had recently returned from Iraq was killed when his small plane crashed about 25 miles northwest of Columbus, Ohio. Lt. Col. Michael S. Lakin, 42, of Charleston was pronounced dead Thursday at a hospital near Marysville, Ohio. Lakin, a full-time member of the Guard, previously flew for the state Division of Aviation as an executive transport pilot for Sen. Joe Manchin during his days as governor. He performed in aerobatic maneuvers in air shows in his free time. He was going through recertification procedures Thursday afternoon when he crashed south of the Union County Airport in his personal plane. Ed Rusch, the airports general manager, told The Associated Press the pilot was performing low-altitude aerobatics for an on-site examiner when his plane went down just south of the airports runway in Marysville. Rusch said aerobatic pilots must be recertified periodically to perform at air shows. The pilots are allowed to use the airport for practice and recertification with prior notice. Lakin was alone in his red and white Super Decathlon airplane. Manchin said in a statement released Thursday that he and wife Gayle were sad to hear of Lakins death. Mike was so proud to serve his country and the state of West Virginia, and I am so grateful for his service, the senator said. While no words can give comfort, our thoughts and prayers are with his daughter and entire family during this difficult time. Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin also released a statement Thursday evening. I am deeply saddened to hear of the tragic loss of Lt. Col. Mike Lakin. A well-respected member of the State Division of Aviation and the West Virginia National Guard, Mike had a long history of service to his fellow West Virginians. Joanne and I send our sincere condolences to his family as well as his aviation and National Guard families. On the night before the crash, Lakin, a divorced father of one, was at Christ Church United Methodist on Morris Street in Charlestons East End. Thats where he spent most Wednesday evenings. He was volunteering for the Breaking Bread ministry, a free dinner that church members offer to the community. Pastors at Christ Church, where Lakin was a member, said he was devoted to his daughter and took a special interest in helping others. The Rev. Randy Flanagan, senior pastor, said Lakin also attended the Pathfinder Sunday School class. Flanagan said Lakin was the kind of man who would do anything he could to help you. Associate Pastor Shauna Hyde agreed. A woman came in, she was in a wheelchair, and she asked for a mattress. She was living under a bridge, and Mike was really worried about her and wanted to find her a mattress. Ironically, today (Thursday) we found the mattress, and he didnt even know about it. Hyde said she received the call about the mattress moments after the church was informed of Lakins death. He was really passionate about that ministry and spent time talking to folks, playing with the kids and trying to get folks what they needed, she said. He and I would talk about how we could help the people coming in. Flanagan said Lakin was a good man who loved to serve his country and to fly. Above all he loved his daughter, Katherine. The thing that stands out most is his love for his daughter, the pastor said. Hyde said the girl was the reason Lakin joined Christ Church. He said I want to join the church because thats the church my daughter goes to, and I want her to have memories of her father in the congregation and of me at all the plays and activities, Hyde said. Rob Alsop, chief of staff for Tomblin, also attends Christ Church, and the two mens daughters have become friends. He was a really good guy, Alsop said. I got to know him through our church, and its really sad. Flanagan and Hyde both described Lakin as a deep thinker. Flanagan said he would explore an idea for a long time. Hyde said he often would often come into her office to discuss philosophy, theology, world events or whatever was on his mind. My sense was that he was somebody who was very easy to have a conversation with but loved what he did, Flanagan said. Whenever he had to leave on a mission, he of course couldnt tell us anything but would ask for prayers. Born in Huntington, Lakin was an 11-year member of the Air Guards 130th Airlift Wing and assigned to RC-26 detachment in Clarksburg. The son of a combat-wounded, World War II paratrooper, he started taking flying lessons at age 15 and began flying alone when he was 16, according to a biography on his website. He received his private pilots license as a junior in high school. He earned his commercial pilot certificate at 18 and flight instructor certificate at 19, both while attending Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla. Before joining the Guard, he served in the Marine Corps as an attack helicopter pilot and later as a fixed-wing Naval flight instructor. He left active duty in 1999 and returned to West Virginia, where he joined the Air National Guard and transitioned to the C-130 Hercules. Lakin spent more than a year flying combat missions into Iraq and Afghanistan with the Guard, according to his website. He worked at Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina from 2005 to 2007 on flying in close formations with large aircraft for experimental parachute operations. Lakin was one of a few pilots who flew troops and supplies to and from New Orleans in the weeks after Hurricane Katrina. He recalled what he saw in a 2006 interview with the Daily Mail. He remembered the thousands of National Guard troops who had been called to the devastated southern city. These Guardsmen were beat. They had been down there for some time, Lakin said then. They were sleeping outside like everyone else. Maj. Gen. James Hoyer, state adjutant general, said, Mike Lakin was a true patriot and proud member of the West Virginia Air National Guard. He was a warrior who served his nation in areas around the world including Afghanistan and Iraq. Family members were notified Thursday of the crash. Arrangements are pending.
Mike Lynaugh/Courtesy of WBNS-10 W.Va. Air National Guard Lt. Col. Mike Lakin's red and white Super Decathlon rests in a field Thursday afternoon near the Union County Airport near Marysville, Ohio. Lakin, 42, of Charleston had recently returned from a deployment to Iraq.See the full content of this document
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W.Va. Airman Killed in Crash: ; Charleston Mans Plane Goes Down in Ohio During Aerobatics Test for Air Show Certification
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