A young pilot has died in a plane crash, moments after releasing parachutists and waving them off with a heartwarming message.
Melanie Georger, 26, checked in with passenger Jeffrey Walker before he made his first jump over Niagara Falls on Saturday.
Walker said her kindness boosted his confidence and her gentle encouragement made him feel reassured to take the plunge.
“I’ve never been nervous, I’ve never been nervous at the door,” he said. told WIVB-TV.
But when Georger tried to land the plane, just half an hour after Walker made his jump, she crashed on the Niagara Scenic Parkway in Youngstown, New York, the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office said. has revealed.
Melanie Georger, 26, died in a plane crash on Saturday morning
She had just finished releasing parachutists and was apparently on her way back to the ground when she crashed near the Niagara Scenic Parkway
She was the only person on board the single-engine Cessna at the time and was killed in the crash.
Walker said he wasn’t worried about Georger’s young age, describing her to WKBW as “super nice” as they flew over Niagara Falls in “beautiful weather, not much wind.”
“This is just a random accident,” Walker claimed. “Something went wrong — either she had a medical emergency or something happened to the plane.”
He said he feels blessed to be alive.
“For some reason God left me on Earth, and I’m blessed to still be here,” he told the local news station, continuing to wonder why he had been spared.
“Why didn’t it happen when I was up there? Why didn’t it happen when we were all in the plane?” he asked, describing the situation as “surreal.”
First-time skydiver Jeffrey Walker said Georger personally connected with him and shared words of encouragement about his tandem skydiving partner, which boosted his confidence
The Niagara County Sheriff’s Office said it first received calls about a brush fire on the side of the highway around 11:40 a.m. Saturday from drivers who couldn’t see the wreck. reports the Buffalo News.
Officers and other officers who arrived at the scene found the wreckage of the single-engine Cessna 208B at the bottom of a slope.
Authorities announced at the time that the pilot had been killed in the crash, and Georger’s father said later that day that the victim was his daughter.
“Friends and family, my life as I know it ends today,” he said wrote on Facebook.
‘My beloved daughter, my best friend and one of the two bright spots in my life, passed away suddenly today.
‘Melanie was a pilot, on the verge of fulfilling her dream of flying for the airline. She was doing what she loved most, flying for a local skydiving company, when her plane crashed.
‘To my tweety pie, my girl, my lover and my heart, I can’t wait for the day we can be together again, and until then I will have a big hole in my heart and never ending pain.’
Deputies and Niagara County Sheriff’s officers found the single-engine Cessna on a hillside
He added on Sunday: “The first week of October 2022, my long-term relationship ended, I got COVID, and I learned that my dog, who I had raised from a puppy, had cancer and didn’t have long to live.
I always said this was the worst week of my life.
“This is exponentially worse and it will last much longer than a week.”
Angela Borczuch, a friend of Georger, also expressed her condolences on social media, saying they met while playing hockey and “quickly became friends.”
‘Mel always made me laugh. On bus rides to away games I always made sure I sat next to her because she could brighten up any day with her humor,’ she wrote.
‘From the day I met her, Mel made it clear that her dream was to become a pilot. She achieved her goal and took to the skies.
“Rest in peace, Mel. Your smile and light will be missed.”
Melanie’s father, Paul, described her as ‘one of the two bright spots in my life’
He wrote on Facebook that he will have a “huge hole in his heart and never ending pain” until he is reunited with his daughter
Walker, the paratrooper, also said he complimented Georger on “wanting to do what she did.”
“I really feel sorry for the company she worked for because they’re a great company,” he added. “I thought they did a great job with the training.”
The National Transportation Safety Board is currently investigating the cause of the crash.