Officials identify flight instructor, former military pilot as 2 who perished in New Castle County plane crash
NEWARK, Delaware (WPVI) -- Christina Daniels says her marriage to Terrence Daniels marked the best 15 years of her life.
"My husband was the most amazing person," she said.
Terrence Daniels, who lived in West Mt. Airy, and his passenger, Albert Dohring of Delaware, were killed this weekend when Terrence's plane crashed in New Castle County, Delaware moments after taking off from New Castle County Airport.
Christina says her 52-year-old husband will be remembered as a decorated war veteran who was badly wounded in Iraq, but still had the wherewithal to continue chasing his dreams.
"He didn't give up. He went to St. Joe's to get his master's degree in Organizational Dynamics in Leadership with a 3.97 GPA, and he took them classes from a hospital bed," she says.
He then earned his doctorate from Drexel University and went on to work for the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
Of course, he was also an avid pilot, recording a string of videos documenting his love of flying.
But his true love was always his family.
Holding back tears, Christina says, "He was my biggest supporter. He lived for his family. He lived to make us happy and he made me happy every day."
His passenger, Albert Dohring, also had a passion for the sky. The 79-year-old Delaware native was a certified commercial pilot and flight instructor.
We spoke with his close friend, Helen Grubb, who says that while this certainly is a tragedy, she finds comfort knowing that Albert died doing what he loved.
"He was always very calm no matter what the situation. So, I know that he was probably thinking, we're just gonna turn around and come back and everything will be fine. I know that because he was just that kind of person," Grubb said.
But Christina says finding comfort in any of this is proving the elusive saying, "I just don't know how it's going to be without him."
The NTSB is still investigating the crash.
