Friends remember pilot John Latham who died in a private plane crash

HAYMARKET, Va. – Friends are remembering a beloved Prince William County pilot who died in a private plane crash Sunday.

Officials said a Rockwell International Commander 690A plane crashed in Fluvanna County before 9 a.m. Sunday. Both the pilot, 63-year-old John Latham of Haymarket, and the passenger, 73-year-old Niiben Ayivorh of Burke, died in the crash. The two men were en route to South Carolina from Manassas Regional Airport, where Ayivorh also had his own plane, according to the airport director.

Cal Brown said he became friends with Latham, a commercial real estate agent and property manager, more than 20 years ago and was also his financial advisor. Brown said he asked Latham to help him sell his Gainesville home before moving to Florida a few years ago. Since then, they have seen each other several times at charity golf tournaments.

“It was just a real shock,” Brown told WUSA9. “He firmly believed in Jesus Christ. He loved God and loved his family. The words that come to mind about him are love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, kindness, generosity and self-control. He was just the salt of the earth.”

Kevin Kelly also knew Latham through charity events.

“John, I, the mutual friend and another friend were on a golf trip to Myrtle Beach years ago and John flew us out, it’s a great memory,” Kelly said in a statement. “He was a good and experienced pilot and I find it difficult to understand what could have gone wrong.”

If anything, friends described Latham’s quiet way of serving the community by helping at his church, providing food and sending seniors to certain services.

“He didn’t talk about it,” Brown added. “He just spoke quietly. He did a lot of good for a lot of people, but he didn’t brag about it. He just did it.”

Latham’s family has asked for privacy in their grief.

Two National Transportation Safety Board agents surveyed the scene of an accident in Palmyra on Tuesday to document the crash site before taking the wreckage to a facility for further examination. NTSB is expected to release a preliminary report within the month, but the final cause will not be known for another year or two.

The agency said it was seeking help recovering an engine, propeller and other airframe parts that came loose while flying north-south on a route near Miles Jackson Road in Fluvanna County. In this area, some aircraft parts have already been recovered from a nearly five-kilometer-long debris field.

Anyone who finds material believed to have come from the aircraft, witnessed any part of the crash sequence, or has information they believe is relevant to the investigation should contact the NTSB at [email protected] turn around.

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