LAS VEGAS (KGTV) -- Friends of a San Diego pilot killed in a Las Vegas plane crash in late October said he had years of experience.
Friends identified the pilot as Robert Golo.
The passenger, 35-year-old Tyrone Calabar, was also killed.
“It was kind of a shock to everybody. We still can’t believe it,” said fellow pilot and Golo’s friend, Flynn Ortiz. “He was so well known and so well respected.”
On the morning of October 29th, the plane crashed near Raven Avenue, several miles southwest of the Las Vegas strip. Witnesses told the Clark County Fire Department they saw the plane flying low before hearing the crash.
The plane was supposed to be heading back to Gillespie Field.
Ortiz said he and Golo’s planes were parked next to each other at Gillespie Field. “I’ve known him for a couple years. I’ve flown with him quite a bit,” Ortiz said.
Ortiz said because of his charter license, Golo was under more scrutiny and underwent more inspections. “He owned the airplane that was involved in the accident, another twin-engine airplane, and a small jet. He was very well experienced.”
According to Golo’s LinkedIn page, he had operated Air Charter Express since the late 1980s.
Both the NTSB and the FAA are investigating. A preliminary report is set to be released in the upcoming days. The official cause of the accident likely will not come for at least a year, according to the NTSB.
