A 22-year-old pilot from Cambridge is being mourned after a fatal plane crash in Saskatchewan.
Jaden Hallman had moved west for a job and lost his life doing what his step-mom said he loved most - flying.
“It’s the worst phone call you could ever pick up… and you don’t believe it,” said Alanna Sisto-Hallman.
She said even at an early age Jaden was fascinated with airplanes so it made sense that he became a pilot but never imagined a tragedy like this would happen to her little boy.
“I take comfort in him doing what he loved and I know if he had the opportunity again, he would 100 per cent be back up in the skies,” said Sisto-Hallman.
The Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident. In an email, a TSB spokesperson confirmed a plane was conducting a routine pipeline inspection near the town of Shaunavon Saskatchewan when it struck a 466-foot communications tower. The pilot and passenger died and the aircraft was destroyed.
“I guess the thing that constantly repeats over and over in my head is that laugh, it was infectious,” said Sisto-Hallman through tears, “we will just see him in everything we do, we’ll miss him.”
Jaden’s best friend, Ahmed Kahlili said they met in 2017 at the Waterloo-Wellington flight center’s aviation program.
He said Jaden’s death still has not set in yet but he will cherish all the memories and inside jokes they shared.
“We were mostly inseparable at the school and got into so many shenanigans,” said Kalili.
The death is also felt at the flight centre. One of Jaden’s flight instructors, Rebecca Bailey said she hopes more students like him will have the same passion for flying.
“I’ll keep his memory alive when I’m teaching others and hope that they take that and onto their own flying careers,” said Bailey.
A fundraiser is set up to support Jaden’s family during their time of grief.
