Flower Mound Man Remembered After Dying In Plane Crash
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DENTON CO. (CBSDFW.COM) - Friends of a pilot who died in a plane crash say there was no nicer man in the Denton County aviation community.
Bill Graves, 52, died when his plane crashed Wednesday night, six miles short of the Denton Municipal Airport.
Graves had 28 years' flying experience and was piloting a Cessna 441. Friends say Graves was returning home from a business trip to Minnesota.
A husband to his wife Sue, and afather of six children ages five to 20 years old, Graves loved his family very much, his friend say.
He was also a highly successful business man, who owned nearly 100 Domino's Pizza stores in the Midwest.
The family made Flower Mound their home a year ago.
Stephen Dickerson's hangar is right next door to Graves' at the Denton Municipal Airport.
Not long after the crash, Dickerson says he received a phone call of the type of plane and route involved, and right away he knew his friend was involved.
"You couldn't ask for a better person at this airport," said Dickerson. He recalls the kindness of Graves.
"Just how polite and gentle he was. He was understanding and willing to do whatever it took to make people happy. He was that kind of a man," said Dickerson.
Conditions were foggy and misty at the time of the crash, but investigators say it is too early to tell if weather – or human or mechanical error – played a role.
Thursday, the NTSB investigators returned to the Argyle field where the plane went down to document the wreckage. It will likely be 12 to 18 months before a cause is determined.
Jeremiah Howard witnessed the crash.
"It looked like it was doing something [spinning] when it was coming down. You could see the green light on it, and you could smell a lot of fuel," said Howard.
Aviation sources who saw the flight data say the plane was flying too low and too slow for the landing.
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