By SHERI McWHIRTER
Editor's note: Newsmakers '09 explores the stories that made headlines in northwestern Michigan in 2009. Past articles in this series can be read online at record-eagle.com/newsmakers.
GAYLORD -- It's been two months since a small, single-engine plane crashed near Interstate 75 in Otsego County, killing two well-known Gaylord men.
Dr. Patrick J. McNamara, 52, and Christopher A. Hasty, 32, died Oct. 27 when the plane they occupied crashed in a ditch near Vanderbilt. McNamara was the pilot and Hasty rode along in the private plane that departed from Gaylord Regional Airport without filing a flight plan, according to federal documents.
"We definitely lost two very great guys," said Sarah Skowronski, front office manager at Image North, the radiology facility McNamara owned.
Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash and recently issued a preliminary report. Little is known yet beyond the clear weather conditions at the time and the plane's total destruction, according to the report.
"Usually the investigation takes 12 to 18 months to complete the final report. Investigators are doing their documentation to see what they can conclude about the accident," said Keith Holloway, NTSB spokesman.
Witnesses reported the plane circled I-75 and attempted to land on the highway shortly before it crashed. Its cause could be known in coming months, Holloway said.
McNamara was a licensed radiologist for 18 years and built up a busy private practice in Gaylord, where patients are still being treated and a new owner is sought to buy and operate the business, Skowronski said.
McNamara was a passionate Green Bay Packers football fan, and loved to travel and fly his planes, she said.
"He was a great guy, very intelligent, forward-thinking and very motivated," Skowronski said. "At least he died doing something he absolutely loved."
Hasty worked for McNamara in addition to being a part-owner at Total Powersports, a Gaylord all-terrain vehicle and snowmobile dealership.
"Chris was one of those guys when you first met him you knew he was a nice guy and everybody loved him," said Chris Maxon, a friend and sales manager at Total Powersports.
Each day a customer comments about how awful it is that Hasty died, Maxon said.
"It's great to hear, but it's also hard," he said. "It's strange with him not coming in every day. There's definitely a void. But we're trying to pick up the slack and make Chris proud."
Hasty was an avid golfer, salmon fisherman and snowmobile rider, and in recent years grew to love flying with McNamara, his close friend, Maxon said.
The friends often "looked for any excuse" to take to the skies, he said.
