Two killed in deadly vintage airplane crash identified
Both the pilot and the passenger of a World War II-era aircraft that crashed in Fredericksburg have now been identified.
The Associated Press reports that Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Orlando Moreno has identified the pilot as 73-year-old Cowden Ward, Jr. of Burnet and the passenger as 93-year-old Vincent Losada of San Antonio.
Both men were killed when the vintage airplane crashed into the parking lot of an apartment complex during a World War II re-enactment show.
Ward Jr. was the owner of Pecos Bill, the North American P-51D that crashed. According to the Freedom Flyers, Bowden honored over 130 WWII Veterans and Purple Heart Recipients veterans with flights in his P51 - completely free of charge - to thank them for their service to our country. He also did fly-over tributes at WWII Veterans' funerals & events.
Cowden Ward Jr. was also involved with the Highland Lakes Squadron CAF.
The pilot's identity was confirmed in a Facebook post by Cal Pacific Airmotive Inc.
Oshkosh Warbirds Squadron #32, a chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association's Warbirds of America division, released the following statement to FOX 7 Austin following the crash.
Cowden Ward was well known in the warbirds (restored vintage military aircraft) community as a person who was truly passionate about honoring veterans. As the owner and pilot of the restored WWII-era North American Aviation P-51 Mustang affectionately known as "Pecos Bill", Cowden gave countless free rides to veterans in his airplane. He was extremely generous with his time and airplane in doing this for veterans, particularly WWII vets. It was his way to give back for their service to our country. There are hundreds of people all over the country with stories about Cowden Ward's generosity and passion for honoring veterans. Cowden Ward was the kind of person that others in the warbird community looked up to. He set the bar high as an example of how to honor veterans. His loss is felt very deeply by all of us that own, fly, maintain, or admire vintage military aircraft.
Freedom Flyers released the following statement regarding the passing of Bowden:
"Bowden founded Freedom Flyers it was his mission to honor our nations veterans. He felt honored to be able to own and fly the plane and he wanted to share that with those who served our Nation. Cowden was a civilian but he had the highest respect for our nations service men and women, more than anyone else I have ever known. He was also a member of ICAS, the international council of airshows. He participated in airshows and events across the state and many other states. He would always honor a veteran or two with flights in the 51 at those events. Often times the Veterans he flew were people he had met while showing the plane on static display at these airshows. He could see their love for the plane and he knew how much it would mean to them to get to fly in one. The P51 is considered the Holy Grail of Warbirds and Vintage Aircraft, a flight in one is a once in a lifetime experience for most, and he loved sharing those flights more than anything else"
It was not immediately clear what caused the crash.
The FAA and NTSB are currently investigating the crash.