ERAU student died on flight to earn commercial license
DAYTONA BEACH — Zach Capra was doing what so many people never do. He was living his dream.
Capra's Facebook page is painted with photos from all over the world. There are shots of him standing on majestic mountaintops, and others of breathtaking sunsets in far away places. He had been to the Persian Gulf, Dubai, Croatia, Monaco, Spain and Hawaii.
After four years in the Navy, and two years at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the 25-year-old was on course to become a commercial airline pilot. He was set to graduate May 7, and then if all went well it was off to Atlanta or Alaska to begin a career of floating above the clouds.
It all ended in a mangled pile of wreckage Wednesday morning, when the small plane Capra and an instructor were flying in Daytona Beach suddenly catapulted into the ground.
"This was his last flight to get his license," his stunned father, John Capra, said in a phone interview Thursday from his Colorado home. "That was his dream and his passion. He wanted to travel the world. He was just starting his adventure."
Capra and a Federal Aviation Administration pilot examiner were practicing routine take-offs and landings when one of the aircraft's wings fell off, causing the catastrophic crash that killed them, a federal investigator said Thursday. That teacher was John S. Azma, an experienced pilot examiner and father of four sons. Azma was the founder of AZMA Flt Inc. of Orlando.
Azma's wife, Isabelle, posted on Facebook Thursday afternoon that "few details are known at this time. As information becomes available, we will inform you."
The plane — a Piper PA-28 aircraft, better known as an Arrow — crashed sometime around 9:45 a.m. Wednesday in a cow field along Tomoka Farms Road near the Daytona Flea & Farmers Market. Witnesses said they saw the wing detach before the crash.
Aaron McCarter, an air safety investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, said the Piper Arrow is a commonly used aircraft.
"There is no reason to think there are any holistic problems" with the plane, McCarter said during a news conference Thursday morning about a quarter-mile from the crash site.
McCarter also said that a wing detaching from a plane in mid-air is "very uncommon." He emphasized the maintenance records for that particular plane will be reviewed.
The pair was working on "touch-and-go maneuvers," which basically means the student was practicing how to take off and land the aircraft, McCarter said. The wing fell off the plane during the "cruise climb" following take off, he added.
The wreckage was still on the scene Thursday morning, but McCarter said he anticipated removing it later in the day and taking it to an indoor facility in Jacksonville where a "closer examination" could be conducted.
A preliminary report is expected to be finished within 10 days. A full report takes about 18 months to complete, McCarter said.
Flight operations at Embry-Riddle resumed Thursday for all of the school's planes except the Piper Arrow, the model involved in Wednesday's crash, said Ginger Pinholster, assistant vice president for news and research communications. Those planes will remain tied down until full inspections can be conducted, which will probably take at least a week.
Embry-Riddle President P. Barry Butler confirmed the identities of the two people who lost their lives in the crash in an email sent across the campus about 3 p.m. Thursday, saying he was "deeply saddened" to share the news of the "tragic aircraft accident."
Butler wrote that Capra had planned to graduate with a bachelor's degree in aeronautics. He was a member of Embry-Riddle’s Student Veterans Organization, having transferred to the university following his service in the Navy from 2012 to 2016. Capra had been an aviation boatswain's mate on the USS Harry S. Truman.
Capra graduated from Mountain Range High School in Westminster, Colo., and he attended Adam State University in 2011. Butler said Capra was an aspiring pilot who was described by a friend as "someone who smiled often and never hesitated to provide encouragement to others." Butler said in his written statement that Azma "was well known and respected by many in the Embry-Riddle community. He was a highly decorated FAA-designated pilot examiner as well as a pilot proficiency examiner and a flight instructor. John had at least 20 years of flight experience and nearly a dozen unique jet aircraft-type ratings. His proficiencies encompassed many aircraft, from single-engine piston aircraft to multi-engine turbine powered jets. He was known for his calm professionalism in the cockpit."
Butler said the NTSB is conducting an in-depth investigation, and the school is working closely with authorities "to support their efforts in any way we can."
"We will provide additional information on an ongoing basis, as soon as we possibly can," Butler said. "We have all been shocked and devastated by this tragedy."
He said campus members in need of support are encouraged to contact the Counseling Center or the chaplain's office.
John Capra said there will be a memorial service on campus at noon Monday. He'll be there along with his, wife, Patsy. She was Zach Capra's stepmother, and had been in his life since he was 8 years old. His birthmother is Janet Swink of Colorado. He had one brother and three sisters.
John and Patsy Capra will fly to Daytona Beach on Friday to bring home their son's remains. They had already purchased other plane tickets to come for the graduation ceremony next month, and they were trying to decide on a gift. John Capra said it doesn't fully seem real.
"Being so far away, there's not the finality of it yet," he said.
The 54-year-old father said his nightmare began Wednesday morning when he was at work and happened to look at ERAU's website. He saw a post about the crash, so he texted his son. He waited for a reply, and he waited some more.
When he heard nothing back, he contacted the school. About 30 minutes later, a chaplain called back. It's been a surreal blur since.
He's thinking back to the quiet little boy who always had a smile and a hunger for adventure. The talented athlete who loved hockey and lacrosse. The teenager who spent his life in Denver, enlisted in the Navy, and trained in Chicago and Pensacola.
John Capra said his son "cared about other people more than himself."
"He inspired and he pushed people to do what he did, achieve his dreams," he said.
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