We remember those who have died while following their passion.

Many of you still have questions. I do, too. Here is what I know about the incident and events leading up to it:

The Advanced Helicopter Youth Foundation (AHYF) was started by Neal Lanning, the co-owner of Advanced Helicopter Concepts (AHC). Neal's son was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder and had to be placed in a treatment center called Advent Home offering 24-hour care and supervision. While at Advent Home Neal noticed many of the patients leave due to lack of funding and he wanted to help these children stay in a place that can help them.

Willem and Alice Meiners, Dr. Mitch Luchansky, and myself helped start the foundation. Neal wanted to kick off things with a flight of helicopters to Advent Home. Niall Booth joined our team to help organize the "Heli-Flight For Hope," scheduled for September.

The flight they were on, on July 23 was for the Hagerstown Business Association, meeting with prominent business people to raise money and awareness of mental health issues and drug/alcohol problems in teenagers.  The helicopter was privately owned by Marsan Aviation, and the use of the helicopter was donated to Advanced Helicopter Youth Foundation.

Jeff Nordaas was the pilot on the flight to Hagerstown and back. I don’t know where anyone else was sitting in the helicopter. The event completed around 8 p.m. Because of poor weather, Jeff delayed departing from Hagerstown for over two hours. Power lines were involved in the helicopter's crash; I am sure you all have seen the media's pictures. Right now, there aren't answers to why this happened or what preceded the event. Jeff was a tremendous pilot and made very safe decisions. He always erred on the side of caution when flying. We hope investigations by the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration will help us better understand what caused this tragedy.

I wish I could offer an explanation or justification for this accident. But today there are only questions. Still, I firmly believe that God will use this heartbreaking experience for good, whatever that may be.

Some of you may not have had the pleasure of knowing each of those who perished. Here are a few of my thoughts and memories of the four. Please forgive any oversights; I am still grieving.

JEFF NORDAAS

Jeff has been a flight instructor with us since February. He was one of the most gifted and natural pilots I have met. He was dual-rated in both airplanes and helicopters and loved flying. His father has flown helicopters for many years and he was instrumental in teaching Jeff how to fly. Jeff’s father also flies helicopters in the North Sea. Jeff was planning on following in his father's footsteps after gaining more experience. Jeff loved helping out wherever was needed, but his passion was teaching people how to fly. He was a talented, extremely patient instructor who was always willing to come in early or stay late to help a student out. Jeff is survived by his parents and his brothers.

GEORGE TUTOR

George had been training with us since August 2007. He was a former Navy Seal, turned private pilot working on his instrument and commercial ratings. Before George started training, he was involved with hang gliding. He loved being in the air – whether in a helicopter or in a hang glider. George worked as an electrician while learning to fly and would often get off work early to come in and hang out with the flight instructors. Advanced hired George in June 2009 as our office manager and he always arrived early and stayed late to help out. At work he often spoke of his daughter Jessica and how proud he was of her for standing up to peer pressure. We loved George's sense of humor and ability to quickly tell a joke or funny story. George is survived by his mother, father and one child.

NIALL BOOTH

Niall's company SaleBridge Solutions was hired by Advanced Helicopter Youth Foundation to organize and promote the "Heli-Flights For Hope." Niall’s passion for aviation and desire for helping others brought him to our foundation at exactly when he was needed. The foundation decided that there was a need to hire someone outside because the flight was beginning to be too large for any of the board members to handle. On a rainy Thursday afternoon Niall walked into Advanced Helicopter Concepts looking for any type of work. Little did Niall know that two days before, the foundation's board had met to discuss how the event was becoming more than they could handle and they desperately needed help. God put Niall in front of the foundation at the right time. His family has asked us to continue our mission to help at-risk youth through the foundation and continue the quest to better our community. Niall is survived by his wife and two children.

KIM FELIX

I wish I knew more about Kim, but spent only a few minutes with her before the flight. Kim, her husband and three children are members of Damascus Road Community Church. During our conversation, she mentioned one of her girls was starting college this year. Kim was nervous about her leaving home. Kim is survived by her husband and three children.

We have been strengthened, encouraged and prodded by the families of those who died to continue the foundation's work. By carrying on in the face of this tragedy, we will honor their memories. Their deaths will not be in vain. The "Heli-Flights for Hope" will go on as planned in September. Additionally, we are setting up scholarship funds for the six children who have lost a parent in the accident.

Advanced Helicopter Concepts will be hosting a Memorial Service Wednesday August 5th from 6pm - 8pm, we invite everyone to come for a night of Remembrance and celebrate their lives. We have asked the press to respect our privacy, however following the event at 8:30pm we will hold a brief press conference.

As arrangements for the funerals and scholarship funds are finalized in the coming days, I will post the information on this web site.

If any information needs to be changed or updated or if you would like me to post more information please email me: ryan@advancedhelicopter.com