The pilot who died after his animal rescue flight crashed in upstate New York will be buried with the ashes of a dog he was trying to save.
Pilot Seuk Kim, 49, from Springfield, Virginia, died in a November 24 plane crash near Albany, New York. Kim was bringing three dogs from a high-risk shelter to a no-kill shelter in New York’s Schoharie County for a second chance at life when his plane went down.
Now, fellow volunteer pilot Chris Moon has delivered the ashes of Lisa, a five-month-old puppy that perished in the flight to Kim’s family from New York to Virginia, local outlet News10 reports.
Moon told News10 he was with Kim just hours before he died.
“I was actually with him Sunday when we were both doing dog flights. He took off to come up here and I took off in a different direction,” Moon told the outlet.
“We were just doing our normal thing and everybody was in a good mood. Nobody could’ve guessed what was going to happen a few hours later,” he added.
When Kim’s plane crashed, conditions were poor with reduced visibility. He reportedly made an altitude change request after experiencing turbulence just before the crash, Fox5 reported.
Two of the dogs – a Labrador-mix puppy named “Whiskey” and an 18-month-old Yorkshire terrier mix named Pluto — sustained injuries, with the puppy suffering two broken legs, according to the Greene County Sheriff’s Office NY. The two are now recovering in foster care after being treated, News10 reports.
“Thank you so much for all your effort, thank you, sir,” Kim’s brother Sajin Kim told Moon, according to DC News Now.
“Our family is very grateful to have all the friends and family and everybody supporting us,” he added.
Kim’s 16-year-old daughter, Leah Kim, told CBS News that her father “died doing what he loved, which was saving animals.”
