Friends/family bid tearful goodbye to fallen pilot
Silence enveloped the municipal airstrip this morning as all traffic came to halt so that hundreds of mourners could gather to pay their respects in the official memorial service for Belizean pilot, Rene Tam. Tam’s plane, The Sofia, belonging to Blancaneaux Lodge, crashed into a ravine in the Mountain Pine Ridge on November eighteenth. His two passengers, Doug and Cristy Scratchley also perished. The deadly crash has sparked an intensive investigation by the Civil Aviation Authority, but it may be weeks or even months before we know exactly what caused the accident. Today, all anyone knew for sure was that a loving father and well respected colleague was gone forever and there were goodbyes to be said. News Five’s Karla Heusner reports.
Karla Heusner, Reporting
This morning, Rene Tam?s wife Jackie had the sad task of carrying her husband?s cremated remains to the altar. Tam?s best friend began the farewells with a tearful tribute to the man affectionately called ?Chino.?
Chris Hart, Pilot/Tam?s Close Friend
?Chino was first and foremost a devoted husband and father to his family. He was very close to his children, open and candid with them, to talk to them about the realities of his profession. They discussed everything under the son about flying and his plans for their future; something which brings some consolation to his family and for which today his wife is very grateful for.?
According to his colleagues, and former bosses, Tam was well respected and admired for his dedication to the travel industry.
Johnny Grief, Owner, Tropic Air
?In the early 90?s when he came to work for Tropic, he impressed me as a?not just as an airplane driver or pilot, but as a true aviator. Aviators are people that love the industry, love the work, and do an excellent job of it. Chino was certainly one of these.?
Despite the nickname, ?Chino? was as Belizean as they come. Eugene Zabaneh relieved the tension of the occasion, recalling how Tam once attempted to calm an over-anxious group of Chinese tourists who were pushing and shoving, trying to get on a Caribee plane.
Eugene Zabaneh, Owner, Maya Island Air
?So Rene went out and he said, ?Now listen everybody, tek unu time! Every body wah get on pan this plane, but please, unu just listen and tek it one at a time and we wah put unu pon dis plane.? So Mr. Hoy looked at him, he said ?Well, Rene?? So Rene looked at him and said, ?Didn?t I do good?? Mr. Hoy said, ?In Chinese!? And Rene said, ?But Mr. Hoy, I noh know how fi talk Chinese!?
But Chino did know how to make friends… And keep them. Hundreds of people sat under the tent or in the hot sun to remember him and support his family. All flights in and out of the municipal were cancelled for the service this morning. Dozens of pilots from the private sector and B.D.F. Air Wing paid their respects. According to Major Ganney Dortch, Tam often joined B.D.F. search parties or volunteered to fly in planes that had been abandoned by drug traffickers.
Major Ganney Dortch, B.D.F. Air Wing
?In a professional sense, he was a competent and skilled pilot who was always willing to render technical assistance to the B.D.F., and in particular the Belize Defence Force Air Wing. Even at the oddest hour, he could be called upon to go flying and he would come and show up and the answer was always, ?Yes, yes, yes.?
In a fitting tribute to the young aviator, his family flew out to sea to scatter his ashes. Later, aircraft from the B.D.F., Maya Island Air and the private sector flew over the gathering in formation to bid him farewell.
Karla Heusner reporting for News Five.
Rene Tam leaves behind his wife Jackie and four children, his mother, and two sisters Bessie and Betty. A spokesperson for Blancaneaux Lodge told News Five today that an education fund has already been established for the children of Rene Tam. Memorial services for the American couple killed in the crash with Tam, Doug and Cristy Scratchley, are planned for December first in Iowa and California.
