Pilot killed in Boulder City crash was Air Force veteran
The pilot killed in a plane crash in Boulder City last month was an Air Force veteran, according to an obituary posted by the family.
The Clark County coroner’s office on Thursday ruled that William Kavchak, 58, of Ellerslie, Maryland, died Feb. 24 near U.S. Highway 95 south of Boulder City from multiple blunt force trauma when his plane went down that day.
In a report released Tuesday, the National Transportation Safety Board ruled that Kavchak struck three power lines about 60 feet off the ground shortly after taking off from the Boulder City Municipal Airport in a Distar SunDancer glider around 1:40 p.m. on Feb. 24.
An obituary posted by the family said Kavchak served in Operation Desert Storm during the Gulf War as a combat fighter pilot and retired from the Air Force in 2005. He later worked for the Federal Aviation Administration. His family said he will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
The Pennsylvania native was planning to fly from Boulder City back to Maryland.
“Bill told his wife Elisa in their last email correspondence on the day he died, ‘the magic of flight, the sheer beauty and elegance of flight’ was why he was so passionate about it,” the obituary read.
Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.
