Posted: Sunday, August 14, 2011 10:48 pm Bentwater pilot ‘would have done anything for you’ By Jennifer Bell Houston Community Newspapers After two small planes crashed near the Montgomery County line at FM 1375 Saturday afternoon, Bentwater pilots said they’ve lost a dear friend. Dennis McCright, 69, was part of a seven-plan formation going through a routine practice in a wooded area one mile east of Lake Conroe – an area that several Montgomery County pilots often fly over – Trooper Erik Burse with the Department of Public Safety said. One of the two-seater, single-engine planes, a model RV-6, flew beneath another two-seater, single-engine plane, a model RV-8, when the two aircraft collided. One spiraled one into a wooded area, while the other made an emergency landing in a wooded area near Little Road Loop, off of FM 1375. The seven planes were a part of a Conroe-based group called Lonestar Freedom Flight, which performs for military benefits and funerals. Founder Sam Ward said this is the first crash and death of the seven pilots, many of whom lived in Bentwater with McCright and Ward. “I met him (McCright) about 10 years ago when I retired from Continental, which he did, too,” Ward said. “He was still an active instructor in the Conroe area; he was in Chapter 302 of the Experimental Aircraft Association, part of the Quiet Bird Men’s Society, an association of professional aviator s... everybody knew Dennis at the airport.” Ward said McCright was a captain at Continental, along with fellow Lonestar Freedom Flight member Dick Kardell. Kardell said he knew McCright for 40 years, “He was just a good guy, helpful to everybody,” Kardell said. “What can you say about a guy that was just genuinely nice? He would do anything for you.” Kardell said he and McCright flew together at Continental for many years, and that he was well-liked and respected as a professional aviator. Kardell and Ward said they were at the crash site Sunday to see the plane removed, and Kardell said finding a cause for the crash is probably a long way off. “It will be about two years; I know the NTSB deals with everything, so small plane crashes are a low priority,” said Ward. “He could have had a mini-heart attack or stroke, we don’t know.” Kardell said he saw McCright in his plane about 15 to 20 seconds before he went down, and Kardell reacted in disbelief. “He was supposed to move backwards and take a position behind me .. .we get a May Day call, and we know it’s somebody, somewhere,” Kardell said. “At first, it was denial; then I thought, ‘Oh my god, it’s Dennis’.” Kardell and Ward are unsure about plans for McCright’s memorial, but they believe that McCright wanted to be cremated, and have his ashes spread in North Dakota, where he first learned to fly. Ward said that McCright’s wife Lori is being joined by children and grandchildren arriving from Arkansas today. “They were just here recently, and he flew his granddaughter in the plane,” Kardell said. “He was all about encouraging young people in aviation.” Ward said the future of Lonestar Freedom Flight is uncertain, now that they’ve lost a pilot. The group cancelled an upcoming appearance in Hempstead, Ward said. “We’re all just too torn up about it,” Ward said, adding that it could take weeks before the remaining pilots may be ready to fly together in formation again. “We’re not in a state of mind to do Hempstead after this has happened.” I copied this from “yourconroenews.com” -Phil Stallings (8/15/11)