Coble with his wife, Debby, and grandson, Ryan, in an undated photo.
Photo submitted
A Burlington pilot who was killed in plane crash in Alabama will be honored on Sunday during a celebration service at the Burlington-Alamance Regional Airport.
Tom Coble, 58, was traveling alone when his L-39 Albatros fighter jet went down shortly after takeoff at 6:21 p.m. Friday from an airport in Rainbow City, Ala. He was en route back to Burlington.
The celebration service will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday at Coble’s airplane hangar at the Burlington-Alamance Regional Airport. Visitation will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday at Harvest Baptist Church in Burlington.
The Coble family released a statement on Wednesday about its loss. The statement thanked all those who have showed the family support during the past week.
“We are grieving the loss of an extraordinary man, known to us as husband, daddy, papaw, grandpa, son, brother, uncle and friend, but we do not grieve without hope,” the family stated in the press release. “We believe that, for Tom, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord Jesus Christ; of this we are certain (2 Corinthians 5:8). This truth is sustaining us in the midst of tragedy. We know Tom’s soul was not in the wreckage, but rather went immediately to Heaven to be with Jesus. We are comforted by the Holy Spirit and are truly thankful for all our family and friends who have surrounded us with love and prayer during this difficult time.”
“There has been a lot of media coverage concerning Tom’s passing,” the family stated. “One comment in particular on the Burlington Times-News was particularly encouraging to us.
“Darrel Tarver, who lives in Rainbow City, Ala. near the crash site, wrote on the Time-News site ‘Sorry for your loss, my wife and I remember the plane flying many times over our house here in Rainbow City, Al. My wife was home when it crashed in the woods 200 feet from our house, and just a few feet from our neighbors’ house. I was not at home at the time but I could not help but to think he did all he could do, and stayed with the plane so not to let it hit anyone’s homes. We thank him for his bravery and quick action from myself and family.’”
The family stated it didn’t know what happened in those final moments before Coble stepped into eternity, but it did know Coble would have done everything possible to avoid involving anyone else in the accident.
“We are thankful that no one else was hurt, both at the time of the accident or during the clean-up afterward,” the family stated. “Tom was an amazing pilot and was born to fly. He is our hero and will be missed every single day. We celebrate his life and the great man that he was.”
Anyone wishing to honor the memory of Tom Coble may do so by donating to Heart’s Cry Children’s ministry at www.heartscrychildren.com. It is an adoption advocacy nonprofit in Panama found by Matt and Misty Hedspeth. Misty is Coble’s daughter.
The FAA, the National Transportation Safety Board and officials from Alabama are investigating the incident. The cause of the crash was not immediately known.
The L-39 Albatros, a Czechoslovakian experimental aircraft, had undergone routine service in Gadsden, Ala., Less than a minute after takeoff the plane burst into flames and came down in a wooded and marshy area 1.1 miles from the Rainbow City airport. Debris from the crash was scattered along 142 feet.
NTSB spokeswoman Bridget Serchak said a preliminary report on the crash would be released about 10 days after the accident. The final report would be made available in about 12 months, said Serchak.
Coble was a well-known local aviator and loved to fly. He had more than 40 years of flying experience and owned multiple aircraft. Growing up in Burlington, Coble began taking flying lessons at 15 and flew solo on his 16th birthday
Coble founded Coble Trench Safety, which rents and sells trench and safety equipment and offers training classes, in 2002. The company has 11 branches from Baltimore to Atlanta. Prior to founding that company, he founded Coble Cranes and Equipment/Coble Rents. He sold that company in 1999.
A graduate of Liberty University, Coble became the executive pilot for the late Rev. Jerry Falwell, former president of Liberty University and a well known pastor and political figure.
Coble attended Harvest Baptist Church in Burlington and led Alamance County‘s Coalition of Concerned Christians.
Coble is survived by his wife, Debby Coble; parents, PJ and Donna Coble; son, Matt Coble; future daughter-in-law, Ning Yan Gu; daughter, Misty Hedspeth; son-in-law, Matt Hedspeth; and grandchildren: Ryan, Peter and Rosemary.
http://www.thetimesnews.com
Tom Coble, 58, was traveling alone when his L-39 Albatros fighter jet went down shortly after takeoff at 6:21 p.m. Friday from an airport in Rainbow City, Ala. He was en route back to Burlington.
The celebration service will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday at Coble’s airplane hangar at the Burlington-Alamance Regional Airport. Visitation will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday at Harvest Baptist Church in Burlington.
The Coble family released a statement on Wednesday about its loss. The statement thanked all those who have showed the family support during the past week.
“We are grieving the loss of an extraordinary man, known to us as husband, daddy, papaw, grandpa, son, brother, uncle and friend, but we do not grieve without hope,” the family stated in the press release. “We believe that, for Tom, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord Jesus Christ; of this we are certain (2 Corinthians 5:8). This truth is sustaining us in the midst of tragedy. We know Tom’s soul was not in the wreckage, but rather went immediately to Heaven to be with Jesus. We are comforted by the Holy Spirit and are truly thankful for all our family and friends who have surrounded us with love and prayer during this difficult time.”
“There has been a lot of media coverage concerning Tom’s passing,” the family stated. “One comment in particular on the Burlington Times-News was particularly encouraging to us.
“Darrel Tarver, who lives in Rainbow City, Ala. near the crash site, wrote on the Time-News site ‘Sorry for your loss, my wife and I remember the plane flying many times over our house here in Rainbow City, Al. My wife was home when it crashed in the woods 200 feet from our house, and just a few feet from our neighbors’ house. I was not at home at the time but I could not help but to think he did all he could do, and stayed with the plane so not to let it hit anyone’s homes. We thank him for his bravery and quick action from myself and family.’”
The family stated it didn’t know what happened in those final moments before Coble stepped into eternity, but it did know Coble would have done everything possible to avoid involving anyone else in the accident.
“We are thankful that no one else was hurt, both at the time of the accident or during the clean-up afterward,” the family stated. “Tom was an amazing pilot and was born to fly. He is our hero and will be missed every single day. We celebrate his life and the great man that he was.”
Anyone wishing to honor the memory of Tom Coble may do so by donating to Heart’s Cry Children’s ministry at www.heartscrychildren.com. It is an adoption advocacy nonprofit in Panama found by Matt and Misty Hedspeth. Misty is Coble’s daughter.
The FAA, the National Transportation Safety Board and officials from Alabama are investigating the incident. The cause of the crash was not immediately known.
The L-39 Albatros, a Czechoslovakian experimental aircraft, had undergone routine service in Gadsden, Ala., Less than a minute after takeoff the plane burst into flames and came down in a wooded and marshy area 1.1 miles from the Rainbow City airport. Debris from the crash was scattered along 142 feet.
NTSB spokeswoman Bridget Serchak said a preliminary report on the crash would be released about 10 days after the accident. The final report would be made available in about 12 months, said Serchak.
Coble was a well-known local aviator and loved to fly. He had more than 40 years of flying experience and owned multiple aircraft. Growing up in Burlington, Coble began taking flying lessons at 15 and flew solo on his 16th birthday
Coble founded Coble Trench Safety, which rents and sells trench and safety equipment and offers training classes, in 2002. The company has 11 branches from Baltimore to Atlanta. Prior to founding that company, he founded Coble Cranes and Equipment/Coble Rents. He sold that company in 1999.
A graduate of Liberty University, Coble became the executive pilot for the late Rev. Jerry Falwell, former president of Liberty University and a well known pastor and political figure.
Coble attended Harvest Baptist Church in Burlington and led Alamance County‘s Coalition of Concerned Christians.
Coble is survived by his wife, Debby Coble; parents, PJ and Donna Coble; son, Matt Coble; future daughter-in-law, Ning Yan Gu; daughter, Misty Hedspeth; son-in-law, Matt Hedspeth; and grandchildren: Ryan, Peter and Rosemary.
http://www.thetimesnews.com
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