2 from Houston perish in air crash

Helicopter accident in New Mexico kills 3 others; 1 survived

Paul Cobb was no stranger to a helicopter, teaching others as an instructor and flying them while working for the Pasadena Police Department. The 67-year-old, who was co-pilot on a helicopter headed to his friend’s New Mexico ranch, didn’t finish his trip late Wednesday: He was one of two men from the Houston area among those found dead.

“It’s a nightmare to me,” said Marilyn Cobb, Paul Cobb’s mother, by phone on Thursday. “I still can’t believe it.”

The group was traveling to the New Mexico ranch of Cobb’s longtime friend Charles Burnett’s, 61, a Houston businessman. Jamie Coleman Dodd, 57, of Colorado, who was the pilot of the helicopter, was also among the dead.

Also among the dead were Zimbabwe opposition leader Roy Bennett, 60, and his wife, Heather. Cobb’s daughter, Andra Cobb, 39, was injured and the sole survivor of the crash.

The plane was apparently traveling to Folsom, N.M., less than 40 miles away. The injured victim of the crash called 911 after the helicopter went down Wednesday evening near the Colorado state line and authorities launched a search. The fiery wreckage was found in a remote area near Raton in northern New Mexico.

Authorities on Thursday were investigating the cause of the crash.

Paul Cobb, a licensed pilot was named Pasadena police chief in 2001. The Conroe resident met Burnett more than two decades ago as an instructor teaching others to fly helicopters, according to Cobb’s mother.

The two men stayed friends and often flew together.

‘A local hero’

Marilyn Cobb, 88, said her son briefly served in the Army in Vietnam in 1970 and wanted to become a helicopter pilot but was shot and had to return home after just 13 days.

He went on to join the Pasadena police force, where he often flew the department’s helicopter.

“He was a local hero,” said current Pasadena Police Chief Al Espinoza about his former coworker by phone on Thursday.

As a rookie officer, Espinoza said he served on the night shift under Cobb.

“He never cut me any slack,” said Espinoza. “He made sure I lived up to the standards that he had for himself.”

Cobb and his wife, Martha, apparently met Zimbabwe political leader Bennett and his wife on various cruises.

Obert Gutu, spokesman for Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change opposition party, described the loss of Bennett, a white man who spoke fluent Shona and drew the wrath of former President Robert Mugabe, was tragic.

Bennett, treasurer-general of the MDC-T party, won a devoted following of black Zimbabweans for passionately advocating political change. He was known as “Pachedu,” meaning “one of us” in Shona and was often called the sharpest thorn in Mugabe’s side. He won a parliamentary seat in a rural constituency despite being white, angering the strongman and his ruling ZANU-PF party.

David Coltart of Zimbabwe, on Twitter, said: “I am devastated — they were two of Zimbabwe’s greatest patriots,” referring to Bennett and his wife. “My condolences are extended to their family & friends.”

In 2004, Bennett was jailed for a year for assaulting a Cabinet minister who had said Bennett’s “forefathers were thieves and murderers” during a parliamentary debate. An enraged Bennett charged the minister, who fell to the floor.

He emerged from prison railthin and scarred from repeated sunburns. He told of the mistreatment of fellow prisoners, some of whom he said had starved to death in their cells.

After receiving death threats, Bennett fled Zimbabwe but returned in 2009 after his party nominated him for deputy agriculture minister in a coalition government with Mugabe’s ZANUPF. Mugabe, who had repeatedly alleged Bennett was the opposition party’s contact with foreign funders, refused to swear him in.

Business partners

Cobb and Burnett were also business partners at Boyert Shooting Center, according to a statement posted on the Houston company’s website. Cobb served as president and Burnett was an investor in the business.

“Both of these men were outstanding leaders for our Company because of their innovative thinking and their generous personalities,” said a statement posted on the shooting center’s website. “We appreciate all your prayers and condolences for their families while they go through this very difficult grieving process.”

Burnett also created the Burnett Family Chair of Leadership at the University of St. Thomas. Former St. Thomas President Robert Ivany said in a statement that the university was “saddened by the tragic loss.”

“(Burnett) also generously provided scholarship support for many years as well as funding for a series of distinguished speakers, which included Mr. Roy Bennett, opposition leader from Zimbabwe, who also perished in the accident,” Ivany stated.

Paul Cobb’s mother said her son was adventurous and liked the thrill of flying. She last saw him earlier this month while on a cruise and remembers dancing with him on her birthday.

“If they knew him, they would know what a good man he was, what a wonderful son, husband, and father,” said Marilyn Cobb. “I’ve had so many people say, ‘He was the best man I ever knew.’ ”