Embry-Riddle professor, father die in plane crash, officials say
A Central Florida professor and his father died Friday when their private plane crashed near an Arizona airstrip, authorities said.
The crash happened shortly before 5 p.m. at the Mogollon Airpark in Overgaard, Arizona, which is near a subdivision of houses, the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
A resident came home, noticed damage to his house and discovered the wreckage nearby, Navajo County deputies said.
Authorities identified the plane’s occupants as Randall J. Lynch, 52, and his father, 82-year-old Jay A. Lynch of Port Orange.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash, according to the sheriff ’s office.
Randall Lynch was an adjunct professor for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in the Department of Security Studies and International Affairs. He taught at the Daytona Beach campus, school officials said.
“Randy was a much-admired and well-respected friend and mentor to many in our community,” the university said in a statement.
Lynch, a retired U.S. Navy Captain, was also the former commander of the Naval ROTC Unit at the university.
Mogollon Airpark has a 3,436-foot runway and 254 residential lots, many with direct taxiways for aircraft, according to its website .