Tragic Disappearance Over Lake Pontchartrain
A young flight instructor and her student pilot are presumed to have died after the small plane they were flying crashed into a Louisiana lake last week, with authorities still investigating the cause of the accident.
Professional pilot Taylor Dickey, aged 30, departed from the Gulfport–Biloxi International Airport on November 24 at 5.43pm in a Cessna Skyhawk aircraft. Her student was 30-year-old Navy Lieutenant David Michael Jahn.
The single-engine plane vanished from radar approximately one hour later, around 6.30pm, while it was flying over Lake Pontchartrain, roughly four miles north of New Orleans Lakefront Airport, according to the US Coast Guard.
Search Efforts and Discovery of Wreckage
Michael Carastro, the owner of Apollo Flight Training where Dickey was employed, confirmed that no distress signal was received from the aircraft before it disappeared. He also noted that it remains unclear who was piloting the plane at the time of the incident, as it is standard procedure for instructors and students to swap seats during training sessions.
Carastro described Dickey as a 'highly qualified' professional and emphasised that the Cessna was meticulously maintained, undergoing servicing every 100 hours of operation in full compliance with federal aviation regulations.
The flight was an instrument training lesson conducted in what are known as marginal weather conditions. This signifies they were operating at the very limits of safety parameters outlined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Visual Flight Rules.
'Flying over water presents additional challenges because you don't have clear horizons,' Carastro explained during a press conference. He added, 'It was an unbelievable tragedy. I've been instructing for 46 years. I've never - never - had this. It's my first. So it's hitting me pretty hard.'
Approximately one hour after the plane disappeared on Monday evening, search teams observed a discoloured area in the water. Personnel from the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries department subsequently recovered a seat cushion and other debris from the site. Carastro confirmed these parts were 'pretty much unique to our particular plane'.
A multi-agency search operation involving air and water assets continued for two further days before being temporarily suspended on Wednesday. However, on Friday, the volunteer group United Cajun Navy announced the search had resumed after spending 'several days narrowing down key areas of interest'.
The renewed effort utilised boats equipped with sonar technology, a specialised K9 unit, and a seaplane. Despite facing difficult weather, the search continued over the weekend.
On Saturday, the crews successfully located the main wreckage site. They credited the K9 dog, named Ensey, whose alerting behaviour was instrumental in guiding teams directly to the aircraft's final resting place. The pilots themselves were not found at the site.
'We will continue to do our best to help return the pilots home for the holidays,' the United Cajun Navy stated in a Facebook update.
Remembering the Victims
The extensive search operation involved multiple organisations, including local parish officials, the New Orleans Police Department, US Customs and Border Protection, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, and the dedicated volunteers from the United Cajun Navy.
Taylor Dickey had been working as a flight instructor at Apollo Flight Training and Aircraft Management since June 2024. Friends and family remembered her as a woman of strong Christian faith and a committed mentor and role model for women in aviation.
Alice Furr, a friend and fellow pilot, described Dickey as 'passionate and dedicated'. She was a founding member and chapter president of the Bayou Beacons Chapter of Women in Aviation International. Dickey also generously volunteered with initiatives like Let's Fly Now!, which offers free introductory flights to young women considering careers in aviation.
Her father, Randy Dickey, also a pilot, was too overcome with grief to speak publicly. He shared a message via text, which was read aloud at a press conference: 'We know that God is good, even when we have to walk through the valley... Taylor loved flying. She loved seeing God's beauty flying over the ocean and bays.'
The other victim, Navy Lieutenant David Michael Jahn, was publicly identified by the Navy on Sunday with his family's permission. He served as a civil engineer corps officer with Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 1 in Gulfport.
Lieutenant Jahn had received several awards and decorations, including Navy and Marine Corps commendation and achievement medals, and a National Defense Service Medal. Carastro mentioned that Jahn was working towards obtaining his commercial pilot's license.
His family released a statement through the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, saying: 'David was a man of God and dedicated to his family. His character will live on in his wife and their expected child. He loved the gift of life and embraced living to the fullest, with a love of exploring, adventure, and travel, always guided by Jesus, and his service to others and his country.'
