An Odessa (TX) pilot was remembered
Friday as a dedicated aviator and family man, after his Beech
Bonanza B-36 (file photo of type, right) crashed near the Parker
County Airfield in Weatherford (TX) Thursday night.
Wesley Morgan Hardin reportedly died when his Bonanza went down
following a missed approach at Parker County. The weather was low,
dark and rainy.
"Upon attempting to land, he missed his first approach," said
Gary Rozzell, public information officer for the Mineral Wells (TX)
Department of Public Safety. "While he was making his second
approach, he became disoriented."
The FAA accident report, however, indicates Hardin told ATC he
would do one missed approach, then head home to Odessa. He
disappeared from radar around 6:00 pm CST Thursday.
Friday friends and family remembered Hardin as a man of faith.
He was a pharmacist, owner of Odessa's University Pharmacy.
"He was one of the few old-school pharmacists in this
town,” said Glenn Kennedy, a close personal friend. "You
could call him at midnight, and he’d meet you. He was a
servant and very service-oriented in his business. He was just a
people person."
Hardin, his wife Holly and their sons, Brandon and Grayson, were
named by the Samaritan Counseling Center of West Texas as Odessa's
family of the year in 2002.
Wanda Peterson, who owns Pruett Aviation at Schlemeyer Field in
Odessa (where Hardin kept his plane), had nothing but praise for
the pharmacist-pilot. "He was just an all-around good person. He
was just friendly to everybody. He was a super guy.
"I think everyone will miss him," she said. "He’s just
that type of person."
FAA Preliminary Accident Report
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 725ZY
Make/Model: BE36 Description: 36
Bonanza
Date: 01/16/2004 Time: 0010
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury:
Fatal Mid Air: N Missing:
N
Damage: Destroyed
LOCATION
City:
WEATHERFORD
State: TX Country: US
DESCRIPTION
ACFT WAS CLEARED FOR AN APPROACH TO THE WEATHERFORD ARPT.
PILOT STATED HE
WOULD MAKE ONE ATTEMPT AND IF UNABLE HE WANTED TO GO TO ODS.
ACFT MADE A
MISSED APPROACH AND WAS CLEARED DIRECT TO ODS, MAINTAIN 60.
ACFT WAS LOST
ON RADAR SHORTLY AFTER. THE ACFT CRASHED AND WAS DESTROYED.
THE PILOT
SUFFERED FATAL INJURIES. WEATHERFORD, TX
INJURY DATA Total
Fatal: 1
# Crew: 1 Fat:
1 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
# Pass: 0 Fat:
0 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
# Grnd:
Fat: 0 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
WEATHER: KMWL 160019Z AUTO 14009KT 2SM RA BR 0VC002 14/14 A2998
RMK
OTHER DATA
Activity: Unknown Phase:
Unknown Operation: General
Aviation
Departed: HOUSTON, TX
HOU
Dep Date: Dep.
Time:
Destination: WEATHERFORD
ARPT. Flt Plan:
IFR Wx
Briefing: U
Last Radio Cont:
Last Clearance:
FAA FSDO: FORT WORTH, TX
(SW19)
Entry date: 01/16/2004