Pilot killed in Collier County plane crash identified

Writer: Derrick Shaw
Published: Updated:
Wiliam Gaston Sr. – Credit: Shared with WINK News by William Gaston Jr.
Wiliam Gaston Sr. – Credit: Shared with WINK News by William Gaston Jr.

The son of pilot William Gaston Sr., 71, confirmed his father died in a plane crash on Hawthorn Woods Way Saturday just north of Golden Gate Estates in Collier County.

William Gaston Jr., who is also a pilot, spoke to us about Gaston Sr. Sunday. Gaston Jr. said his father had been flying airplanes since he was 16 years old.

“He was a very well-like, well-respected Marco resident since 1983,” Gaston Jr. said. “Very outgoing, he could talk to anybody. He talked to everybody.”

According to Flightradar24, Gaston Sr. was returning from Key West Saturday. He left in his plane from the Keys around 2:46 p.m. and was heading to Naples Airport. Gaston Sr. was flying in his Piper PA-30 when the plane crashed in a Collier neighborhood.

Photo of William Gaston Sr.’s Piper PA-30 twin-engined aircraft. Credit: Shared with WINK News by William Gaston Jr.

Collier County Sheriff’s Office, Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board responded to the scene of the crash Saturday, and it remains under investigation by NTSB.

Gaston Sr. owned Marco Island Cable until he sold the business to Summit Broadband in 2013 and retired.

“And has been flying to the Bahamas and the Keys quite frequently,” Gaston Jr said.

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