Bloomingdale pilot described as safe, collector of flight technology
Friends and fellow fliers say they're still shocked by the "catastrophic" death of a Bloomingdale pilot who was known for his meticulous attention to safety.
The DuPage County Coroner's office late Tuesday identified the pilot as 61-year-old Michael Sandman. Authorities said he died when the small aircraft he was piloting crashed Friday afternoon in the Hawk Hollow Forest Preserve near Bartlett.
The coroner's office used dental records to identify Sandman, officials said, and then contacted his only known living family member, an uncle in Florida.
Officials said Sandman, a telecom engineer, was the only person aboard the 1982 Cessna C172P, which was registered to and rented from the Fox Flying Club at the DuPage Airport. A voice mail and email seeking comment from the club on Wednesday were not immediately returned.
In an audio recording of Sandman's last communications with air traffic controllers, available online at liveatc.net, Sandman tells them he's having issues with his rudder.
"I'm about four or five miles northeast (of DuPage Airport) but I'm having a problem with a rudder so I'm going to stay out here for a minute," Sandman told the DuPage tower at 3:44 p.m. Friday.
Seconds later, the tower asked Sandman if he needed assistance.
"I don't think so," he replied. "Let me just play with it a little here."
At 3:46 p.m., Sandman failed to reply to the tower and was not heard from again.
Allen Goldstein, owner of Aerial Images Photography, owns a similar plane and knew Sandman from hanging out at the DuPage Airport.
"I was shocked because I knew (Sandman) to be a very safety-conscious pilot. We even attended many of the same safety seminars together at the airport," Goldstein said.
"And boy did he love his gadgets and gizmos. Everyone knew Mike had all the latest toys for monitoring altitude, weather, you name it. He probably went a little overboard, actually."
Sandman's YouTube channel contains flight instruction videos he made while also piloting a Cessna C172P.
The National Transportation Safety Board is continuing to investigate the crash.