By Howard Packowitz

BLOOMINGTON – Bloomington native Pat Brady won’t forget the morning 2 1/2-years ago when his hometown lost the Redbird 7, and completion of the investigation into the fatal plane crash reminds him of the somber, sick-to-his-stomach feeling he had that day.

The former Illinois Republican Party chairman, lawyer, and private airplane pilot happened to be on WJBC that morning, as Scott Laughlin’s substitute host.

Brady drove to the station practically blinded by the dense fog, which played a role in the fatal crash.

Word of the tragedy came about 5 a.m., just a few hours after the accident. Soon, it became apparent that several prominent people were killed, including the Cessna’s pilot, Tom Hileman, who gave Brady his first flying lesson.

“He’s one of the best pilots I’ve ever flown with or ever known,” said Brady.

“It’s weird that I was sitting there (at WJBC), but to me, the emotional thought was more just the tragedy and the people that were going to be orphaned, or the community at large that loss so many community leaders and good people,” Brady also said.

The National Transportation Safety Board in its final report released Wednesday said pilot fatigue may have been a factor because Hileman had not slept in 18 hours.

The NTSB also said there was too much weight in the back of the twin-engine Cessna. The final report noted that the glideslope antenna had become disconnected, which prevented Hileman from obtaining the proper landing approach angle in the poor visibility.

Killed in the crash were Hileman, Illinois State University Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach Torrey Ward, Assistant Athletic Director Aaron Leetch, local businessmen Jason Jones, Andy Butler and Scott Bittner and Pub II owner Terry Stralow.

They were flying home after attending the NCAA men’s basketball national championship game in Indianapolis.

Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected].