The plane crash that took the life of longtime Yellowstone County Commissioner John Ostlund continues to bring out messages from friends and colleagues.
Ostlund died Thursday when he crashed his Cessna plane into a field south of Billings. A preliminary report from the Federal Aviation Administration shows the plane struck power lines, crashed and burst into flames.
See the remembrances of Ostlund's colleagues in the video below:
Ostlund attended his final county commission meeting on Thursday morning, hours before his plane crashed.
“You know, as he was leaving the office, as he would most of the time, he poked his head in and said, hey, I'm going or something. And you know, you say, OK, bye, see you tomorrow,” said fellow Commissioner Mark Morse.
Morse saw his friend and mentor for the last time on Thursday.
“We lost a great American yesterday,” Morse said.
Related: Friends, colleagues remember Yellowstone County Commissioner John Ostlund
Related: Yellowstone County Commissioner John Ostlund killed in plane crash
Morse says Ostlund encouraged him to run for commissioner, and the third member of the commission, Mike Waters, also says he received a boost from Ostlund.
“It's hard to lose a good friend,” Waters said. “Whether they're a public figure or not, John Ostlund was a treasure to anyone who knew him. He certainly was to me.”
Waters enjoyed attending functions with Ostlund, and they had a common passion for flying.
“There’s not a lot of solace in any of this, but sometimes to think about someone, leaving, or passing doing what they loved is, maybe something to hang on to a little bit,” Waters said.
Robert Katz, a flight instructor and pilot of 43 years, gave insight to MTN News into what may have happened to cause the crash.
“Again, this is pure conjecture on my part that he departed to the southeast and the airplane would be struggling to climb all the way to the point of impact,” said Katz, a flight instructor and pilot for 43 years.
The preliminary FAA report states the aircraft crashed under unknown circumstances, striking power lines, flipping, and catching fire.
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Katz says warm temperatures made for a density altitude that was harder for the plane to get the proper lift.
“Density altitude is perhaps the single most important factor affecting aircraft performance,” Katz said. “It has a direct bearing on the efficiency of the propeller, the power output of a normally aspirated engine.”
Ostlund's colleagues say they're not so much focused on how it happened as much on how much they missed their friend.
