The website named posts an article written May 7, 2016, saying the helicopter pilot named Christopher Maggio was 59 years old. Something doesn't add up here!
Sorry to say Susan, but Chris was the helicopter pilot who was killed in Alaska on the 7th of May 2016. I had just reconnected with him on Facebook a few months ago. It was a typo, not 59, but our age.
Christopher, “Chris,” A. Maggio, born June 12, 1949, a veteran Alaska helicopter and airplane pilot died when his helicopter crashed near the Denver glacier in Southeast Alaska during a support mission for the Alaska Icefield Expedition’s sled dog camp. The cause of the accident on May 6, 2016, is still unknown.
I first met Chris at Wilson Junior High. Chris first started flying as part of the aviation curriculum at Mt San Antonio College in California where he earned his private pilot license. After a couple of years of college he and I enlisted in the Army in 1969 and completed the Warrant Officer flight-training program for helicopters. Following graduation we were both sent to Vietnam. Chris was assigned to the 118 AHC in Bien Hoa, and I was assigned to the 1/1 CAV in Chu Lai. Chris quickly qualified into “Charlie Model Gunships”. In the later part of his tour in Vietnam he was reassigned to the 238 AWC and finally to the 134 AHC.
After Vietnam, Chris started a family and pursued a non-aviation career, but his love for flying never diminished. In 1986 he bought a 1948 Stinson 108-3. Chris then seasonally supported a private gold operation near Nome, Alaska. However, getting back to flying helicopters was always one of Chris’s goals. In 1992 he earned his FAA commercial helicopter license and went to work for a large Southeast Alaska helicopter operator. Soon there after, Chris moved permanently to Alaska and became the base operations co-manager in Skagway.
In 1997 Chris and a crewmember rescued the pilot and a passenger after the charter airplane they were on crashed into a deep salt-water inlet. Even though Chris’s response to the incident took only seven minutes and he guided rescuers to other passengers, four were lost. In 2013 the FAA recognized Chris with inclusion in the prestigious FAA Airman Certification Database, listing him as a pilot who has exceeded the highest educational, licensing, and medical standards established by the FAA.
Chris was a twenty year resident of Skagway, Alaska. He served on the Skagway school board and was an active member in the Skagway Arts Council. Chris had a love for antique bicycles and motorcycles, hotrods, Alaska art, guitars, and family. But for all the things Chris was known for, he was most recognized for his engaging smile, generosity, and kindness. Myself, family, friends, and the community of Skagway will miss Chris. A life cut too short.
Thank you for a wonderful tribute for Chris Maggio -- I got to know Chris best through our time in Madrigals as seniors at PHS. . . so glad he was able to fulfill so much in his time on this earth -- and I understand he continued singing as well as all his flying prowess.. Off you go, Chris - into the wild blue yonder!
Chris's picture makes it all so real. Jeff your writing of Chris's life was written with such respect and sincere feeling. You and Chris had such a bond of true frimdship. He will be missed by many even those of us who lost track of so many of our classmates lives.
So sorry to hear abut Chris' passing. I went all through school with Chris; Assumption, Woodrow Wilson, and Pasadena High School. I lost touch with him after high school. He was always a very sweet, sincere, kind, and gracious person. I am sadden by his passing.
Susan Cole (MacFarlane)
The website named posts an article written May 7, 2016, saying the helicopter pilot named Christopher Maggio was 59 years old. Something doesn't add up here!
Thom Barker
Sorry to say Susan, but Chris was the helicopter pilot who was killed in Alaska on the 7th of May 2016. I had just reconnected with him on Facebook a few months ago. It was a typo, not 59, but our age.
RIP Chris Maggio.
Susan Cole (MacFarlane)
So sorry it was a typo! RIP Chris Maggio. I remember him as being a really fun guy.
Shari Wingate (Eing)
Oh ,no. He was my husband's (Mike Eing) childhood friend. Chris love flying choppers, from Vietnam to Alaska. He was a great guy, RIP friend.
Jeffrey Anderson
Christopher, “Chris,” A. Maggio, born June 12, 1949, a veteran Alaska helicopter and airplane pilot died when his helicopter crashed near the Denver glacier in Southeast Alaska during a support mission for the Alaska Icefield Expedition’s sled dog camp. The cause of the accident on May 6, 2016, is still unknown.
I first met Chris at Wilson Junior High. Chris first started flying as part of the aviation curriculum at Mt San Antonio College in California where he earned his private pilot license. After a couple of years of college he and I enlisted in the Army in 1969 and completed the Warrant Officer flight-training program for helicopters. Following graduation we were both sent to Vietnam. Chris was assigned to the 118 AHC in Bien Hoa, and I was assigned to the 1/1 CAV in Chu Lai. Chris quickly qualified into “Charlie Model Gunships”. In the later part of his tour in Vietnam he was reassigned to the 238 AWC and finally to the 134 AHC.
After Vietnam, Chris started a family and pursued a non-aviation career, but his love for flying never diminished. In 1986 he bought a 1948 Stinson 108-3. Chris then seasonally supported a private gold operation near Nome, Alaska. However, getting back to flying helicopters was always one of Chris’s goals. In 1992 he earned his FAA commercial helicopter license and went to work for a large Southeast Alaska helicopter operator. Soon there after, Chris moved permanently to Alaska and became the base operations co-manager in Skagway.
In 1997 Chris and a crewmember rescued the pilot and a passenger after the charter airplane they were on crashed into a deep salt-water inlet. Even though Chris’s response to the incident took only seven minutes and he guided rescuers to other passengers, four were lost. In 2013 the FAA recognized Chris with inclusion in the prestigious FAA Airman Certification Database, listing him as a pilot who has exceeded the highest educational, licensing, and medical standards established by the FAA.
Chris was a twenty year resident of Skagway, Alaska. He served on the Skagway school board and was an active member in the Skagway Arts Council. Chris had a love for antique bicycles and motorcycles, hotrods, Alaska art, guitars, and family. But for all the things Chris was known for, he was most recognized for his engaging smile, generosity, and kindness. Myself, family, friends, and the community of Skagway will miss Chris. A life cut too short.
Kathryn Fletcher
Nicely written Jeff. Thank you. I know it was a big loss for you and his family. You were great to be there for them.Susan (Susy) Wasgatt (Gaffney)
Thank you for a wonderful tribute for Chris Maggio -- I got to know Chris best through our time in Madrigals as seniors at PHS. . . so glad he was able to fulfill so much in his time on this earth -- and I understand he continued singing as well as all his flying prowess.. Off you go, Chris - into the wild blue yonder!
Jeffrey Anderson
Chris Maggio
Karen Andrews (Randall)
Chris's picture makes it all so real. Jeff your writing of Chris's life was written with such respect and sincere feeling. You and Chris had such a bond of true frimdship. He will be missed by many even those of us who lost track of so many of our classmates lives.
Sharon Wintroath (Karp)
So sorry to hear abut Chris' passing. I went all through school with Chris; Assumption, Woodrow Wilson, and Pasadena High School. I lost touch with him after high school. He was always a very sweet, sincere, kind, and gracious person. I am sadden by his passing.