Among the 67 people who died in Wednesday’s midair crash near Reagan National Airport was a graduate of Bob Jones University in Greenville.
On its Facebook page Friday, the university announced that Casey Crafton, a 2008 graduate who studied aviation management at Bob Jones, was among the passengers on American Airlines flight 5342, which collided with a US Army helicopter while landing in Washington.
Crafton is survived by his wife, Rachel (Gadbois), who also graduated from Bob Jones in 2008, and their three children, Greyson, Easton, and Knox. The family lives in Salem, Conn.
"Our hearts are grieving with the Crafton-Gadbois families as they mourn Casey’s earthly passing,” said Josh Crocket, president of Bob Jones University, in a statement. “During this extremely difficult time, we are praying for God's abundant grace to be upon Rachel, their young sons and their extended family.”
Crocket was Crafton’s speech teacher in Crafton’s freshman year at BJU. Crocket described him as “friendly, kind and loved by many of his peers.
“On this side of Heaven there will probably never be complete understanding of this unmanageable loss,” Crocket said, “but we rest in the One Whose promises never fail and Who always cares for His own."
Steve Allen, who works as a public safety employee at the university, once coached Crafton in basketball in Tennessee.
“I had the privilege of coaching Casey his junior and senior years of high school at Central Baptist School in Memphis,” Allen said in a statement. “He was a team player and took seriously his role of making those around him better. He was very coachable and loved being a part of the team. He loved God, his family, and his teammates.”
