PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — The co-owner of the small plane that crashed May 12 in Wesley Chapel is remembering the pilot who was killed. 


What You Need To Know

  • Pilot Thomas Saxon of Madeira Beach was killed in May 12 crash
  • FAA investigating fatal plane crash
  • Single-engine plane crashed in Wesley Chapel neighborhood

Robert Schupbach and Tom Saxon co-owned the 1973 single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza. 

Saxon was killed when the plane went down in a Wesley Chapel neighborhood.

"It was a shock beyond belief," Schupbach said in an interview. "Tom was a good friend."

The two owned the plane together over the last two years. They met while skydiving in Zephyrhills. They actually jumped together many times.

"We became pretty good at it , if I do say so. We did a lot of jumps together," Schupbach said.

He also says he’s not sure what went wrong last week. He says the plane was in good shape.

Saxon took off from a nearby airfield but then crashed into a backyard, narrowly missing several homes.

"I can only speculate. I was told the plane appeared to stall at about 400 feet of altitude," Schupbach said. 

Saxon was a former Marine and Madeira Beach city commissioner in the late 1990s.

 "If Tom gives you his word on something, you can take it to the bank. He was an honorable person. Everyone liked Tom," Schupbach said. 

Saxon is survived by his wife. 

The FAA continues to investigate the crash.