http://www.dentonrc.com/
This is a great article from a Denton newspaper about Nick. I think it needs to be posted here.
Pilot was fulfilling dream
Loved ones remember Corinth man killed in plane crash
12/06/2002
All Nicholas Hibberd ever wanted to do was fly
He was the youngest child born into a family of pilots. His father is a
23-year veteran pilot for Southwest Airlines. His brother, who gave him
his first flying lesson, also flies for Southwest. Even his sister,
whose husband flies for American Eagle, is a former pilot.
His ultimate goal was to join his father and brother as a pilot for
Southwest.
"I got on there at 28 and he was going to try to beat me," said his
brother Jeff.
But on Thursday officials identified Nicholas Troy Hibberd, 24, as the
pilot of the small plane that crashed in Shady Shores early Wednesday
morning. The plane, a Cessna 402, disintegrated on impact. Authorities
are still investigating the cause.
National Transportation Safety Board officials could not be reached for
comment. Officials said Wednesday that the investigation into the crash
will take weeks.
At 6:15 on the cold, dreary morning, he reported to air traffic
controllers that he was having trouble maintaining control of the plane.
A minute later, the plane crashed.
Friends and relatives gathered at the home of his parents, Larry and
Darlene Hibberd, in Corinth Thursday. They told a story of an
exceptional young man who had already accomplished more by 24 than most
people do in their lives, and with the promise of more to come.
His father said he was extremely close to his infant niece, Anna Botti.
"He and I always joked about being pals, buds, and all that, so she
became his best pal," he said.
A number of the family's friends are also pilots, and they said Nicholas
was an excellent pilot.
"Nicholas was such a good pilot that I asked him to be the instructor to
give my son his first solo in an airplane, which I think states real
clearly what a quality pilot he was," said Steve McPhail, who flew with
his father in Vietnam. "It was a big day for both of us when we watched
my son solo after getting instruction from Nicholas."
Charlie Brown, another Southwest pilot and friend of the family, agreed.
"My son flew with him to get his commercial certificate," he said.
Nicholas had been living at home, his father said, since he graduated in
May 2001 from the University of Texas, where he received an education
degree and earned university honors every semester. He had worked as a
flight instructor and had been working for TexStar Airfreight of Denton
for about four months, he said.
"In fact, he called us [the day before the crash] and said he was going
to be hired for a charter company in Addison flying jets," he said.
He also joined the 136th Airlift wing of the Texas Air National Guard.
Family members said that Lt. Col. Jim Conoly, acting wing commander, had
called Thursday to say that Nicholas would be a great loss to the unit.
He told the family that Nicholas was one of the hardest-working young
men he had ever worked with.
Nicholas also helped his mother do volunteer work for Meals on Wheels,
his father said.
"He was one of the most exceptional persons I've ever known," said Frank
Botti, who is married to Nicholas' sister, Cynthia. "Everything he did,
he did more than well, and from scholastic to operating an airplane, he
knew how to do everything to the best of his ability."
His brother, Jeff, said the family had lived in the area since Nicholas
was in preschool.
"He did extremely well in school and had lots of friends," he said.
He was an excellent student at Lake Dallas High School, where he
graduated in 1997, and he also was a star football and basketball
player, said school athletic director Scott Head, who coached Nicholas
in football.
"He was an exceptional individual and a great kid," Mr. Head said. "He
was the kid you dream about having as a coach. We enjoyed him. He's
going to be deeply missed by his friends and the teachers that were here
when he was. He was somebody you always wanted to see, and it's a shame
he's no longer with us."