EMMETT, Idaho (CBS2) — The Emmett Airport community is mourning the loss of Roland Steadham, a beloved and cautious pilot, whose unexpected death in a plane crash has left his fellow aviators grappling for answers. Steadham’s plane, now sitting with an empty cockpit in his hangar, serves as a poignant reminder of the tragedy.
“We loved him, we loved the guy, and he was easy to love,” said one of his flying buddies, Kelly Taylor.
Roland, a pilot with decades of experience and thousands of flying hours, was killed alongside young pilot Dallin Laufenberg when the plane they were flying together clipped a power line and crashed onto the frozen Payette River. The plane’s manufacturer had loaned the plane to Roland to review…