Darienites
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Jamie Swiggart: Flying, Sailing, Service to His Country and His Community

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Former Darien resident Jamie Swiggart, whose life was cut short in a plane crash on Thursday, Dec. 17,  loved to fly, loved to sail and loved to serve others, his mother, Carolyn, recalled on Wednesday. “He loved people,” she said in an email. “Look at what he did during his life: Boy Scouts, Post 53, Navy — it was all about service to his country and to his community.” James H. Swiggart, 31, was flying a two-seater in Florida, his 18-year-old cousin, Maitland Harvey, in the passenger seat, when the plane went down in low-visibility conditions, according to news reports.

Public Safety
Jamie Swiggart USN

UPDATE: Former Darien High Student, Post 53 Member, Killed in Florida Plane Crash

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Updated 12:12 p.m., Monday:

A funeral date has not yet been announced for former Darien resident James H. “Jamie” Swiggart, 31, a victim in the Thursday night crash of an airplane he was piloting in Madison County, Fla. 

A lieutenant in the U.S. Navy with extensive flight experience, Swiggart was with his 18-year-old cousin. The two perished instantly in the crash, Madison County Sheriff Benjamin Stewart said, according to the website of WCTV, a television station in Florida. Swiggart, who had an extensive record as a Navy pilot, was flying his two-seat civilian aircraft, an “experimental” Vans RV-4 plane, with his cousin, Maitland Harvey, WCTV reported. The plane had taken off Thursday afternoon from Ocala International Airport and was headed for Tallahassee International Airport. At 7:30 p.m., the plane was over southwest Madison County (east of Tallahassee) when it lost contact with air traffic control, according to the report. WTXL-TV reported that, according to local authorities, the plane was over nearby Gadsden County when Swiggart notified air traffic controllers that he had low visibility.