CAPAY -
The family of a Yolo County pilot killed in Thursday's mid-air collision over San Diego say Lieutenant Commander Che Barnes wanted to fly since he was a child.
"He would work all week and take his 70 dollars that week and take a pilots license test or a flight," says brother Freeman Barsotti.
The 35-year-old Capay native and graduate of Esparto High School helped run the family farming business, but went to the Coast Guard Academy straight out of high school.
Barnes piloted his first solo flight on his 16th birthday.
Barnes was the commander of the C-130 that collided with a Marine helicopter during a search and rescue mission.
His brothers are extremely proud of his accomplishments, "He was out on a rescue mission looking for a lost sailor and he really believed in what he was doing to the very end. It's just really inspiring to be able to be close to somebody who died doing what they wanted to do," says brother Noah Barnes.
"He would work all week and take his 70 dollars that week and take a pilots license test or a flight," says brother Freeman Barsotti.
The 35-year-old Capay native and graduate of Esparto High School helped run the family farming business, but went to the Coast Guard Academy straight out of high school.
Barnes piloted his first solo flight on his 16th birthday.
Barnes was the commander of the C-130 that collided with a Marine helicopter during a search and rescue mission.
His brothers are extremely proud of his accomplishments, "He was out on a rescue mission looking for a lost sailor and he really believed in what he was doing to the very end. It's just really inspiring to be able to be close to somebody who died doing what they wanted to do," says brother Noah Barnes.
