THE PILOT who died when his light aircraft crashed into a field on Sunday in Co Mayo was in the process of giving a colleague a lift home, writes John Fallon.
The hundreds of mourners who attended the funeral Mass in Galway yesterday were told that it was typical of the generosity of Markus Casey.
Mr Casey (51), from Salthill in Galway, was killed instantly when his Beech 77 two-seater aircraft plummeted into a field near Kilmovee, Co Roscommon, after developing engine trouble.
He had been trying to return to Knock airport at the time.
Prayers were offered at his funeral Mass in the Jesuit Church for his passenger John Dunphy, a senior engineer with Wicklow County Council, who is recovering from serious injuries at Mayo General Hospital in Castlebar.
Fr John Humphreys said that Mr Casey had managed to intertwine his hobby of flying with his work as an architect and archaeologist.
Recently he had started a light aircraft maintenance business with two partners at Knock airport, and Fr Humphreys said friends had remarked how well everything seemed to be going for him.
Into this mix of hobby and work was a great wit and sense of humour. His battered old archaeology jeep had a slogan: "Iron Age Specialist - no site too old".
Mr Casey, who is survived by his son Tim, mother Erika, sisters Margaret and Brigitte and brother Tim, and extended family members, was a former secretary of Galway Flying Club, who formed a guard of honour as the cortege left the church for Rahoon Cemetery.