A public memorial service will be held today in honour of a Nigerian aviation student, Alfa Ekele, who died earlier this month in a plane mishap at the Orlando Executive Airport, Orange County Florida, United States of America.
Wind gusts of 60 miles per hour moved through Orlando on Thursday September 1, bringing with them torrential rains, lightning, and strong winds, days after a severe thunderstorm warning was issued in the area of the airport.
The Florida Institute of Technology confirmed that Ekele, one of its students, was killed in an accident that occured when the severe weather caused two airplanes to flip.
One of the affected planes, a Diamond DA42 Twin Star, occupied by two persons that included Ekele, was holding on a taxiway before it was flipped by the storm. The second aircraft was parked and unoccupied.
“The entire university community extends their sincere sympathies and offers heartfelt condolences to Alfa’s family and friends. He is remembered as a kind person who will be dearly missed,” a statement from the school read.
A spokesperson for the City of Orlando Fire Department, Jennifer DeSantis, said, “Orlando firefighters quickly responded to the scene, where one person was dead upon arrival and the other was taken to the Orlando Regional Medical Center as a trauma alert.”
The memorial service for the deceased, who was studying for a master’s degree in administration of applied aviation safety at the university’s College of Aeronautics, will hold at 12:30 p.m. today in the All Faiths Center on campus.
Ekele is survived by his wife, Precious, and two children.