A long-time resident of New Orleans who volunteered to fly a sick patient in Florida for free to get treatment was killed when the plane struck a tower as it was taking off.

Harlan Northcott, 81, who lived in Chateau Estates for many years, was killed in the crash along with Patricia Snyder, 49, and Tyler McLellan, 15, both of Stuart, Fla., according to the Associated Press.

Harlan Northcott

The flight was part of Angel Flight, a charity organization made up of pilots who used their own money and their own planes to offer free flights for sick and financially deprived patients in need of transportation for medical care.

“Anybody that knew my father knew that two things mattered in his life other than his family; that was helping people and flying,” said his son, Glen Northcott.

Northcott relocated to the Tampa area in 1997, but as Bart Cutshall, his stepson son, said he “kept his love of the Crescent City,” and made “regular return visits to New Orleans to visit friends and family.”   

“Something very special to the world was lost with his tragic death,” he added.

Northcott, a veteran pilot, had transported needy patients for approximately 20 years before the accident, said his son, Glenn. 

Glenn said he was being treated for prostate cancer while still flying needy patients.  “‘Dad, you’re 81. When are you going to slow down?’ I would tell him, and, he would say, ‘I’m 81 on the outside, and 16 on the inside.’”  

Glenn said that his father worked in the oil and gas industry, working for Tidewater Marine in New Orleans. 

Northcott is survived by his wife, Peggy Worthington Webb Northcott, his sons Harlan E. Northcott, Jr. and Glenn E. Northcott, and his daughter Paula Northcott Klotz; and survived his first wife Jane Gustafson Northcott.  He has several grandchildren and great children.

A memorial service is schedule for Thursday evening, July 24 at Lietz Eagan Funeral home.