An undated photo of Lt. David Michael Jahn in his Navy dress uniform. (The Sun Herald)
(Tribune News Service) — The 30-year-old private pilot presumed dead aboard a Cessna Skyhawk that plunged into Lake Pontchartrain, La., was an expectant father and Navy officer stationed in Gulfport, Miss.
The U.S. Navy has confirmed the identity of Lt. David Michael Jahn with permission from his family. The U.S. Coast Guard on Wednesday afternoon suspended a search for Jahn and the flight instructor aboard the plane, Taylor Dickey, who was also 30 years old.
Recovery operations continued, with the United Cajun Navy posting Saturday evening on Facebook that it had located “a large part of the aircraft.” The post said that sonar teams, divers and Team Texas K9 units worked to pinpoint the site.
Jahn and Dickey were on a training flight from Gulfport to New Orleans in a single-engine Cessna from Apollo Flight Training and Aircraft Management. The Lakefront Airport in New Orleans reported losing communication Monday evening with the Cessna when the plane was about 4 miles north of the airport.
The family relayed a statement about Jahn through Navy Expeditionary Combat Command. Jahn was a civil engineer corps officer serving with Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 1 in Gulfport.
The family’s statement said, “David was a man of God and dedicated to his family. His character will live on in his wife and their expected child. He loved the gift of life and embraced living to the fullest, with a love of exploring, adventure, and travel, always guided by Jesus, and his service to others and his country.” Flight student’s Navy career detailed
Jahn’s hometown was Grayslake, Ill. He was commissioned as a civil engineer corps officer in May 2019. Before coming to Gulfport in July 2024, Jahn served in the Facilities Engineering and Acquisition Division at Camp Butler in Okinawa, Japan, then was stationed at Camp Pendleton in California.
He was married to Taylor L. Jahn, a pediatrician.
His awards and decorations included Navy and Marine Corps commendation and achievement medals, and a National Defense Service Medal.
“Our sympathies and deepest condolences are with his family, friends and shipmates,” a statement from the Navy said. “Grief counseling services and support are available through the chain of command and local Navy chaplains.”
The owner of Apollo, Michael Carastro, has said that Jahn was working toward his commercial pilot’s license and was training on instruments during the Cessna flight. It was unclear whether the student or instructor was flying the plane when it crashed.
The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.
There was no distress call from the Cessna, Carastro said. It was serviced every 100 hours, he said, in addition to a more detailed annual inspection.
“The weather was a little bit marginal that night,” Carastro said during a news conference after the crash. “But in any flying over water, it presents additional challenges because you don’t have clear horizons.”
Despite rain expected to move in Sunday afternoon, followed Monday by thunderstorms, the United Cajun Navy concluded its post, “We will continue to do our best to help return the pilots home for the holidays.”
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