Evening in memory of tragic pilot (From The Northern Echo)

Evening in memory of tragic pilot

4:18pm Monday 13th February 2012 in Tyne and Wear News

A FUND raising night has raised more than £1,000 in memory of a pilot who lost his life in an air crash last year.

Volunteers from Sunderland’s Royal national Lifeboat Institution held an event at the city’s Yacht Club in memory of former crewman Andrew Cantle.

The 27-year-old died in February last year when the Manx2.com commuter plane he was co-piloting crashed at Cork Airport in thick fog.

Around 120 guests, including members of Mr Cantle’s family, attended the sell-out event on Saturday and raised £1,140 Mr Cantle was a volunteer with Sunderland RNLI from 200 to 2008, when he moved to York to take up his career as an airline pilot, helping to rescue 66 people during his time at the station.

Paul Nicholson, senior helmsman of Sunderland RNLI, said: "We are extremely grateful to everyone who contributed to the success of Saturday night".

He added: "The whole event was a fitting tribute to Andrew and it was exactly the sort of night that he loved to attend".