The 78-year-old pilot who was killed when a jet owned by Motley Crue singer Vince Neil crashed saved the three others in the plane during his last seconds, according to his daughter.
Marine veteran Joie Vitosky was killed when the landing gear of the plane owned by Neil malfunctioned, causing it to crash against a park jet in the Scottsdale airport in Arizona.
The Motley Crue vocalist was not on the plane, which was carrying his 43-year-old girlfriend Rain Hannah, her friend Ashley and two pilots, including Vitosky.
‘I honestly, wholeheartedly believe that the reason those other passengers are alive — it’s because of how he handled it yesterday,’ his daughter Jana Schertzer told The Arizona Republic.
Vitosky had been a pilot for 60 years, since he joined the Marine Corps, where he flew helicopters before switching to jets, his daughter added.
Despite his age, Schertzer said her father remained in perfect health – ‘Like, nothing wrong. His vision was perfect — better than 20/20 vision.’
The vet, who studied to become an engineer, served several tours in Vietnam.
Vitosky, originally from Okemah, Oklahoma, joined the Marine Corps in his early twenties because he wanted to fly, his ex-wife Ann Vitosky said.
Ann Vitosky said she believed he had been flying for Neil for ‘a few’ years.
He flew several high-profile names during his flying career, Jesse Jackson, Ronald Reagan’s daughter Maureen Reagan and oil barons.
Vitosky also served as a pilot for companies such as FedEx and for transplant patients, taking them to life-saving surgeries.
‘A lot of rich people, but he had a lot of people who needed something immediate,’ his daughter said of his career.
Vitosky also leaves behind two other children and four grandchildren.
The landing gear on the private jet appeared to have failed, sending it crashing into the other jet Monday afternoon, said Kelli Kuester, aviation planning and outreach coordinator at Scottsdale Airport. Another pilot and the two passengers aboard Neil’s plane were seriously injured, the FAA report said.
The crew member on the parked jet was not seriously injured and received treatment, said the jet’s owner, Jet Pros.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the collision. Authorities have not released the identities of anyone on either jet.
Mötley Crüe briefly posted on its X account Monday that Neil’s girlfriend and her friend were the passengers on Neil’s jet before deleting the post and replacing it with another post.
Poison singer Bret Michaels offered thoughts and prayers to Neil’s girlfriend, Rain Hannah, whom he described as a family friend, and others who were injured in the collision.
Hannah reportedly suffered five broken ribs and is being treated at a trauma center.
The make-up artist, who has been with 64-year-old Neil since 2012, often competes in barrel racing events all over the country, according to her social media.
Hannah’s barrel-racing coach posted on Instagram that Hannah and her friend Ashley were flying into Scottsdale to meet him for the Royal Crown barrel-racing competition in Buckeye.
Kuester said Neil’s jet had been coming in from Austin, Texas. The runway was closed in the hours following the collision, but it has since reopened.