The couple met while taking flying lessons at Hancock airport. They took to the sky every chance they got.
View full sizeA couple from Pompey died Thursday morning when their single-engine Beechcraft airplane crashed in a hay field northeast of Perry in Jefferson County.Pompey, NY -- Gregory Collis and Pindi Williams-Collis died doing what they loved: Getting in a plane and flying off to wherever they fancied.
The couple, from Pompey, were killed Thursday morning when their small plane crashed in Kansas shortly after taking off on the second leg of their trip to Arizona, according to Sue McSweeney, a longtime family friend.
The couple was flying to Arizona for the Fourth of July weekend, McSweeney said. Collis has sisters in Arizona and Los Angeles.
John Poulos, of Liverpool, said Gregory, 56, and, Pindi, 54, both loved to fly. Poulos was best man at the couple's 2002 wedding. "They met at Hancock airport," Poulos said. "They were both taking lessons."
The Post-Standard story about their wedding noted that the couple held a reception at their Broadfield Road home, then climbed in a plane a flew off for a honeymoon trip to Prince Edward Island and Quebec City, Canada.
Collis ran the Manlius Home for Adults, the Highland Home for Adults, in Syracuse, and Hamilton Manor, in Hubbardsville, McSweeney said. Pindi Williams-Collis worked in the business, doing insurance billing.
Collis worked 12-hour days, but loved to fly, McSweeney said. "Any day he could break away, they'd be gone in a flash," she said.
McSweeney said the couple spent Wednesday night in Kansas City and took off early Thursday morning. They were about 50 miles out when Collis sent a distress signal that the engine had stopped, she said.
About five minutes later, the fixed-wing, single-engine Beechcraft plane crashed in a hay field in Perry in Jefferson County, Kansas, said Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Herrig. "The impact site was about 30 square yards," he said.
According to the Federal Aviation Administrations flight log, the couple took off in the plane from the Charles Wheeler Downtown Airport in Kansas City around 8:30 a.m. (7:30 a.m. central time) Thursday. The crash was reported to authorities at about 8:50 a.m. (7:50 a.m. Central Time).
The plane was destined for St. Johns, Ariz., according to a flight plan. The couple started the trip on Wednesday at Hamilton Municipal Airport in Madison County.
McSweeney said Collis was an experienced pilot who had flown for more than two decades. He also had a helicopter pilots license, she said.
Debra Evans, a Broadfield Road neighbor, recalled that for years a helicopter would take off and land at the Collis home.
Collis was active in Empire State Association of Assisted Living, a trade association. "We're just devastated," Executive Director Lisa Newcomb said.
Collis was a graduate of Nottingham High School and received a masters degree in business from Syracuse University. Williams-Collis was a graduate of Liverpool High School, and was a graphic artist before joining her husband's business.
Both were members of St. Sophias Greek Orthodox Church and were married there in August 2002. Catina Luvavis, the church office manager, said the couple had attended this years Greek festival, held in June at the church. "They were a very loving couple," she said. "They were very dedicated to each other."
Contact Staff writer Douglas Dowty at ddowty@syracuse.com or at 470-6070.