Craig Hutain, 63, was flying the single-pilot Bell P-63 Kingcobra when it collided mid-air with a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress.
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Hutain has had his pilot license since 1975 and has more than 34,000 hours of flying, according to the Commemorative Air Force. He was currently flying as a captain for United Airlines, based out of Houston.
His close friend, Dale McLeod, said he always admired him as a captain and aspired to be just like him.
"Craig was one of the first captains I flew with as a new hire for Continental Airlines, that was almost 25 years ago," he said. "From a pilot perspective, the ultimate professional, he commanded a presence, was extremely standard, and very thorough. He had fantastic decision-making and can fly the heck out of an airplane, so when you see someone like that, it's hard not to want to do it the same way when you become captain."
Hutain has been a Tora Executive Officer for the Commemorative Air Force since 2009, which is the non-profit organization behind the air show.
"I have flown the P-51 Mustang with Craig several years ago, the highlight of my career was flying with him and that airplane," McLeod said.
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Hutain's father was a World War II bomber pilot, and he grew up going to air shows.
"It's not just their passion for the old airplanes, but their passion to see how everyone else wants to see these old airplanes," McLeod said.
McLeod recalls one time when Hutain took him on an old warplane, and they had to stop for fuel when a large crowd showed up to admire the plane.
"We needed to get going because we had an airline flight to catch home," McLeod said. "Craig said we are going to stay here as long as we need to, we will catch a later flight if we have to but these people really want to see this airplane."
Hutain's impact was felt by many aviation enthusiasts.
One father, who did not want to be identified, sent ABC13 videos of Hutain and his then 8-year-old son. He said Hutain noticed his son during a pre-season air show practice at the Conroe Executive Airport. He gave the boy a tour of his plane and even gave him his hat after. Since then, the father and son have gone to many air shows and recently saw Hutain at the Wings Over Houston event a few weeks ago.
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The story didn't shock McLeod who said he treated everyone like family.
"One of the flight attendants who reached out to me told me a story that they were flying into Vegas for the overnight and Craig gave all the flight attendants money to go gamble," McLeod said. "'Here's a little money, go gamble, have a good time.' I thought, 'Well that's the Craig I know.' That is how he operated. He would light up a room and he just wanted everyone to have fun."
Hutain leaves behind a wife, two children, and four grandchildren.
The National Transpiration Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating.
A preliminary report is expected in four to six weeks while a final report will take up to 18 weeks.
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