Zach VanderGriend, an airplane mechanic, was one of three men aboard the Lockheed P2V-7 that went down shortly after taking off from Reno-Stead Airport on a firefighting mission. Also killed in the crash Monday were pilot Calvin Gene Wahlstrom, 61, of Hunstville, Utah, and co-pilot Greg “Gonzo” Gonsioroski, 41, of Baker.
The plane was owned by Neptune Aviation Services Inc. of Missoula.
VanderGriend studied at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago and Moody Aviation in Spokane before graduating from Grace University in Omaha, Neb.
He started looking for jobs and found one at Neptune. He moved to Missoula in late May.
“The first time he came in contact with Neptune, he knew without a shadow of a doubt that's where he wanted to be,” Steve VanderGriend said. “He was passionate about it. He loved the people he worked with and the good that he was doing in the world through fighting fires.
“He was living his dream working for Neptune.”
Zach VanderGriend also loved hunting and fishing, and spending time with his friends and family, his father said.
He was serving as crew chief on the tanker that crashed.
“It was a complex airplane,” Neptune shift supervisor Rick Gauthier said. “The crew chief helps monitor things.”
Gauthier described VanderGriend as a hard worker and “just a super guy.”
“We all really liked working with him,” he said. “He absolutely lived for aviation. It was his love.”
Both VanderGriend and Gonsioroski were kind, competent people who made lasting impressions on their co-workers, Gauthier said.
Gonsioroski started his career with Neptune 15 years ago as a mechanic and later earned his commercial pilot's license. He was a fun-loving guy who was well on his way to becoming an air tanker captain, according to the company.
Gonsioroski had three children with his wife, Kim.
“He was a heck of a family man,” Gauthier said. “You should have seen him with those kids. He doted on them, and they followed him around everywhere.”
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