SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – News 6 has learned a U.S. Air Force sergeant who enlisted out of Oviedo more than a decade ago was among the service members killed in a military aircraft crash last week in Japan.
The Air Force Special Operations Command said Sgt. Zachary E. Lavoy was among the eight service members who died when their Osprey military aircraft crashed last week off the coast of Japan.
They said it happened during a training mission, but what exactly happened remains under investigation.
Sgt. Lavoy’s best friends said they’re still trying to make sense of the tragedy. Lavoy was 33 years old.
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His best friends told News 6 they grew up with Lavoy in Lake Placid, Florida.
They said he was a positive person, a giver and always wanted to find ways to serve others.
It’s why they weren’t surprised that he enlisted in the Air Force back in 2013 out of Oviedo and was most recently a medical operations flight chief.
“He was just so prideful for the future potential for service in the Air Force and the excitement that came with that,” said best friend Joey Spurlock. “He was always friendly to everyone he ever met, and we kind of took a liking to each other, and we’ve been best friends ever since.”
“Didn’t want to believe it at first. It was traumatizing to lose a childhood friend like that,” said best friend Michael Wilkes.
His best friends told News 6 it was a tragedy, especially happening so close to Christmas.
“It’s just hard to talk about, he was a close friend, always had a big cheese on his face, smiling and always friendly to everybody,” Wilkes said. “Zack was the kind of guy I wish I was me not and him, just a good soul. The world suffered a loss from losing Zack and all the other airmen on the plane.”
They told News 6 that Sgt. Lavoy had big plans for his girlfriend in a few weeks.
“He was very adamant that when he came back from Japan, he was going to marry her, but he was going to come home on leave for Christmas and propose,” said Spurlock. “The fact that he’s not going to get a chance to have children. That was his biggest motivation factor to start a family. He wanted kids, and I know he would have been a great dad.”
The Air Force said that at last check, the recovery process continues after days of intensive search and rescue operations.
According to the Associated Press, the Osprey Aircraft has crashed several times before this incident, including in Japan, where they are used at U.S. And Japanese military bases. This crash last week has rekindled more safety concerns.
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