Friends of the 23-year-old flight instructor who died in an aircraft accident while instructing a student last week expressed their sorrow over her passing over the weekend, saying the woman had been pursuing her ambition of becoming a commercial pilot her whole life.
The little aircraft that Viktoria Theresie Izabelle Ljungman, 23, was teaching crashed on takeoff on Thursday in Newport News, Virginia, killing her. The student pilot was 18 years old.
At about 3pm at Williamsburg International Airport, the single-engine Cessna stalled as a result of which it fell from a height of around 100 feet to the ground.
I recall that was all she ever wanted to do when we first met. Charlie Hudson, a tennis player at Hampton University, told the Daily Press on Friday that she aspired to be a commercial pilot.
Ljungman, a Swedish native who attended the university on a tennis scholarship, graduated in May and is now living her ambition of becoming a flight instructor.
Officials said over the weekend that the incident is still being investigated and that the young student pilot’s tactical mistake was what led to the tragedy.
Oluwagbohunmi Officials confirmed that Ayomide Oyebode, another Hampton student, survived the collision but had “life-threatening” wounds. He was flown to VCU Hospital in Richmond, where he is now being treated.
Immediately after takeoff, according to officials, the aircraft crashed in some nearby woods.
On her Instagram, Ljungman extensively chronicled her “quest to become an airline pilot,” including images and videos from several flights.
Photos of the recent graduate grinning in the air were posted on social media, and one of them said that she had just received her flying instructor license in April.
According to her acquaintances, Ljungman may be seen in a snapshot proudly marking her achievement in the test as one of many steps done by the young lady toward attaining her ambition.
Hudson remembered his former teammate’s upbeat demeanor and stated, “I don’t recall her ever not smiling.” She was just infectious in her enthusiasm and a pleasure to be around.
Myana Mabry, Ljungman’s roommate at Hampton, told the local media station WAVY-TV that she was proud of her roommate’s many successes and often boasted about them to other students.
“To know” Mabry told the station, “Hey, my roommate is a legend — not a legend in the making, but a legend.” “Seeing her ambitions come true was just so admirable and wonderful.”
People were attracted to her automatically because, as she said, “She simply just her being so honest.”
She was really such a beautiful spirit that appeared so innocent, Hudson concurred, stating.
He said, “How she presented herself on social media… was how she was in person.” Finding someone who is similar to you both outside and online is, in my opinion, becoming more unusual.
Police are presently looking into the disaster, which left the destroyed Cessna 172 in a ditch in the nearby woods close to the airport for a small town.
Since then, they have discovered that the collision happened during a lesson given by Ljungman to adolescent Oyebode, who has been blamed for the mishap.
There was a second male passenger, age 18, on the aircraft. Both people had injuries that were deemed “life-threatening” by authorities.
Both of the young men who were hurt were enrolled in an aviation program at Hampton University, according to HBCU Gameday.
Ljungman served as a teacher at a nearby battle school with its headquarters at Newport News-Williamsburg International Airport.
She often shared Instagram updates from her travels.
The men’s tennis player Charlie Hudson referred to Ljungman as “family” and claimed that becoming a commercial pilot was “all she ever wanted to do.”
Ljungman was said to be the personal pilot of the first team member to “make it big,” according to Hudson.
I don’t recall her ever not smiling, he continued. She had an infectious enthusiasm that made her a pleasure to be around.
‘We were two roommates with two very different cultures- yet we complemented one other so well,’ roommate Myana Mabry told WAVY. She taught me so much about her Swedish ancestry, and she even extended an invitation for me to go to Sweden one day. We were each other’s instructors. We had a lot of chats after I told her about my African American history since Viktoria was so observant and polite in general.
“She was definitely someone you only meet once,” she continued. And I promise to adore her forever and ever.
According to the Daily Press, Ljungman received her teaching license in April of this year after receiving her commercial license in March of 2021.
In a statement that exclusively addressed the two male students, the institution said: “Hampton University is aware of the sad tragedy that took place today involving two of our students. The accident’s precise cause is still being looked into. We have no more remark at this time out of respect for the children and their families.
Investigations into the accident are still ongoing.