UND freshmen Jacob Rueth and Jacob Sundblad died doing what they loved to do when the single-engine Cessna plane Rueth was flying crashed into a field near the Crookston Municipal Airport late Friday night or early Saturday morning.
Brian Rusiniak, a sophomore commercial aviation major at UND, first met Rueth six years ago at a training camp for the Civil Air Patrol. The two are from neighboring Chicago suburbs, and Rusiniak said he was a big reason why Rueth decided to come to UND this year.
"He rents planes all the time for fun. I guess we love flying," Rusiniak said as he sat in his car waiting to see the crash site Saturday afternoon. "He was a great pilot. He knew his stuff. I guess you could call him fearless when it comes to flying, but he wasn't careless."
Rusiniak and his girlfriend Stephanie Burdorf drove out to the crash site Saturday afternoon after a friend told them about the crash. They wanted to catch a glimpse of the crumpled remains of the aircraft, something Rusiniak said "I'm not ready for it, but I need to see it." Both admitted they were still in shock about what had happened.
"It's so weird that I talked to (Rueth) right before he took off . . . It's going to be tough to go back home during Christams break without him being there. When we'd hang out, we had a good time," Rusiniak said. "This seems so surreal."
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Rueth, described as an "easygoing guy," called his friend before boarding the plane with friend Sundblad and taking to the skies. They planned to "fly in the pattern," or practice takeoffs and landings on the runway.
Rueth was a pre-commercial aviation major. He also was concentrating in Military Science and worked as a line service technician for UND, according to his Facebook.com profile.
Sundblad, a pre-flight education major from Annandale, Minn., was a member of UND's ROTC program. He planned to fly helicopters for the U.S. Army some day, and was only a week or two away from earning his private pilot's license.
Sundblad graduated from Annandale High School in June and had just been back home from school for Thanksgiving, Pat Chapman, a Sundblad family friend and spokesperson, told the Star Tribune.
"There was nothing but a smile on his face," Chapman said, describing Sundblad as very outgoing and full of life.
UND President Charles Kupchella also expressed his condolensces for the families of the victims.
"We are greatly saddened to learn of the deaths of Jacob Rueth and Jacob Sundblad," he said in a statement. "We will keep Jacob and Jacob and their families in our thoughts and prayers."
