Arizona Loses A Sportsman
From The Arizona Star online: Pecan exec dies in plane crash
Single-engine craft went down in Santa Ritas, killing VP of FICO
By Eric SwedlundTucson, Arizona | Published: 08.17.2008
Layne Brandt, longtime manager of a Green Valley pecan farm and an avid outdoorsman and hunter, died when his single-engine plane crashed in a rugged area of the Santa Rita Mountains.
The wreckage of Brandt’s Cessna 182 was reached Saturday afternoon near the mining ghost town of Helvetia, about 10 miles northeast of Madera Canyon, by Pima County sheriff’s deputies and the Southern Arizona search and rescue team.
Brandt, 63, was vice president of farm operations for Farmers Investment Co., better known as Green Valley Pecan Co., which is one of the largest growers of pecans in the nation.
An experienced pilot with more than 5,000 hours over 25 years, Brandt made the flight routinely, once or twice a week, Walden said. Because of his experience and the lack of inclement weather, she said a health problem likely caused the crash, though an investigation hasn’t been completed.
Born in Michigan and raised in Wyoming, Brandt had a passion for cattle ranching and big-game hunting, especially lions, and authored “Lucky Shot: Favorite Hunting Stories of an Arizona Sportsman.”
Thoughts and prayers out to Mr. Brandt’s family