Crash snuffs out 3 lives, careers

Wallis Bouldin was Grand Aire's chief pilot.

Whether in a plane or floating by parachute, Steven William “Will” Forshay loved to be in the sky.

Mr. Forshay, 37, appeared last year on an episode of A&E's Dream Chasers. The television show filmed him skydiving off a 3,000-foot fjord in Norway and jumping from a 500-foot Los Angeles skyscraper.

The Springfield Township man was one of three pilots who died Tuesday when a Grand Aire cargo jet crashed west of Toledo Express Airport.

He was a former member of the Flying Elvi, a 10-man team of parachuting Elvis impersonators.

Wallis Bouldin was Grand Aire's chief pilot.

“He was a very fun guy,” said a friend, Molly Crawford. “He was somebody who knew what you needed before you did and he'd help you out.”

Mr. Forshay grew up in Tennessee, California, and Minnesota. He survived leukemia as a young man.

His yearning to parachute stemmed from eighth grade, when his teacher brought to school a video of men jumping from El Capitan, a mountain in Yosemite National Park.

“I was impressed that these guys could put some technology on their backs and walk right off the edge,” Mr. Forshay told The Blade in July.

Mr. Forshay received the elite BASE jumper classification by jumping off a Building, Antenna, Span (a bridge), and Earth (a cliff).

“He treasured the moments and was grateful for what he was able to do in life,” his brother-in-law, Justin Thornton, said.

A memorial service for Mr. Forshay will be held Saturday at 2 p.m. at Centennial United Methodist Church in Roseville, Minn.

Wallis Bouldin, 32, Grand Aire's chief pilot who also died in the crash, took a more conventional approach to flying. In high school, he learned to fly planes at the Russellville-Logan County Airport near his home in southern Kentucky.

His talent and drive quickly impressed the airport manager, so Mr. Bouldin became assistant manager, his mother, Henryetta, said.

“He was very serious about aviation,” said his brother, Thomas. “He set his goals high and achieved them.”

Mr. Bouldin worked at the airport during college. After graduating, he went to flight school in Alabama.

As a member of the Army Reserve, he flew helicopters in Bosnia.

Mr. Bouldin had worked at Grand Aire for about six years. He was a devout Baptist who lived with his wife in Kentucky. The couple had no children.

“He was a joy to be around,” his mother said.

As of yesterday, his funeral arrangements were incomplete.

A funeral service is scheduled for Saturday for 40-year-old David Davenport, the third crash victim. He was a former truck driver who dreamed of being a pilot.

He eventually took flying lessons and joined Grand Aire about five years ago. Family members said Mr. Davenport had hoped to build his own plane someday.

He resided with his wife and three children in Ottawa County's Harris Township near Elmore, Ohio.

Visitation for Mr. Davenport will be held after 2 p.m. tomorrow at Crosser Funeral Home, 451 East Rice St., Elmore, where a funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday.