April 29, 2014
South Dakota

Gettysburg pilot called an advocate for aviation safety

By Kamie Roesler, KSFY-TV | April 29, 2014 | www.kotatv.com

Cold and dreary weather was only fitting as people in the town of Gettysburg let it sink in, that one of their own was gone.

“At first I think it’s probably shock, then maybe a little bit of disbelief, and then you begin to think about what a sad situation this is. Not only his wife and his family, but the entire community are going to miss DJ,” family friend Corey Brown said.

DJ Fischer was a pilot, a newlywed and a former SDSU football player. He was a man everyone knew. He was always there with a helping hand.

“He was an EMT here, in fact two months ago he saved my uncle’s life. Not only that, but he then turned around and loaded the family up and flew them down to Sioux Falls, so they could be there with him after his heart attack,” Brown said.

Brown was a pilot himself while in the Navy, and he says he always knew DJ as a prestigious pilot.

“Probably one of the most important things in that cockpit is the pilot, and DJ had a tremendous reputation of judgment and his ability to fly an airplane. You can only imagine something went tragically wrong to end up in this situation,” Brown said.

The town of just under 1,200 people lost a friend, a husband, and just a really good guy.

“You don’t find people like that everyday that are so involved. You always knew if you had a problem, he’d be the first one there to help,” Brown said.

Brown said Fischer was also an advocate for aviation safety. He had been vocal about the need for better lighting on top of wind turbines because they can be hard to see in dark and foggy weather.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2014/04/29/gettysburg-pilot-called-an-advocate-for-aviation-safety/