Gulfport flight instructor aboard downed Cessna identified, described as ‘dedicated’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Gulfport flight instructor Taylor Dickey and her student presumed dead after Cessna crash.
- Apollo Flight Training contracted with Dickey in June 2024; FAA and NTSB investigating.
- Dickey led outreach and training for women in aviation, organizing events and mentoring.
Professional pilot Taylor Dickey, 30, made a big impact before her life ended Monday, when the Cessna Skyhawk she was aboard plunged into Lake Pontchartrain.
She had worked since June 2024 as a contract flight instructor with Apollo Flight Training and Aircraft Management, based at Million Air terminal at the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport. Dickey and her young student, who has not been officially identified, flew out of Gulfport at 5:43 p.m. Monday, according to FlightAware Aviation Co.
The Lakefront Airport in New Orleans, where they were headed, lost track of the Cessna about 4 miles north of the airport. A search for the plane was suspended Wednesday afternoon.
It is unclear whether Dickey or the student was piloting the plane because they trade seats during training flights. The student, a Navy Seabee, also had built up a considerable number of hours, said Mark Carastro, Apollo’s owner.
Dickey moved to Biloxi to go to work as a contractor at Apollo in June 2024. Her parents also relocated from North Carolina to Biloxi, said Dickey’s friend and fellow pilot Alice Furr of Ocean Springs.
Taylor Dickey, parents shared strong faith
Both Dickey and her parents, Randy and Peggy Dickey, shared her strong Christian faith, said Apollo owner Michael Carastro, who verified her identity with their permission. Her parents were too grief-stricken to speak Friday. But Randy Dickey, who is also a pilot, sent a text message that he said Carastro could share:
“We know that God is good, even when we have to walk through the valley. Taylor loved flying. She loved seeing God’s beauty flying over the ocean and bays. Seeing the sunsets and the sun rises. Peggy loved hearing her tell us about it.
“ . . . Best of all, knowing that she trusted Jesus brings us great peace and great hope, and knowing that we will see her again . . .”
Taylor Dickey was all about sharing the profession she loved, especially with other women and girls.
“Taylor did some great things, and she was really loved,” said Alice Furr, who met Dickey through Apollo. “She made an impact.”
She said that Dickey always stepped up to volunteer for aviation events. Dickey was a founding member and chapter president of the Bayou Beacons Chapter of Women in Aviation International.
“As a dedicated certified flight instructor,” she wrote on her LinkedIn profile, “I focus on supporting the growth and development of aspiring pilots.”
Gulfport flight instructor always helped
Dickey had recently organized the chapter’s Girls in Aviation Day at Trent Lott Airport.
She also helped out fellow Apollo instructor Furr, who serves as the NOLA Chapter president of The Ninety-Nines Inc International Organization of Women Pilots. Dickey, a chapter member, volunteered in the spring for the organization’s Let’s Fly Now! event that took on free flights women and girls interested in aviation.
“I could always count on her to volunteer for any events,” Furr said. “Taylor always went above and beyond for her students and for anyone in aviation.” Furr described Dickey as “passionate and dedicated.”
Dickey even took students on tours of the airport’s air traffic control tower, although she was not paid to do so.
She was easy-going and a friend to everyone she met, Furr said.
Carastro is also devastated over losing Dickey. He said that she and her family are just “very special people.”
Carastro realized that Dickey and her student did not survive the plunge into Lake Pontchartrain when U.S. Coast Guard searchers showed him a photograph of the debris field late Monday evening. He also knew from markings on the debris that the plane was Apollo’s Cessna.
The Coast Guard suspended its search on Wednesday afternoon, having received assistance from multiple agencies.
The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.
“To have such a bright future gone is just absolutely devastating to everyone in the Apollo family and to her family,” Carastro said.
This story was originally published November 28, 2025 at 11:36 AM.
