Plane crash victim in house identified
By Erika Chavez -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 5:36 pm PST Tuesday, February 14, 2006
[Updated: 8:30 p.m., Feb. 14] For Chris Musil, it was a treasured weekend ritual.
On Saturday nights, the 19-year-old Roseville man would stay up into the wee hours, playing World of Warcraft, his favorite online computer game, against real and virtual competitors.
On Sundays he would sleep in and recover from the all-night marathon, friends said.
That's why Musil was thought to be still in bed at 11:30 a.m. Sunday when a small airplane crashed into his home, killing him, the pilot and a passenger.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Placer County Coroner's Office identified the dead as Musil; pilot Patrick Allen O'Brien, 49, of San Clemente; and passenger James Anthony McIsaac, 43, of Roseville.
O'Brien is believed to be a distant relation to McIsaac through marriage, according to public records.
Witnesses said the single-engine Glasair II plane was flying at a low altitude over the suburban neighborhood, doing aerobatic stunts when it stalled and dived nose-first into the two-story residence on Longfellow Circle, near Woodcreek Oaks Boulevard.
On Tuesday, as the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board continued to investigate the circumstances surrounding the crash, Musil's friends and colleagues remembered a quiet, gentle and unassuming soul.
"When my brother called to tell me, my first thought was, no way, not Chris," said Charles Williams, a longtime friend. "He wouldn't hurt a fly. I called and his phone was off. Then I saw the news, and his truck was parked in the driveway."
Williams and Musil were old neighbors in Lincoln, and were home-schooled together for a time, he said. Along with Williams' younger brother Shane, the young men once worked at Turpin's Car Wash in Lincoln.
"He was a quiet person who didn't have much," Williams said. "But what he did have, he valued."
Among those possessions: an old Dodge pickup that he was saving money to replace and a beat-up Bultaco dirt bike that he was repairing and restoring.
Williams works at Future Nissan in the Roseville Auto Mall; about six months ago, he gave Musil a lead on a job next door at Future Ford.
Musil was a lot porter at Future Ford, ferrying cars and trucks across the dealership as needed.
Joe Hansen, who oversees the service department, laughed as he remembered how Musil refused to wear a rain jacket, even during downpours.
"He would run around the lot soaking wet," Hansen said. "There's not a single person here who would have one bad thing to say about Chris. He was a good kid."
Ray Bryant worked alongside Musil in the service department. The two men had a fledgling friendship, talking over lunch and making plans to go to a Disturbed concert.
"He was helpful, dependable and honest," said Bryant. "He talked about his parents. He said they were his friends and he really appreciated them."
At nearby Woodcreek High School, where Musil had attended school but did not graduate, teacher Brandi Wallin said Musil struggled academically but still loved to read, often toting Harry Potter books and reading them during class.
"He was the sweetest boy," said Wallin, Musil's English teacher for two years. "He was a thoughtful, sincere and friendly boy, and he never failed to make a personal connection with his teachers and his peers."
Wallin said the shy Musil nevertheless greeted her with a smile every day.
"I will always remember him with such affection," she said.
At the crash site Tuesday afternoon, a burgeoning pile of red roses, white carnations, balloons and a teddy bear paid tribute to the dead.
Garrett Osgood, 12, lived next door to the Musils and said he occasionally played video games with Chris Musil.
Osgood, who escaped unharmed when the plane crash sparked a fire at his home, said he lost everything but a few changes of clothes, his iPod and his wallet.
"I know I lost everything, but it's replaceable," he said.
He spent the day helping his family move their belongings out to a warehouse, and in the afternoon, was sitting on the bed of a moving truck with his friends.
"It seems like one of those dreams you have that the world is ending," Osgood said about waking up to the crash.
Matthew Haberkorn, attorney for the Musil family, said the family is declining all interview requests. Family members of McIsaac and O'Brien also declined to comment.
Peter Parucchini, a 22-year-old senior at UC Davis and member of the Sigma Chi fraternity, said he became good friends with McIsaac through McIsaac's frequent visits to the Sigma Chi fraternity home. McIsaac's mother, Norma, has been the house mother for 10 years.
He said "Jimmy" often stopped by to visit with his mom as she and the fraternity brothers began making dinner at 5:30 p.m. He'd stay for 15 to 20 minutes, "shoot the (breeze) and tell us how to cook," he said.
Parucchini said James McIsaac was great in the kitchen and would help the boys cook their annual Mother's Day brunch. Sigma Chi also would pitch in money to sponsor Norma McIsaac in the various walks for diabetes research in which she participated with her son.
"He's the type of guy who'd fit in at the opera but could hang out at the frat house with his crazy ol' mom," Paruchhini said.
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