Plane crash victim loved adventures and travel | News, Sports, Jobs
Courtney Parra (right) was a med flight nurse who was on the flight with two other crew members when the Beechcraft King Air 90 lost radar contact off the coast south of Hana Thursday night. To the left is her daughter, Sydney Parra. Photo via GoFundMe
A nurse aboard a Hawaii Life Flight plane that went missing off Maui was remembered as funny and passionate about her job, as a private search was underway for the medical transport aircraft.
A GoFundMe post Sunday identified Kihei resident Courtney Parry as a med flight nurse who was on the flight with two other crew members when the Beechcraft King Air 90 lost radar contact off the coast south of Hana at 9:27 p.m. Thursday.
The flight had left Kahului Airport and was headed to Waimea-Kohala Airport to pick up a patient.
The GoFundMe page was set up to help Parry’s daughter, Sydney Parry, a kindergarten teacher at Hawaii Technology Academy public charter school, who lives with her mother and their two dogs in Kihei. The post said “she will need to find more affordable living arrangements, as she navigates through the change.”
Sydney Parry declined to be interviewed on Monday and instead referred to her comments on the fundraising page.
Describing her mother in the post, she said, “My mom was funny, loving, and selfless. She loved her job as a nurse, and would always put everyone’s needs before hers. It was her passion to always help others, and no matter the risk of her job, she willingly got on the plane every shift so she could assist those in need.
“When she wasn’t working, she loved to play with our two dogs, and also loved to travel and go on adventures.”
Mother and daughter planned “to go explore Greece together” this summer.
In Facebook posts, friends called Courtney Parry “an amazing flight nurse who loved her job.”
“Her genuine soul and crazy sense of humor will be sorely missed,” a friend posted.
Another friend said Parry “was hilarious” and “had a great passion for her job and her children.”
The Coast Guard worked with the Hawaii Wing Civil Air Patrol and Coast Guard Auxiliary to look for the plane in 28 searches that covered over 4,732 square nautical miles over the course of 67 hours.
After the search-and-rescue effort was suspended Sunday, Global Medical Response said on its Facebook page that the news was “difficult.”
“Our team remains committed to searching for our friends using local resources,” the post said.
Hawaii Life Flight hired a company to do a shoreline search for wreckage, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
The agency reported being in the early stages of the crash investigation, including determining whether an oil sheen and aircraft debris recovered Friday was from the plane.
As of Monday afternoon, the GoFundMe page had raised more than $2,000 to help Courtney Parry’s daughter.
“We cannot imagine what Sydney and her family are feeling and experiencing at this time,” the page said. “We hope that our community can come together and help support her through this extremely difficult time.”
The link to the page is https://gofund.me/3d4781fe.
* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.
Courtney Parra (right) was a med flight nurse who was on the flight with two other crew members when the Beechcraft King Air 90 lost radar contact off the coast south of Hana Thursday night. To the left is her daughter, Sydney Parra. Photo via GoFundMeToday's breaking news and more in your inbox
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