Obituaries

Memorial Set for Montclair Plane Crash Victim

A service to remember Craig MacCallum will take place at Montclair High School.

A local man who died in a plane crash near Linden Airport in Union County last Friday will be memorialized Sunday at a special ceremony at Montclair High School.

Flight instructor Craig A. MacCallum, 58, was killed when his plane crashed into unused railroad tracks near Routes 1 and 9 just after taking off from the airport. A 19-year-old flight student was also on board; that student was critically injured and remains hospitalized at University Hospital in Newark, according to Aero News Network.

MacCallum was a native of New Hartford, New York. He was an Eagle Scout as a youth and graduated from New Hartford High School. He went on to earn a degree in economics at Princeton University and an MBA from New York University, ultimately becoming a certified public accountant with a specialty in real estate asset management, turnarounds and banking. 

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Flying reportedly had long been a passion of MacCallum's. A remembrance in the Star-Ledger noted that he earned his pilot's license before getting his license to operate a car.

Carol Schlein told NJ.com that her husband died a hero, noting that when the plane showed serious problems after he took off on what would turn out to be his final flight, MacCallum tried to land the plane on abandoned train tracks so that he wouldn't hit gas tanks, highways or a nearby shopping mall and hurt many more people.

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MacCallum is survived by his wife and their two teenage children, Margaret and James.

A memorial service for MacCallum is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Sunday, June 9, at Montclair High School, 100 Chestnut Drive. Afterward, there will be a reception in the George Inness Annex.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Craig MacCallum Children Scholarship Fund to provide for college scholarships for his children as well as to a Montclair High School student interested in STEM or aviation.  Details will be available on www.cremationnj.com.


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