Friends remember pilot involved in fatal air race crash

Friends of a Bay Area pilot who died in a crash at the Reno Air Races are remembering him Tuesday night as not only a pilot, but also as an avid explorer.

Besides being an accomplished pilot those who knew Lee Behel say he also could fly underwater. "The guy was larger than life, trust me, he was larger than life," Graham Hawkes said.

Hawkes is talking about his friend and colleague, 64-year-old retired Air Force fighter pilot, Behel. He was killed when his plane crashed during a qualifying event for the National Championship Air Races in Reno.

"I can tell you he loved that stuff, he was born for that, he was made for it. He was doing what he wanted to do," Hawkes said.

Hawkes and Behel had a friendship rooted in a shared love of flight and exploration. It was Hawkes that introduced the veteran pilot to the adventure of taking his sky-high flying skills beneath the surface.

"He'd signed up to learn to fly underwater," Hawkes said.

This is Behel at the controls of the deep flight personal submarine designed and built by Hawkes. Behel was one of three people trained as pilot in command. Hawkes recalled the moment when student became teacher. "That machine, I may have designed it, I may have built it, but when Lee took the controls then we really could see what it could do," Hawkes said.

The plane piloted by Behel went down in an area of the Reno race course called High G Ridge.

The cause of the accident is being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board. Behel was the 19th pilot to die in the 51-year history of the air races.

"I mean he couldn't resist just going a bit further. He couldn't resist it. It's a huge loss, it's a huge loss for so many people. He was a great guy," Hawkes said.

Friends said goodbye to a talented aviator who, according to them, had a love of life that knew no limits.