Sun Prairie native was piloting plane that crashed in Afghanistan



SUN PRAIRIE (WITI) -- 37-year-old Jeremy Lipka of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin was flying a cargo aircraft from Bagram Air Base and heading to Dubai on Monday, April 28th when the plane crashed in Afghanistan.

It was all caught on camera.

Now, Lipka's family is grieving, back in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.

Lipka was the pilot of the civilian plane that crashed near Bagram Air Field. Officials say cargo shifted upon takeoff.

Video shows the plan start to pitch, and then it seems to stall before crashing and bursting into flames -- killing all seven Americans on board.

"I was shocked at first. That news floors you. First you don't believe it, then all of a sudden this is real," Lipka's uncle, Terry Lipka said.

Terry was at work in Milwaukee when he got a call from his sister, Lipka's mother.

Terry says Lipka was like a son to him. Born in Madison and raised in Sun Prairie before moving to Minnesota, Lipka always wanted to be a pilot.

"He had big dreams. He did always want to be a pilot. Make money. Be successful," Terry Lipka said.

There were reports the Taliban had claimed responsibility for the crash, but that has not been confirmed.

"The Taliban, they'll say that all the time. They want to take credit for this. This is still under investigation. The big thing is: why did the cargo shift? It wasn't supposed to shift. He did something he always wanted to do. And he accomplished that. I'm going to miss him. He was a good kid," Terry Lipka said.

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