Pilot Point, Texas, equine veterinarian Ty Wallis was killed March 25, 2022, in a helicopter training crash in Rowlett, NBC-DFW news reports. He was 42.

Wallis was one of two people killed while he was flying a Robinson R-44 helicopter as a student pilot. Witnesses say the helicopter was in several pieces as it fell to the ground. National Transportation Safety Board investigators confirmed that the certified flying instructor also died in the crash, but have not released her name.

“Ty died doing something that he truly loved, and that was aviation,” Pilot Point farrier Chad Chance, a close friend of Wallis’, told NBC-DFW news.

Investigators recovered the tail of the aircraft, which could be key to resolving why the crash occurred.

“That will be very valuable to determine what caused that separation,” says Jon Kettles, a Dallas aviation attorney.

A celebration of Wallis’ life will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 2 at Midway Church, 9540 U.S. Hwy. 377 in Pilot Point.

“Hattie and I are reeling from this loss,” Kristen Wallis, Ty’s wife wrote on Facebook. “Ty loved us so, so well, and we know how fortunate we were to be his. Our hearts are shattered not just for our own loss, but for everyone who knew and loved him.”

Chance was scheduled to be the clinician April 1-2 at the Kansas Farriers Association spring clinic at Double Bar One in Leoti, Kansas. Purcell, Okla., farrier Mark Milster has agreed to fill in for Chance.

“When friends step up in hard times, it is good for the heart,” Chance wrote in a Facebook post, thanking Milster, the KFA and Double Bar One for their support.