Commanding Officer of the squadron,
Flight Lieutenant John Hitchen, said: "David was one
of my cadets when I started in 1986. "He always wanted
to be a pilot and he became one. It's just exactly what he
would have wanted to do. He was obviously a better pilot than
most because he was tasked to do special duties. We kept in
touch for a while after he left but when he started flying
special forces it meant he could not keep in contact or tell
people what he was doing because of the nature of his job.
We knew he was in the equivalent of the SAS so he could not
come down and talk to the squadron about what he was doing."
Fl Lt Stead gained a Duke of Edinburgh award and won the
Best Cadet award and Best Senior Cadet award during his time
with the Wharfedale squadron. David joined the cadets when
he was 13 and is believed to have been a pupil at Ilkley Grammar
School.
"He was a really outstanding cadet," said Mr Hitchen,
51. "He was one of the great cadets. He was good at everything
and he would do anything that was going. He was an excellent
sportsman and he would participate in collections for the
cadets and Poppy Appeal. He was very athletic and good at
the high jump and long jump.
"He was a mature teenager and could relate to anybody.
He was an excellent leader and very well respected by everybody.
He was popular and not someone you would forget. He will definitely
be remembered by the cadets who knew him."
The squadron plans to hold prayers at its meeting on Thursday
and a minute's silence in memory of Mr Stead at its annual
dinner and presentation night in two weeks' time. Wharefdale
cadets warrant officer David Wood said: "David was really
keen on the RAF. That was always going to be his career. When
he left here he was a flight sergeant which is the top of
the tree. He was going to university and he joined the air
corps there. But throughout he was always going into the RAF.
From an early age he wanted to be a pilot."
He said his parents, from Burley-in-Wharfedale, kept in
close contact with the Wharefdale Air cadets and often popped
in to keep them updated on their son's career. WO Wood, said:
"They are very proud of their son. They called in before
Christmas and brought in some photographs for us which David
had taken. He had been to the Gulf several times flying supply
planes."
Flt Lt Stead's parents were too distressed to comment last
night. Flt Lt Stead had recently moved to the village of Lyneham
with his wife and young daughter. A neighbour on the family's
street said that his wife had given birth to their second
child only a couple of months ago.
"He was a nice guy," said the neighbour, who asked
not to be named. The other men killed in the crash named yesterday
were Squadron Leader Patrick Marshall,
39, Flight Lieutenant Andrew Smith,
25, Flight Lieutenant Paul Pardoel,
35, Master Engineer Gary Nicholson,
42, Chief Technician Richard Brown,
40, Flight Sergeant Mark Gibson,
34, Sergeant Robert O'Connor,
38, and Corporal David Williams,
37. The tenth man, a soldier, was Acting Lance Corporal Steven
Jones, 25, who served with the Royal Signals.
In a statement, the Ministry of Defence said it was with
"very deep regret" that it was confirming the names
of those missing, feared dead. The Mod has indicated that
the difficult terrain and hostile local forces could mean
the investigation into the incident will take weeks.
Prime Minister Tony Blair has expressed "sympathy and
condolences" to the families of those who had died and
said he hoped to give further details of the cause "in
due course". Station commander of RAF Lyneham Group Captain
Paul Oborn said: "The whole of RAF Lyneham feel this
loss intensely and our thoughts, prayers and deepest sympathies
are with the families, friends and colleagues of those involved."
He added that this was "one of our best" crews,
full of "spirit, self-discipline and professionalism".
A spokesman for Buckingham Palace said the Queen has sent
a message to the families via Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon.
The message reads: "I was saddened to learn of the loss
of the RAF Hercules in Iraq on Sunday. I should be grateful
if you would convey my deepest sympathy to the families of
those who have lost their lives." |
