PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- Two Florida men ferrying supplies for earthquake victims in Haiti died when their helicopter crashed as they returned from Port-au-Prince, authorities said.
The victims were James Jalovec, 53, of Naples, owner of Sweetwater Environmental Inc., and John Ward of Fort Myers, his longtime pilot, CNN reported.
Mark Jalovec, 21, said his father, who had never undertaken similar missions, began talking about doing something to help Haiti almost immediately after the earthquake Jan. 12. Jalovec and Ward left last weekend, planning to spend a week on their mission.
Mark described his father's mindset: "I got a helicopter; these people are in desperate need. He kind of decided it with Mr. Ward that they were going to do it, and that's what they did."
Rosani Zapata, a spokeswoman for the Dominican Civil Aviation Institute, said the flight plan took the helicopter from Santiago to Jimani in the Dominican Republic, on to Port-au-Prince and back. She said the helicopter crashed Thursday at about 7 p.m. in Dajabon, just across the border from Haiti.
