Nothing But Praise For Crewmen Who Died Family, Friends Paint 4 Sparkling Portraits

Rich Visintainer loved his kids, the Air National Guard and golf.

Matt Laiho was a driven athlete who always had a smile and a hand out, willing to help.

Kenneth Thiele flew tankers so well that he trained and rated the pilots who taught other pilots.

David Fite was an all-American guy, a meticulous pilot who helped his ballroom dance instructor overcome a fear of flying.

That’s the way friends and family members remembered the four men killed Wednesday when their KC-135 crashed in Germany.

The words that came up repeatedly: highly qualified and experienced.

The four members of the Washington Air National Guard unit were on a temporary assignment from Fairchild Air Force Base at Geilenkirchen Air Base.

Tech. Sgt. Visintainer, 48, a veteran of Vietnam and the Persian Gulf, was one of the most senior boom operators in the 141st Air Refueling Wing. He arranged his schedule as a truck driver with URM to work four 10-hour days, leaving time to fly and remain current as a boomer.

“He loved being in the air. It put a smile on his face,” said his daughter Bridget.

John Smathers, who shared a rental house in north Spokane with Visintainer and worked with him at URM, described him as “an easy-going, likable guy” whose hands always moved when he talked.

He was proud of his two daughters and son, and brought friends to University High School football games to cheer for his son Rocky, a defensive end and kicker.

“He was everybody’s friend. He’d do just about anything for you,” said Bob Redington, another URM driver who had served with Visintainer in the Air Guard.

Visintainer assured family and friends that the flying he did in a large, airborne gas station was safe. He knew the risks, Smathers said, but didn’t dwell on them.

A member of the military for nearly 30 years, one of his passions was the Guard.

“He was a dedicated dude. He loved to serve, and was proud of it,” Smathers said.

Maj. Laiho, 40, the plane’s navigator, was eulogized Thursday on the floor of the state House of Representatives by a longtime friend, Rep. Brad Benson of Spokane.

Laiho and Benson attended Officer Training School together some 16 years ago. Laiho and his wife, Val, took care of Benson and other bachelors in the unit.

“When Thanksgiving came, all of us bachelors went over to their house,” recalled Benson, who broke into tears during his speech on the House floor.

The families have remained close. Both left the Air Force in 1989; Laiho went right into the Air Guard, and Benson is joining the Air Guard next month.

One of the things Benson said he’d been most looking forward to was serving again beside his old friend.

Laiho was an avid mountain biker and runner, friends said.

Capt. Thiele, 31, was the plane’s co-pilot and the newest Guard member in the unit. He left the Air Force in September, where he was a highly rated pilot and evaluator.

“He was a big Broncos fan,” said Col. Jim Wynne, the 141st wing commander. “If they end up in the Super Bowl, he’ll be missing that.”

Thiele was recently married, and his wife is pregnant.

Maj. Fite, 41, the plane’s pilot, had recently moved to Bellevue. One of the things he enjoyed besides flying was dancing.

“Remember that movie, `An Officer and a Gentleman?’ That was David to a T,” said Michael Cortez, who dances at the Spokane studio where Fite took lessons several years ago. “He was just an all-American, good-hearted guy, someone you always enjoyed running into.”

Quiet when he first came to Universal Dance Studio, Fite left more than a year later an accomplished dancer who sometimes wore his uniform to dance sessions.

“All of a sudden one day he seemed confident and really happy and smiled a lot more,” Cortez said.

“He was quite confident on the dance floor, and versatile. He must’ve done a hell of a waltz at his wedding.”

Fite’s dance instructor, Linda Carney, said she taught him to tango and he taught her to overcome a fear of flying using a flight simulator.

“I always thought if he became (a commercial) airline pilot, I’d fly on his plane,” Carney said. “He was that cautious and careful. He realized he had responsibilities for the plane and the passengers.”

Fite’s family declined to say much about the pilot or the crash Thursday.

A man who identified himself as Fite’s brother came to the door at his parents’ home a couple of blocks from Lake Sammamish. He said the family was waiting for the Air Force to provide details about the crash.

“I feel terrible for the other families,” said the man. “My brother is very meticulous, and I’m sure he did everything he could possibly do.”

Staff writers Bill Morlin, Jeanette White, Tracy Ellig, Craig Welch and Deidre Silva contributed to this report.