Search for NAS pilot suspended

PENSACOLA, Fla. (WALA) - The search has been suspended for a missing pilot out of Naval Air Station Whiting Field. The T-34 went down Saturday night just outside of New Orleans in Lake Pontchartrain. The Navy believes the pilot is dead.

It was a typical training flight Lieutenant Clinton Wermers had done several times before. But Saturday night, something went tragically wrong. The plane crashed and landed in Lake Pontchartrain

"I can tell you as a commanding officer, this is not the phone call you want to receive Saturday night," Colonel John Walsh, the commodore of Training Air Wing Five, said.

Wermers and the student tried to stay afloat. After a couple hours of swimming, the student was rescued and taken to a local hospital, but Wermers' body still hasn't been found.

"It was about 57 degrees. You can imagine the trauma these guys went through going into that lake, getting out into that freezing water," Colonel Walsh said.

Walsh said the community has lost a true hero. Wermers was married and had two little girls and had another on the way.

"This is as bad as it can get. It's a tragic event, walking out and waking up a young wife at night," he said.

They were in a T-34. They said it floated for about two hours and now it's at the bottom of Lake Pontchartrain. Walsh said they'll need to recover the plane to figure out what happened.

"In any aircraft mishap, there's one or a combination of three things that occur, human error, material error or what we call an act of God," he said.

A trust fund has been set up for the pilot's children. It's at airwarriorcourage.org . When donating, make sure to mention Wermer's name.