An animal rescue pilot died in a crash. 2 dogs on board are recovering

NEW YORK (AP) – When Seuk Kim took off from Maryland last weekend with three small dogs aboard his plane, it was the latest of many volunteer flights he has taken to save animals in need.

After fulfilling his childhood dream of becoming a pilot, Kim transported cats and dogs from disaster areas, overcrowded shelters and other misfortunes – including a dog trapped in a shipping container for several days — to rescue groups. He urged other airmen to do the same.

But Sunday’s flight to New York was his last. Kim’s 1986 Mooney M20J crashed in a snowy forest Authorities said a 49-year-old pilot and one of the dogs died in the Catskill Mountains. The other two puppies survived and were recovering on Tuesday.

“There are very few people like Seuk in this world. There are no ulterior motives. He never needed recognition,” said Sydney Galley, another volunteer on the rescue flight. “He just wanted to help.”

Whiskey – a 4-month-old Labrador puppy found huddled in the snow with two broken legs – was doing well while awaiting surgery at Pieper Memorial Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Hospital in Middletown, Connecticut. Videos show the tawny puppy being scratched on the belly, licking the employee’s face and then calmly looking around while the bandage on his leg is changed.

The other surviving dog, an 18-month-old Yorkshire Terrier mix named Pluto, was found Monday with minor injuries. On Tuesday, Pluto was staying at the Schoharie Valley Animal Shelter, the New York organization that was supposed to take in all three dogs. The third was a 5-pound (2.3-kilogram) puppy named Lisa, Galley said.

The Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday that the plane crashed under unknown circumstances in mountainous terrain. National Transportation Safety Board investigators were at the crash site.

Greene County Sheriff Peter Kusminsky said Sunday that visibility was poor and that Kim had requested permission to change altitude because of turbulence before the plane went down in the early evening.

Galley said the plane – Kim’s third purchased in recent months – is equipped with technology to help locate him in an emergency. Still, it took until about midnight Sunday for authorities to find the plane, which was lying about a foot in the snow several miles from the nearest road, the sheriff said.

Kim lived with his wife and three children in Springfield, Virginia. The South Korean native “came to this country with nothing but a dream, and through hard work and perseverance, he has built a life full of meaning and generosity,” cousin Christine Kim wrote in a Facebook message.

“Witty, spontaneous and full of boundless generosity,” he combined a caring heart with a sense of adventure, Kim’s family said in an online obituary.

Seuk Kim has worked in fields such as public relations and marketing. His family says his hobbies include cooking and playing baseball, but he has long dreamed of flying.

He eventually got his wish, and Galley said Kim recently told friends he had found a job with a charter flight company.

“He was on top of the world,” she said.

Kim started flying rescue dogs about four years ago and became a dedicated volunteer who operated as many as three flights a week and helped set up other pilots, Galley said. Undeterred by huge dogs, cats that other pilots didn’t want to fly, or pet potty accidents, he responded to virtually every request with a smile and “Sure, I can do it,” he recalled.

Earlier this year, according to Galley and a post on his memorial site, he flew “container dog Connie,” a dog found in a shipping container at the Port of Houston.

After Hurricane Helene hit parts of the Southeast this fall, Kim helped transport planes carrying generators and other supplies to hard-hit western North Carolina and even bought a pickup truck to haul hay for farms, Galley recalled.

Penny Edwards of Forever Changed Animal Rescue, one of the groups Kim helped respond to Helene, called him “a tremendous asset not only to us but to the entire rescue community.”

“Our hearts are devastated,” she wrote in an email Tuesday.

Maggie Jackman Pryor, executive director of the Schoharie Valley Animal Shelter, said Kim has helped save hundreds of animals over the years.

They included the dog and her five puppies, who flew to Cathy West of Kuddles & Kisses K9 Rescue in Baltimore in October. West said the mixed-breed dog was on a list to be euthanized at an overcrowded shelter in Tennessee.

“He was so committed to spreading the word about his willingness to volunteer to other pilots that it’s good to save these dogs so they don’t die in shelters,” she said.

Galley added that Kim picked up the four dogs on Sunday from the airport in Virginia, where her husband had just brought them from Georgia. After excitedly telling her husband about her new job on a charter plane, Kim took off, dropped off her large dog at a small airport in Maryland, and headed with the others towards Albany, New York.

He imagines he apologized to his canine passengers when the plane crashed.

“He always,” she said, “puts everyone in front of him.”