The NAAA family of members and staff are greatly saddened by the loss of Kansas ag pilot and operator Bill Warner who died along with his son Nicholas Warner, grandsons Corbyn and Hayden Warner and the pilot of an Extra Flugzeugbau EA-400 Aug. 4 in a fatal plane crash near Ponca City, Okla.
Bill Warner, 66, owned Warner Ag-Air, an aerial application company in Independence, Kan. He was a member of the Kansas Agricultural Aviation Association (KAAA), Oklahoma AAA (OAAA) and NAAA. Nicholas “Nic” Warner, 27, was a member of the Sycamore Rural Fire Department, recently serving as assistant chief, and helped run the family farm, Warner Farms, in Independence. Corbyn and Hayden Warner, ages 6 and 4, respectively, were two of Nic’s three children; his wife Kaylee is also expecting their second daughter in November.
According to published reports, pilot and pastor Tim Valentine and the four members of the Warner clan had flown to Ponca City in an EA-400 for a fly-in breakfast with the Ponca City Aviation Booster Club. The plane was registered to Jeremiah 29:11 Inc. in Independence. The six-seat, single-engine aircraft was northbound leaving the airport when it lost altitude for unknown reasons and crashed around 10:45 a.m.
William Edwin “Bill” Warner was born Jan. 8, 1952, in Neodesha, Kan., to Wilbur and Ann Warner. He grew up in Independence on the family farm. He met the love of his life, Brenda Synder, in 1991, and they married a year later. Together they blended a beautiful family with five children. Bill and Brenda maintained Warner Farms, adding Warner Ag Air in 1994. Along with spending time with his family, Bill’s greatest gratification came from pursuing his passion of flying. That passion spurred a career in which he logged more than 9,500 total flight hours.
Bill is survived by his wife Brenda Warner; his children Lisa Johnson, Blake Warner, Jessica Boyle and Bryan Warner; sister Valerie Newman and husband Charlie; daughter-in-law Kaylee Warner; as well as five grandchildren, with a sixth on the way, and numerous nieces, nephews and other extended family members.
A Celebration of Life Service for Bill, Nicholas and Nic’s sons Corbyn and Hayden is tentatively scheduled for Aug. 13 at 11 a.m. at the First Church of the Nazarene, 3167 S.10th Street, Independence, Kan. Please check the Potts Chapel website at www.pottsfuneralhome.com for updated information.
The Warner family has suggested that memorials may be made to the OAAA or KAAA scholarship funds. To make a donation to the OAAA scholarship fund, please make your check payable to OAAA and mail it to OAAA, 2500 E. 15th Street, Edmond, OK 73013, and reference “OAAA Scholarship Fund” on the check.
KAAA memorial donations may be sent to KAAA, P.O.
Box 585, Colwich, KS 67030, with “KAAA Scholarship Fund” indicated on the
check.
