The U.S. Department of Defense says one of four Air Force members killed in a weekend plane crash in Afghanistan was a pilot who had been stationed at Scott Air Force Base in southwestern Illinois.
The department says 28-year-old Capt. Brandon Cyr of Woodbridge, Va., died in Saturday's crash of an Air Force MC-12 aircraft.
The cause of the crash is under investigation. The Pentagon says there were no reports of enemy activity in the area at the time of the crash.
Cyr was an instructor pilot and member of the 906th Air Refueling Squadron within the 375th Air Mobility Wing based at Scott. The base also says Cyr flew with members of the Illinois Air National Guard's 126th Air Refueling Wing.
Col. Peter Nezamis, commander of the 126th Air Refueling Wing, said Cyr "left his personal mark on everything he did."
"You could not have spent five minutes in a room with him and not be impressed with his energy, desire and quest for knowledge," Nezamis said of Cyr. "Brandon volunteered for this assignment and it was the mission more than any other he wanted the most."
