Jessie Kevin Lagapa: The pilot who will be looking down from the skies forever

Jessie Kevin Lagapa, 25, will be remembered as a sweet son and loving brother. Kevin passed away on April 27 doing what he loved the most. | CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

MANDAUE CITY, Philippines–As a child, Jessie Kevin Lagapa often asked his parents to buy him a toy airplane.

It was a manifestation of Kevin’s love for the sky and the first sign of his desire to become a pilot.

Kevin fulfilled this dream in 2015 when he graduated with a degree in Aviation Technology.

After teaching for three years, Kevin joined Davao Aerowurkz Corp., a job that served the needs of farms in Mindanao through aerial fertilizing.

In conversations with friends and family, Kevin felt most alive every time he was up on the air flying an aircraft.

On April 27, at 6:53 a.m., the single-engine biplane agricultural aircraft that he was flying will get entangled in high tension electrical wirings and crashed in Davao del Norte leading to his death.

Kevin was performing aerial spraying of a banana farm before he died.

READ: Agricultural pilot dies as plane hits power lines in Davao

He was rushed to the hospital but the attending medical personnel declared him dead on arrival.

Kevin was only 25 years old.

Family

News of Kevin’s death came as a shock to his mother, Jessica.

Jessica and husband Samuel have two sons: Jimmy and Kevin.

In 2010, they lost a daughter due to complications arising from dengue fever.

She was 10 years old.

Before his untimely death, Jessica says she physically saw her son for the last time in February 2019 when he visited her in Cebu. He told her about his job as a “spray plane pilot for an agricultural aerial spraying service company” in Davao.

READ: Friends remember kind, responsible pilot from Lapu-Lapu, who died in Davao crash

Jessica says Kevin also went home to Cebu in January 2019 during the Fiesta Senor in Cebu City.

He made sure that he was home because the feast of the Holy Child was special to him.

Back in 2016, Kevin volunteered as one of the pilots, who volunteered in the flower dropping ceremony during the Fiesta fluvial procession.

Kevin best remembered that occasion with a photo of the plane he flew.

Published on January 17, 2016 is a photo of the aircraft that Jessie Kevin Lagapa was in when he volunteered for the flower dropping ceremony for the Fiesta Senior’s fluvial procession. | CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Support and love 

Jessica was initially against Kevin’s dream of becoming a pilot.

She felt that it was a dangerous noting the stories of plane crashes she heard and read all over the news media.

But Jessica and her husband, Samuel, a seafarer, supported Kevin’s dream because “he has always wanted this since he was a child.”

As a child, he constantly asked for a toy airplane.

“Mangayo na siyag kwarta kay mupalit siyag duwaan nga eroplano. Katong wala nako nihatag kay nagtigum nalang siya,” recalls Jessica.

(He used to ask me for money so he can buy a toy airplane. When I refused to give him money, he decided to save up money to buy himself one.)

After he graduated from Pajo National High School in Lapu-Lapu City, Kevin enrolled at the Indiana Aerospace University (IAU), which made his dream of becoming a pilot within an arm’s reach.

Kevin graduated from IAU in 2015 with a degree in Aviation Technology.

Known to be responsible and efficient in his work, it was no surprise that Kevin was hired by the university to be an instructor, where he served for three years.

Six months ago, he joined Davao Aerowurkz Corp. as an agricultural pilot.

His main job requires aerial fertilizing, a job that is often needed by many agricultural farms in Mindanao.

Sweet son

Jessica says Kevin has always been a child who puts his heart into anything that he commits himself into.

She says she was in touch with her son almost every day.

They chat before she goes to sleep and as soon as she wakes up.

“Pagmata nako ako siya imessage dayon. Ako gyud na siya kumustahan kada adlaw. Usahay siyay makauna, usahay ako,” Jessica tells CDN Digital.

(I send him a message the moment I wake up. Every day, I ask him how he is doing. Sometimes I asked him first, sometimes he asked me first.)

On April 7, during her birthday, Jessica says she was overwhelmed with emotions and cried while she was eating dinner with her eldest son, Jimmy.

Jessica says she missed Jessie so much at that moment.

“It has been very lonely. He never disobeyed me. I cannot think of any bad memories with Kevin,” says Jessica.

Loving brother

Jimmy, Kevin’s older brother, says he was never quite that close with his younger brother, who was eight years younger than him.

Kevin, Jimmy admits, was his exact opposite.

Jimmy says he neglected his family.

Kevin, on the other hand, showed him how to be kind by treating their mother properly.

Jimmy says it was Kevin, who taught him to become a better person.

“Gitudluan ko sa akong igsoon unsaon nako paghigugma sa akong mama. Imbis nga ako nga maguwang mao ang magtulod sa iyaha, siya nga manghud ang nagtudlo nako,” says Jimmy.

(My brother taught me how to love my mother. I am the older brother, I was supposed to be the one to teach him that. But it was him, my younger brother, who taught me all those lessons.)

Jessie Kevin Lagapa’s Facebook cover photo on November 29, 2016, which bears the caption “Chasing dreams.” | CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Jimmy says Kevin is fond of photography.

Kevin loved taking aerial shots during his flights.

Kevin was planning on buying plane tickets for his mother and brother so they can visit him in Davao.

Goodbye

Jimmy said they have set a tentative date, May 14, for Kevin’s burial.

At the moment, he said they are still waiting for his father, Samuel, to arrive in Cebu.

Samuel is a seafarer and is still traveling to Cebu to rejoin his family.

Jessica could not contain her emotion when asked about what she wants Kevin to know.

“I love you Kevin. Pinangga kay ka namo (You are so dear to us),” says Jessica.

“Ayo-ayo nalang diha sa kilid ni Lord. Padayon nalang,” the tearful mother adds.

(Take care as he stand beside the Lord. Go on.)

Because of his tragic death, Kevin may have permanently left the earth and will not be flying another airplane.

But the family feels that Kevin is now up there in the clouds and the air where he felt most alive.

He will not be landing on solid ground anymore.

He will now be looking down from the skies forever. / celr