A NASA-linked aerospace engineer, his wife and two sons have been killed in a plane crash in South Carolina, three days before UFO researcher David Wilcock died by suicide. James 'Tony' Moffatt, 60, his wife Leasa, 61, and their sons Andrew, 30, and William, 28, died when their Mooney M20 single-engine aircraft crashed near Union County Airport on 17 April 2026.
The family was returning home to Huntsville, Alabama, from the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina. The plane went down in a wooded area around 6.30 p.m. local time after a refuelling stop.
Moffatt was a decorated Army veteran who served as a payload and flight crew support specialist at NASA's Johnson Space Center Astronaut Office, contributing to 14 Space Shuttle ISS construction missions. He later worked in private defence research and aerospace consulting.
His sons were also involved in technical fields, with Andrew a research engineer at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and William in cybersecurity. The family had been returning home from the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina. Friends described Tony as a highly skilled aviator whose military and NASA background made the loss especially poignant for the tight-knit Huntsville community. The couple is survived by three other children who were not on the flight.
The aircraft, a Mooney M20 model typically valued at $126,700 (£93,800), was piloted by Moffatt at thetime of the crash.
David Wilcock, 53, a prominent YouTuber and author known for his work on UFO disclosure, reportedly died by suicide on 20 April in Nederland, Colorado. The Boulder County Sheriff's Office responded to a mental health crisis call at his residence. Rep Anna Paulina Luna confirmed the passing, saying prayers were with his family and the millions impacted by his work.
In a livestreamthe previous day, Wilcock had said 'I'm excited to be here, you know, every day that I have on earth is a gift and a blessing, and I'm very grateful for that... frankly, people are disappearing. Scientists are going missing... It's a little bit scary'.
The close timing of the events has sparked online discussion. A verifiedInstagram accountposted 'We're up to 13 now?! RIP David Wilcock', reflecting wider interest in losses among researchers this year including the third major ufologist fatality of 2026.
Wilcock's death marks the latest in a series of fatalities involving figures in ufology and science, following those ofErich von DänikenandNick Popeearlier in 2026. While the Moffatt crash and Wilcock case are being treated as separate by authorities, some in the community have drawnconnections to a reported patternof deaths and disappearances in aerospace and defence fields since 2022, with Moffatt's case noted as another involving NASA ties.
As of 23 April 2026, both investigations continue without any official link established between the two tragedies. The events have left families and followers mourning the loss of dedicated professionals in the NASA scientist James Moffatt plane crash and related fields.
Source: International Business Times UK
