In memory of

Charles G. Krenek

1954 – 2003

From
Texas
Died in the search
March 27, 2003, aged 48
The day
Columbia

A fire suppression and mitigation specialist and aviation manager with the Texas Forest Service at Lufkin, and a twenty-six year veteran of it.

He was in the left seat beside the pilot on the aerial search for Columbia's debris over the Angelina National Forest, flying a low-level grid, when the helicopter lost power and went down on the afternoon of the twenty-seventh of March.

The United States Fire Administration records his death as in the line of duty, and he was honored at the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in 2004.

His funeral was held on the thirtieth of March at the First Assembly of God Family Church in Lufkin.

Survived by

His wife Charlotte, and his son Mark and daughter-in-law Michele.

Photographs

Film

NASA in-house videography of mission control during the final minutes of descent. Loss of signal between the orbiter and mission control at about 5:15. The flight director acknowledges the contingency at 11:50.