Watch CBS News

UC Davis Graduate Among 16 Dead In Military Plane Crash

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A military plane crash in Mississippi claimed the lives of 16 people this week. UC Davis graduate Marine Captain Sean Elliott was on board that plane.

"Everyone who met Sean will remember him in a good way," said Jason Pepper, Elliott's former college roommate. "He lived the life that he was going for! When he joined the ROTC, it was obvious that he was such a good fit."

Elliott, 30, graduated from UC Davis in 2009. He was a member of the ski team and a house manager for Sigma Phi Epsilon. Pepper calls him enthusiastic, good-mannered and the most sincere person he knew.

"Sean is the most authentic person I've ever met," Pepper said. "It's so amazing that he impressed upon people and that he had such a positive impact on other people's lives."

The troops were headed from North Carolina to California when their plane went down.

Elliott died Monday along with 14 other marines and a sailor when their KC-130 transport plane crashed in a Mississippi soybean field. There were no survivors.

On Tuesday, military veterans lined up along a Mississippi highway to pay tribute to the fallen service members.

"First thing I did is I dropped down on my knees and prayed," said Arthur Ware, a retired Marine. "It's the best I can do to honor their memory."

Los Angeles-native Sgt. Chad Jenson was also on the plane.

"I loved this young man like, he's my son," said Charles Arrasmith, Jenson's former football coach.

Football coach Charles Arrasmith says out of the thousands of kids he's coached, Jenson was one in a million.

"I know he spent the last 30 seconds of his life taking care of everybody else on that plane," Arrasmith said. "That's who he is. That's just what he would do."

The cause of the crash is still unclear, but the Marine Corps says there was an in-flight mishap as the plane flew at 20,000 feet.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.