BANGOR – Amber Thomas, 16, had never flown before boarding a plane in a recent training session for Air Force Junior ROTC cadets.

Thomas was slated to embark on her first flight in a Cessna 172 during a summer leadership program in June, once three of her fellow cadets returned from their flight.

But they did not return.

The small aircraft crashed into a mountainside in Newry during the introductory flight lesson, killing three Lewiston High School students, Nick Babcock, 17; Shannon Fortier, 15; Teisha Loesberg, 16; and their pilot and flight instructor, William “Charlie” Weir, 24.

Although Babcock was “like a brother” to Thomas, she said the most difficult part of his death was breaking the tragic news to the rest of his friends.

“The worst was telling my best friend that her boyfriend was dead,” Thomas said quietly while fidgeting with the pins on her blue cadet uniform. “She definitely did not want me to fly today. She’ll be happy to see me tomorrow.”

In the recent training session, 19 Lewiston High School Junior ROTC cadets boarded a KC-135 stratotanker plane at the 101st Air Refueling Wing in Bangor, which for most students would be the first time back in the air since the crash.

“This is a great way to keep them involved with aviation, and a good way to get them back in the saddle safely,” said Lt. Col. Robert Meyer, senior aerospace science instructor at the school.

Gray clouds and occasional rain showers reflected the mood of the cadets during the safety meeting before the flight.

But strapped along the sides of the tanker plane in “stretcher seats,” the group came alive once the plane broke through the thick cloud cover and blinding sunlight shone through the few windows of the aircraft.

“I’ve never seen the clouds from above before,” said Christopher Spencer, 15, after lying down in the tail of the plane, the boom operator’s position. “This is a backwards Superman-type thing.”

The group scurried from the cockpit to the tail, munching on sandwiches and granola bars and carefully watching the Air Guard members complete their midair refueling mission.

Getting their dreams back

“Tragedies happen in every business, and in any career you have to look past variables to your dreams,” said Maj. Tad Woodilla, co-pilot of the military flight, noting his admiration for the students for facing their anxieties and flying so soon after the crash that killed their friends.

As the flight drew to a close, many cadets reflected on their experience and recognized their greater sense of security flying in the large tanker plane compared to a smaller one, like a Cessna.

“I think it’s definitely good for cadets to know it’s safe and recognize these are two totally different aircraft,” Amanda Russell, 17, the Junior ROTC squadron commander, said after the flight. “It’s also important to get everyone back up in the air.”

Despite the tragedy, time has allowed for healing and has even inspired some cadets to pursue careers in the military and aviation.

Kylie Ferland, 15, flew on the Cessna 172 just hours before it crashed on June 22. On her car ride home from camp, she and a friend knelt and prayed for her fallen friends.

After spending months consoling her friends, Ferland now aspires to becoming a chaplain for the Air Force or Army after graduation.

“Being a Christian, I don’t want to hurt people, but I felt I comforted a lot of people after the crash,” she said.

Although none of the cadets’ parents acted as chaperones, Maj. Debbie Kelley, the community manager of the Air Guard wing in Bangor, said that as a mother she appreciates the sacrifices and struggles the students and parents overcame to make the flight.

“As a parent you want to be able to let your child do whatever they want to for their dreams, but at the same token you want to keep them safe,” Kelley said. “These parents must be the epitome of strength. They found the strength to let their babies go up on this plane and get their dreams back.”

A fundraising spaghetti supper for the memorial scholarship honoring the three students who died in the crash will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, at Lewiston High School. Tickets are available at the high school or at the door.