N.W.T. plane crash victim was 'Prince Will,' a gentleman from a family of pilots

Will Hayworth was "the most genuine, caring soul that you would meet," says a woman who's grieving the loss of her childhood friend.

Last Wednesday, two pilots with Air Tindidied after a plane crashed near Behchoko, N.W.T. Hayworth and Zach McKillopwere flying toWhati from Yellowknife on the King Air 200 charter. They were the only people on board.

Hayworth was 36 years old. McKillop had just turned 28 that day.

Sofija Obradovic, Hayworth's childhood friend in Toronto, said he was loyaland one of "the most positive people you would ever meet." He had an "extremely good moral compass" and was quick to stand up for what is right, she added.

Obradovicrecalled a story from when they were young teens. Hayworth would be one of the first people to call her if she was struggling with something.

"He would be there in an instant," she said.

"This boy was 13 years old, and he would meet up with me and sit with me for hours, holding my hand consoling me, making sure that I was OK," Obradovicsaid, choking up with emotion.

"And that was the way he was until adulthood."

Hayworth was born and raised in Toronto, and aspired to be a pilot since he was a boy, a relativetold CBCNews. He moved to the North after getting his pilot's licence in Ontario.

"He dreamed of being a pilot from when I knew him," said Obradovic. "We all knew that that was his goal in life."

Hayworth came from a family of flyers. Two of his great-uncles and his grandfather were all pilots. Hayworth talked passionately about life in the skies,Obradovicsaid.

From the second that he picked up the phone, you could hear the smile on his face because he was just so happy to connect.- Sofija Obradovic, long-timefriend

"You couldn't help but be enamoured by what he was telling you because he was just so passionate about it."

Obradovic said his many friends and family in Ontario were frustrated when Hayworth left them to go so far north.

"We would constantly say, 'When are you coming home?'" she said.

"But on the other hand, we did understand that he was doing what he loved."

'Prince Will' will be missed

Obradovic said a group of mutual friends sometimes called Hayworth by an affectionate nickname.

"He was like a prince the way he was with everybody. He was a gentleman," she said. "That's how great he was, that we would call him 'Prince Will.'"

She said even over the phone from long distances, his character shined.

"He genuinely cared about everything that was going on in your life. And it wasn'ta dry conversation ever," Obradovic said.

"From the second that he picked up the phone, you could hear the smile on his face because he was just so happy to connect."

Obradovic said Hayworthnot only made a "very, very big impact" on people's lives in Ontario, but she was sure he did the same in the N.W.T. where he lived for the past several years.

"It's a very deep loss for a lot of people," she said. "He was genuinely a fantastic human being."

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