TOWANDA -- A community in Bradford County is mourning the loss of a father, Air Force veteran, and pilot after a plane crash.
The small, two-passenger plane crashed in a wooded area just outside of Towanda Wednesday afternoon.
Friends tell Newswatch 16 the pilot was Scott Wilcox of Sugar Run.
A father, a martial arts instructor, a decorated veteran. Simply put, Wilcox had done some super things in his life, and that's how his friends say they'll remember him. Many people say he was larger than life.
"I think that most people are going to think about Scott and see that he kind of was a superhero."
"If you knew Scott, you knew he enjoyed life, every minute of it."
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating after a plane crashed on a hillside a few miles from the Towanda airport.
Friends say Wilcox was flying the plane. He was killed.
John Kulick was friends with Wilcox for nearly 30 years. Kulick couldn't help but smile when thinking about Wilcox. He recalls Wilcox as a business owner and a health and fitness enthusiast.
"He tried to talk me into joining the gym. He'd tell me, 'You're gonna get fat,'" Kulick said.
Friends said Wilcox helped train thousands of children and adults over the years. Most recently, he was at The Edge, a martial arts studio in Towanda.
Word of the plane crash came as a shock to Randi Morse and her children who were trained by Wilcox.
"Two of his senseis were here to open the doors as normal. The show didn't slow down, and Scott wouldn't have wanted it to," said Morse. "I think the community is going to miss him an awful, awful lot just because of his bigger than life presence, always pitching in, never too busy to say hello."
An autopsy is scheduled for Friday.
Investigators say it could take more than a year until they know what exactly caused the crash in Bradford County.