Freedom Flyers President and Co-Founder Josh Yoder said Sunday a 37-year-old Alaska Airlines pilot was found deceased in his hotel room on September 23rd when he didn’t show up for his scheduled airport transportation.

It appears the deceased individual is Seattle-based pilot Eric McRae.

The Facebook group “Alaska Airlines Flight Crew to Heaven” posted Sunday about McRae’s passing.

Via Facebook:

It is with extreme sadness that I am sharing the loss of one of our own.

Seattle based Captain Eric McRae tragically passed away yesterday while on a layover. Though completely unexpected and untimely we have no reason to believe foul play was involved.

Eric’s ties to the Alaska Airlines family run deep. Eric was a proud father and shared two beautiful young children with his wife Chael, an Alaska Airlines Flight Attendant. His father is retired Alaska Captain Tom McRae.

Out of respect for Eric’s family’s need for peace and time to grieve, we will not be sharing any further details at this time. We will continue to support the family in every way we possibly can.

If / when a service is planned, we will communicate those details based on the family’s wishes.

May be an image of 1 person, aircraft and text that says 'Alaska Airlines FLIGHT CREW TO HEAVEN Always remembered'

*Image from Facebook Group Alaska Airlines Flight Crew to Heaven*

According to Eric McRae’s LinkedIn profile, he worked as an Alaska Airlines pilot since 2014.

William Makis continues to track pilot incapacitations and deaths in 2023.

“We will eventually have data to compare recent pilot deaths & incapacitations to previous years,” he said.

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