Plane Crash in Africa Kills Young Missionary Couple

Religion Today | Updated: Jun 08, 2012

Plane Crash in Africa Kills Young Missionary Couple

A funeral was held Tuesday for a young missionary couple that died over the weekend in a tragic plane crash in Zambia, the Christian Post reports. Jay and Katrina Erickson were killed late Saturday afternoon when their plane crashed into the Zambezi River during a return trip to the Chitokoloki Mission Hospital after dropping off a nurse in another town. After the plane went down, the hospital was notified and several people rushed to the river, but it wasn't until the next day that they finally located the aircraft and recovered the couple's bodies. The trip was the first one Katrina had taken with her husband since they began serving at the station several months ago. Their two daughters -- ages 1 and 2 -- stayed behind at the hospital while their parents took the flight. Hanna said those serving at the hospital have relied on their faith to get them through. "[It's] hard to understand, but we have to put our faith into practice knowing fully that God knows why and is a loving God, and that, as it was His will, we must press on," said Gordon Hanna, a missionary and administrator of the hospital. The Ericksons had planned to work at the hospital until February 2013. Hanna says he still does not know what caused the plane to crash.

Plane Crash in Africa Kills Young Missionary Couple