The Smart Marty Sky Dispatch
‘He was a big character’: Friend remembers Guelph, Ont. pilot, business owner killed in Fergus plane crash
Steve Zago, pilot and co-owner of Lost Aviator Coffee Co. in Guelph, and pilot Joe Stubbs died after an amateur-built biplane crashed into a cornfield during an aerobatic training flight Friday morning.
A friend is remembering Steve Zago as a passionate aviator and a devoted business partner who helped establish Lost Aviator Coffee Co. in Guelph, Ontario. Zago and fellow pilot Joe Stubbs died after a small plane crashed near Fergus, Ontario, according to the Ontario Provincial Police.
Emergency crews responded shortly after 10 a.m. to the Beatty Line and Wellington Road 17 area, north of Fergus. The two occupants were pronounced dead at the scene, and the aircraft came to rest upside down in a cornfield two kilometres north of Fergus’s Juergensen Field airport, where it had departed for a local aerobatic training flight.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada identified the aircraft as an amateur-built Skybolt biplane. Investigators have not released a cause for the crash, and the TSB said it would continue gathering and analyzing information in the coming weeks.
Wright, Zago’s longtime friend and business partner, described the loss as a personal and professional blow. He noted that Zago was the extroverted half of the partnership, contributing to the company’s customer service approach and hiring, and that their aviation connection helped shape their business.
Community tributes have followed the tragedy, including messages from Guelph’s mayor and from the Waterloo Warbirds, which highlighted Zago’s contributions to flight operations and restoration projects. Lost Aviator Coffee Co. plans to continue operating, with Zago’s wife expected to help represent his voice as the business moves forward.