Friends reflect on life of Western Washington sailor who died in Utah charter plane crash

PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. — KIRO 7 has learned one of the people who died in the charter plane crash in Utah earlier this week is from Western Washington. Friends of Darrin Towe say he was flying back from Grand Junction to Tacoma before the plane he was on went down.

“You know, I guess the silver lining in the whole thing is he was doing what he loved, but what a scary and sad way to go,” Ken Monaghan, one of his close friends, told KIRO 7.

Darrin Towe is from Normandy Park and lived in the Mats Mats neighborhood near Port Ludlow. His friends say he would split time between Western Washington and his other home in Mexico. Chuck Skewes, who has known Towe for 40-plus years, says he was a jack of all trades.

“He was an avid sportsman,” Skewes said. “Like windsurfing and kite surfing and wakeboarding and mountain biking and dirt bike riding.”

“He was kind of the ring leader and lived larger than life,” Monaghan said.

Skewes says this situation has not only been hard on him, but everyone who knew him.

“It actually sent shockwaves through the entire boat show,” Skewes said. “Because everybody at this show that knew Darrin was devastated.”

And as Towe’s friends grieve his passing, they also remember their great times with him.

“He just pushed and pushed and lived life to the fullest,” Monaghan said.

Because those who knew Towe believed he truly knew how to live life.

“He also shared his love for it with everybody,” Skewes said. “We all enjoyed what Darrin was doing and doing it with him.”

The National Transportation Safety Board continues to investigate the cause of the crash.

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