Pilot in fatal crash identified

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE — The pilot who died when his F-16C crashed into the Gulf of Mexico Thursday has been identified as Matthew J. LaCourse, a civilian pilot assigned to the 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron. His plane went down 50 to 75 miles south of Panama City during a routine training mission. The cause has not been announced. LaCourse, 58, retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel in 2000. In 2012, LaCourse, who lived in Panama City Beach, marked 2,000 flying hours in an F-4. (Source: Panama City News Herald, 11/07/14)