A ranking leader of the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association was piloting a plane that crashed in foul weather in Missouri on Saturday, killing himself, his wife and son. Forty-nine-year-old Randy Weber, of Charter Oak, was the District 12 director of the Cattlemen and headed up five county associations in western Iowa.
Bruce Berven, executive vice president of the statewide association, says he’d spent a lot of time with Weber in recent months. Berven says: "In fact, a couple weeks ago, I was with him at a meeting that he coordinated. Kinda’ typical of Randy. He would go the extra mile to exert the efforts to build some bridges that needed building and now we’ve lost him. It’s shocking and very devastating news."
Berven is relatively new to the association and says he first met Weber in December — and they talked about flying. Berven says, "I’m not a pilot myself but I’m interested in aviation. I remember that first meeting with Randy as we talked about his flying, what a passion he had for it and the hobby and where all he would go. In fact, he even had flown the president of our association from western Iowa to southeastern Iowa to one of the county cattlemen’s meetings."
Berven says Weber was recognized as a good pilot. Berven says: "Randy was a very accomplished pilot with a lot of experience. Of course, we don’t know the circumstances and the weather conditions that he faced when this tragedy occurred." Weber’s 37-year-old wife, Amy, and their ten-year-old son, Tyler, were also killed in the Saturday morning crash in southeast Missouri. Weber told controllers he’d had zero visibility and a strong headwind before the crash, while authorities say it was cloudy and raining with near-freezing conditions.
Berven says there are 20 district directors in the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association and an alternate director will take up Weber’s post. Berven says: "In the short term, the alternate director from the region will assume that position or will be elected to assume the position and we will carry on, but at this point in time, we’re not interested in thinking about the association. Our concerns go out to the Weber family and we just remember Randy for all that he contributed in the past." The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.