Sailor home after fatal crash

BATON ROUGE, La. – On the eve of the nation’s July 4th holiday, the remains of a Louisiana native and Navy aviation boatswain mate is returning home for burial 18 months after fatal crash. Louisiana high school valedictorian Matthew Chialastri was serving aboard the carrier USS Ronald Reagan when the C-2A logistics aircraft he was in, along with nine other crew and passengers, crashed into the Philippine Sea on Nov. 22, 2017. Seven survived. Chialastri, pilot Lt. Steven Combs, and Airman Apprentice Bryan Grosso did not. It took a record-setting deep-sea salvage mission 18 months to recover the victims' bodies in 18,500 feet and required, at the time, the deepest recovery attempt ever of an aircraft. The Navy had to call in an additional salvage team from Washington, D.C., to aid in the recovery, according to USNI News. Chialastri's dad, Phillip, said he was told in May that the remains of the trio had been recovered. Early July 2, Phillip and his wife traveled to New Orleans to greet their son's remains at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. Phillip said his emotions were mixed: Relieved his son had been found, but sadden about such an immense loss. "They're bringing him home," Phillip said as he traveled to New Orleans. (Source: The Advocate 07/03/19)