Gideons will be missed by all

"Escambia County will miss Eddie Gideons," is what Escambia County (Ala.) Judge of Probate Doug Agerton said of the 56-year old Atmore man who was killed Tuesday morning when his crop dusting plane crashed northwest of Atmore.

"I met Eddie about 30 years ago at the Matthews' hunting camp," Agerton said. "He was a great guy. We hunted turkeys together and used to argue who was the best turkey hunter. I'm going to miss him. We lost a great guy."

Escambia County (Ala.) Sheriff Heath Jackson said his office received a call about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday that an airplane had gone down near a gravel pit lake off of Gideons Lake Road near Atmosphere Road.

Freddie Wayne McCall, Jr., who serves as manager of the Atmore Airport and the Fixed Base Operation Manager at the Brewton Municipal Airport and also serves as the sheriff's office's official pilot, launched his plane in search of the wreckage.

McCall said he received the call from the sheriff's office at 7:52 a.m. and was able to locate the aircraft.

"I've known Eddie for a long time in a professional setting through the airport," McCall said. "We worked together on some projects."

McCall said Gideons owned three airplanes and was a crop duster. He'd sometimes use the Atmore Airport when it was too wet to land on his personal landing strip.

"He was a great guy and loved to fly," McCall said.

Gideons' plane was located in an isolated area about 8:10 a.m. When emergency responders reached the scene of the crash, Gideons had died.

"He was known and loved by a lot of people, especially in the aviation world," said Bub Gideons, Eddie's younger brother. "He will be missed. Fifty-six years old is mighty young."

Eddie Gideons was the oldest of four siblings who attended public schools in Atmore before graduating from Escambia Academy.

Foster Kizer, a cousin of Gideons, said Gideons had worked as an over-the-road truck driver and for Pepsi in Atmore for a while and later traveled to the mid-west for months at a time as a crop duster.

"He had a passion for flying and took that up and made a life out of it," said Kizer. "The crash happened very close to where he had a lake house. He made a pass to wake up his grandkids on the way to do a crop dusting job."

Kizer, who is several years older than Eddie, said he babysat Eddie and his siblings when they were growing up.

"Eddie was a wonderful cousin and a good guy," Kizer said.

Sheriff Jackson said the crash is being investigated by his office and the Federal Aviation Administration.

He said at this time there is no indication of what caused the crash.

"I didn't know him well, but I knew him and his family," Jackson said. "This is the part of being sheriff you don't like. It's just a tragic situation and my prayers go out to him and his family."

Funeral arrangements for Eddie Gideons were not available by press time Wednesday.