Plane crash victim remembered for involvement in Madison-area aviation groups

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – The two victims of a plane crash in Janesville earlier this week were remembered by friends and colleagues in tributes Saturday.

Staff Sgt. Remington K. Viney, 26, was a Madison native. According to her obituary, she graduated with honors from Sun Prairie High School in 2012 and received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from UW-Madison in 2017. She also served as the captain of the Wisconsin Flying Team during her time at UW-Madison.

She was a member of the Air National Guard’s 115th Fighter Wing based at Truax Field in Madison at the time of her death.

Staff Sgt. Viney’s friend Brianna “Breezy” Moczynski told NBC15 that she met her in 2019 about a year after she started taking flying lessons.

“In the all too brief of time that I knew her, I quickly connected with her and was honestly in awe of all that she had already accomplished,” Moczynski said. “She was only a few months younger than me, but she was well on her way to reaching her dreams and to continuing to achieve great success in aviation.”

Moczynski said Staff Sgt. Viney was a founding member of the Women in Aviation (WAI) Madison Chapter, a member at the local Experimental Aviation Association (EAA) Chapter and a member of a local female flying group known as the Wisconsin 99s.

Staff Sgt. Viney also dedicated time to helping her community. She volunteered at Young Eagles events through EAA. Young Eagles gives children ages 8 to 17 a chance to fly in a general aviation airplane while also teaching them about aviation. She also spent time with Girls in Aviation Day through WAI and “Above the Skies”, a program were underserved youth are given airplane rides.

“I know that for Remi, aviation was a truly integral part of her life,” Moczynski said. “I know it would be important to her that she not be remembered by the tragic loss, but for the impact she’d made in the community.”

Fox Valley Technical College (FVTC) Aviation remembered Tanner Byholm, 25, in a Facebook post Saturday.

Byholm graduated from the Aeronautics-Pilot Training program at Fox Valley Technical College and later received a degree from UW-Oshkosh, according to his obituary.

He spent his time as an Assistant 141 Chief Instructor for Pilotsmith, Inc. Pilotsmith is a flight school and training facility located in Green Bay. He also flew as a First Officer for Air Wisconsin Airlines.

The post stated he was also a Marine Reservist.

“Without a doubt, Mr. Byholm was a bright light and made a significant impact on many; especially in our aviation community. He always had the best interest of others in his heart and wanted to see all succeed,” FVTC Aviation said in their statement.

The cause of Tuesday’s crash is under investigation.

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