Widow of UPS pilot suing after deadly crash says there was ‘no other like him’
By Megan Matthews
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LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (WLKY) — Months after a UPS MD-11 crashed after departing UPS Worldport in Louisville, the widow of one of the three pilots who died is speaking out, pursuing a wrongful death lawsuit.
Donna Diamond is suing Boeing, General Electric and VT San Antonio Aerospace over the death of her husband, UPS Captain Dana Diamond, who was 62.
Donna Diamond said their relationship moved fast, but felt certain from the start.
“We knew, we married very quickly. We knew he was the one,” Diamond said. “I mean, he probably was the one in my life. I mean, there’s no other like him.”
Diamond told WLKY about the moment she realized something had happened, saying her family tried to stop her from seeing the news.
“My son was here, and I was running to my iPad, and he said, ‘Don’t look, mama.’ And I looked, and I saw the crash,” Diamond said. “I didn’t see the plane, but it said SDF to Honolulu and, you know, I just hit the floor in the kitchen. And I just laid there, just screaming and screaming.”
Now a widow for the second time, she said the loss has been especially difficult because of how closely they lived their lives together.
“[I was with] Dana, just over 10 years. I feel like I’ve spent more time [with him] and less married because we did everything,” Diamond said. “I mean, he went to my hair appointments, grocery shopping, we did everything together. And so this has been really hard.”
On their Texas farm, Dana Diamond became “Paw-Paw” to seven grandchildren, a role Donna Diamond said meant a great deal to him.
“He never had any children. And he always thanked me, you know, like I was doing him a favor,” Diamond said. “I mean, he did us a favor.”
She said she now clings to the last message he sent her before the crash, a short text that has taken on new weight. His final words to her were, “I love you, wife,” and she said that reading through their messages now means more than she can say.
“My kids always teased us, like we were like teenagers,” Diamond said. “We were fighting early, fussing or, you know, we were like, teenagers, and, I mean, we were on the phone all the time. Even when he was away.”
Dana Diamond had worked as a UPS pilot for 37 years and was close to retirement. The couple had just celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary in October.
“It was just all meant to be,” Diamond said. “He always told me, you know, I was the one, and made him very happy and always thanked me for having a family.”
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