BIDDLE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Pa. –
The commander of the 111th Attack Wing and Biddle Air National Guard Base in Horsham, Pennsylvania, Col. Deane Thomey, returned to duty March 30, 2022, after a lengthy period of rehabilitation and recovery resulting from a plane crash in October 2021 that took the life of his daughter.
Thomey, who was seriously injured in the single-engine plane crash October 22, 2021, in Colleton County, South Carolina, was treated for several weeks in the intensive care unit at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. He was transferred in November 2021 to a medical facility near his home in Alexandria, Virginia, for follow-on treatment and care. His 24-year-old daughter, Madeline, was killed in the crash.
“We are all heartbroken at the loss of Madeline,” said Col. Rebecca Gray, 111th ATKW vice commander, who stepped in to lead the wing during Thomey’s recovery. “Colonel Thomey has made a remarkable recovery which has made his return possible. The entire 111th Attack Wing family is thankful to have our wing commander back at the helm to provide Pennsylvania and our nation a ready force -- ready to meet any challenges that lay ahead."
Thomey was piloting a privately-owned Piper PA-28R-300 airplane when it went down in the vicinity of Walterboro, South Carolina.
Thomey, a native of Sherwood, Arkansas, took command of the 111th ATKW April 1, 2021, after an assignment as the Director, Air National Guard Director’s Action Group (DAG), Office of the Director of the Air National Guard at the Pentagon.
Thomey originally enlisted in the Arkansas Air National Guard in 1988 and was assigned to the 123rd Reconnaissance Technical Squadron, Little Rock Air Force Base. In 1992, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant upon graduating from the Academy of Military Science, McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base, Knoxville, Tennessee.
Thomey attended pilot training at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi, graduating in November 1996.