Exclusive: Parents share memories of son who died in Collier County plane crash

COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. —

Ryan Cody, a 45-year-old father and community member, died in a plane crash near the Ten Thousand Islands in Collier County on Feb. 15, leaving his parents, Jamie and Bob Cody, to share their grief and memories exclusively with Gulf Coast News.

"The night before the crash, he came over," said Jamie Cody, Ryan's mom. "It was Valentine's Day, and he brought me flowers, balloons, chocolate, candy, a bottle of wine, and that was Ryan."

"We didn't ask for this, and we certainly would have loved to have had him to both of us made our exits," said Bob Cody, Ryan's dad. "But, just kind of feel like God had something else just lined up for everybody. His plans are a lot bigger than ours."

Ryan was a father to 8-year-old Anna and was deeply involved with the youth community at St. Finbarr Catholic Parish, where he served as the business manager and taught confirmation classes.

"The children loved him and, he just he just had a very good faith," Jamie said.

"He almost thought he wanted to be a priest at one point," Bob said.

The plane Ryan was a passenger in crashed in the water near the Port of the Islands Marina, coming from the Marco Island Executive Airport.

A man who spotted the wreckage called 911 and attempted to rescue Ryan, who was stuck in the plane with his seatbelt on underwater. Despite efforts to save him, Ryan passed away shortly after being pulled out.

Bob Cody shared that Ryan and the pilot, who survived, were friends.

"He was a pilot for one of the major airlines," Bob said. "I think he was just lived in Minnesota, came down here with the plane, and I think decided you needed to probably get in some flight times and practice the takeoff and landing."

Jamie and Bob want to emphasize that they are not upset at him.

"We absolutely have no hard feelings," Bob said.

The Codys believe Ryan would want them and everyone who loved him to continue living fully, forgiving freely, and trusting that they will be reunited one day.

"That's also what brought us both peace because we know he's in heaven," Jamie said.

"Eventually we'll all be there," Bob said. "We can all say hi to each other and have a good time."

The cause of the crash remains unclear, and the NTSB is working to determine what happened, evaluating the plane at a private facility.

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