Robert A. (Bob) Northey passed away on October 16, 2019 at the age of 90. Bob joined West Coast Airlines in 1946 and except for a stint in the Air Force during the Korean Conflict, worked for the airline and its successors (Air West, Hughes Airwest, Republic) until the merger with Northwest Airlines in 1986 when he retired. Bob was a dispatcher in Flight Control and was also the union’s representative for crash investigations. He was first on site at the West Coast DC-9 crash on Mt Hood in 1966 and he investigated the DC-9 crash with a Marine Jet in Southern California in 1971. During the oil crises in the 1970s, Bob was assigned to find aviation fuel.
Bob was born in Walkerville, Montana on December 12, 1928. He passed away peacefully at Peters Creek Retirement Center in Redmond, Washington on October 16, 2019 after a long illness. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 54 years, V.J. He is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Lorrie and Paul Scott of Friday Harbor, Washington, his son and daughter-in-Law, Bob and Lisa Northey of Bellevue, Washington, four grandchildren and a great grandson.