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SALT LAKE CITY — A flight instructor from Utah died in a plane crash over Crescent Lake in Alaska last week, leaving behind countless friends, family and students who are mourning a good man gone too soon.
According to reports, Paul Kondrat, 41, was helping Air Force Col. Mark "Tyson" Sletten earn his floatplane certification when the plane unexpectedly went down. Floatplanes have special landing gear to allow the plane to land on water and, for reasons yet unknown, the plane entered "nose-low altitude" and struck the water, killing both Kondrat and Sletten.
The news of Kondrat's death shocked and devastated 18-year-old Cambrie Foster, of Salt Lake City, who, earlier this month, took flight lessons from Kondrat over the very same lake in Alaska. Foster said the short amount of time she spent with the instructor made an impression that will last a lifetime.
It's so important that we remember Paul, not by his death, but by his life because everyone should live like Paul did.
– Cambrie Foster
"I met Paul in Alaska when he was my floatplane instructor for about a week," Foster recalled. "He had such a great influence up there in Alaska, as well as down here in Utah, where he used to be a flight instructor at Cornerstone Aviation. So many of his co-workers and students and friends from down here have reached out to me and shared stories about how amazing Paul was and how influential he was for their aviation journey."
Kondrat was a man who wore many hats before becoming an aviation instructor.
Kondrat was a "lifelong learner," whose background was in elementary education where he spent time teaching students abroad, according to his obituary. He transitioned to serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, where he was promoted to the rank of captain and eventually oversaw air traffic control. After earning a commercial pilot license in 2014, Kondrat shifted careers, again, after obtaining an MBA in supply chain management. That transition brought him to Utah where he oversaw Amazon delivery branches for four years.
Even with his legs set on solid ground, the air kept calling him, and Kondrat accepted a position at Cornerstone Aviation in Salt Lake City in 2023, combining his love of flight with teaching others. That position was a gateway for him to land a position teaching at Alaska Float Ratings just weeks ago.
Kondrat's sister-in-law Liz Ender, of Chicago, said he loved his time in Utah and, since his passing, she has heard hundreds of stories of the lives he touched both on land and in the skies.
"One comfort we've been getting during this time is hearing easily 100 stories between his friends from all over the world and students he's impacted," she said. "People who he'd only been with for a few days while they were getting their float plane certification have described him as one of the most impactful people they've ever met in their lives. It's been a huge comfort to hear that he did so much during his time here."
One of the stories she heard was of an 18-year-old employee at Amazon who walked several miles to work every day. Upon learning about this employee, Kondrat was said to have purchased a bike for the employee, to help ease the burden of walking to work.
Ender said even though it has been healing to hear all the stories from total strangers, she will always remember the stories she heard firsthand from her late brother-in-law.
"My husband and I both bragged about all the cool stuff Paul did," she recalled. "I like to joke that he lived six different lives and he needed to write a book. He just had so many cool, random stories that, if it happened to you, it'd be the story you'd tell for the rest of your life. He had, like, 50 of those kinds of stories."
Live like Paul
Even though she only knew Kondrat as her flight instructor, Foster said he was much more than that. She said her goal, since his passing, is to "live like Paul."
"The bond between a student and their flight instructor is just really special ... because they teach you so much," Foster said. "But he's not just a teacher; he's a mentor and a friend and someone who you could just talk to about anything.
"I just think it's so important that we remember Paul, not by his death, but by his life because everyone should live like Paul did."
Foster said she is going to continue to pursue her goals in aviation because that's what Kondrat would want.
"I am going to continue to fly because Paul would want us to, and I'm going to work that much harder," she said. "I just want to keep flying and keep achieving my goals while he is at higher altitudes watching over us."
Kondrat's family is bringing him back to his parents' home in Detroit, Michigan, where he will be buried.
"It's really important that people know what a special guy Paul was," Ender said. "I guess people always say that about you after you die, but he really was exceptional in every way."
