Lieutenant Commander William Muscha was killed on May 8, 2002 when his T-39 Sabreliner crashed into the Gulf of Mexico during a training flight.  Muscha graduated from the Naval Academy in 1987 and was assigned to Fighter Squadron 21 at NAF Atsugi, Japan upon completing flight training.  Fighter Squadron 21 was assigned to the carrier USS Independence, where LCDR Muscha deployed twice to the Arabian Gulf.  In 1994, he returned to the United States and served as a flight instructor at both NAS Pensacola and NAS Corpus Christi, TX. In the following years of service William earned master’s degrees in aeronautical science as well as in military art and science. LCDR Muscha is survived by his parents and sister, as well as his wife and six children.

The Travis Manion Foundation honored LCDR William Muscha through the Character Does Matter program presented during the USNA’s Summer Seminar and USNA STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Camp for rising 11^th graders.