Vitosky, 78, was a Marine veteran who had six decades of experience under his belt and had been flying Neil for years. In an interview with the Arizona Republic, his daughter, Jana Schertzer, credited her father's skill with saving the lives of the rest of the people onboard.

The singer was not on the plane, but his girlfriend Rain Andreani was one of the several people taken to hospital, and one person died.

The rock singer's Learjet aircraft collided with another private plane while landing at Scottsdale Airport in Arizona on Monday