Jonathan W. Palmer, 29, of Cherry Grove, a 1993 graduate of McNicholas High School, was the co-pilot on Corporate Airlines Flight 5966, said his sister-in-law, Laura Palmer, 36, of Batavia Township.

Airline officials called Palmer's family early Wednesday and asked for his dental records to positively identify his body, she said.

"He was the co-pilot," she said. "They are pretty sure it's him. ... They are not able to visually identify the body because the plane was on fire."

She said her brother-in-law had worked at the airline a few months.

Brannon Atkins, spokesman for Corporate Airlines, said he could not confirm that Palmer was an employee or whether he was on the plane.

The family released a statement Wednesday evening saying Palmer fulfilled his dreams by flying and was a pilot for 11 years.

"Being a pilot had been his dream since boyhood and it was the only profession he ever cared to pursue," the statement read. "He was very serious about his duties and loved his job."

Palmer earned an associate's degree from Clermont College of the University of Cincinnati and a bachelor's degree from Emery Aeronautical Institute in 2002, his family said. He trained to fly and was a flight instructor at Sporty's Academy at the Clermont County Airport since 1996, said Bill Anderson, spokesman for the academy and airport.

He was licensed as a commercial pilot for single and multi-engine planes and also was a certified flight instructor, Federal Aviation Administration records show.

Before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, Palmer flew Boeing 727s for SunWorld, which closed Cincinnati operations, his family said.

"He was always upbeat, he was a happy, smiling person, an excellent pilot," Anderson said.

In July, after accepting a job at Corporate Airlines, Palmer quit Sporty's Academy, Anderson said.

At McNicholas High School, students and staff learned of Palmer's fate during morning announcements, said John Kirchgassner who taught Palmer history when he was a junior.

"We've been hit hard at McNicholas this year, it seems," he said, noting the death of a McNicholas graduate serving in Iraq in June. "You just don't expect kids you taught will have to die before you do."

As a student at McNicholas, Palmer played football and performed in school plays and musicals.

A single mother raised Palmer in a tight-knit Catholic family after his father passed away, his former instructor recalled.

"The family is just a great family. I feel so sorry for them," said Kirchgassner, 54, of Mount Carmel. "It's sad when anybody dies but it's sad when somebody who enjoys life as much as he did ends up dying in a tragedy like this."

"We will miss him more than we can express," the family said.

E-mail jedwards@enquirer.com.