A Leicester mum jumped out of a plane to scatter her son's ashes after he died in a plane crash. Sharon Vasey undertook the fitting tribute after the incident killed three people in North Carolina last year.

Former chef Charles Mather Jr had retrained as a skydiving instructor and had even taken mum Sharon on her first-ever skydive in October 2023. However, tragedy struck in July last year when Charles, pilot Adam Plummer and fellow skydiving instructor Scott George, were killed when their plane crashed in Rutherford County, North Carolina.

The aircraft had crashed less than 30 minutes after take-off on its return to Rutherford Airport from a skydiving instruction session Charles had been hosting in Tennessee. Sharon was given the news of her son's death over FaceTime, and spoke of the shock at hearing of the crash.

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Charles Mather, 37, was one of three people on board a plane that crashed
Charles Mather, 37, was one of three people on board a plane that crashed

She said: "I answered the FaceTime call and Linda - owner of Skydive Mountain City Tennessee - started crying. She said 'I am so sorry' and I just knew. I thought it was a parachute accident but she told me it was a plane crash. The last words he said to me was 'mum, I am 37, I want stability in my life, I want wife, I want kids and I want to buy a property.'"

Investigations into the circumstances of the crash are ongoing, but just weeks after Charles' death, Sharon undertook a memorial tribute jump to honour her son. The leap from 14,000ft also gave the Leicester mum the chance to scatter her son's ashes.

She said: "I wasn't scared - I wanted to do this for my son. What better way for a mother to jump out of a plane and spread her son's ashes. It was an amazing day, there were 300 skydivers and every single one of them came up to me telling me how much they loved my son."

Before his death, Charles had launched a movement championing awareness about mental health issues such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), suicide and addiction. He had also joined forces with Stay Stokedd, an organisation helping veterans through extreme sports.

Sharon plans to continue raising awareness for her son's ambitions. She said: "I've had so many messages from around the world, friends telling me how much love and respect he gave them. If you could have felt what it was like when he entered a room - he was so polite and amazing. He had so much to offer the world, which is devastating to think about."

If you've been affected by any issues in this story, there are organisations that may be able to provide some advice and support. You can contact the charity MIND on 0300 123 3393, or email info@mind.org.uk.

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