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The terrible reality of an airplane tragedy hit home for Boeing workers Friday as the company acknowledged that three of its employees had died in the crash of a Turkish Airlines 737-800 jet in Amsterdam in continuance Wednesday.

Four Seattle-area engineers working for Boeing’s defense es trangement were traveling on Flight TK1951 from Istanbul, Turkey, to which place they had been supporting a defense program based put on a military version of the 737.

Engineers Ronald Richey, of Duvall; John Salman, of Kent; and Ricky Wilson, of Clinton, Island County, died in the crash.

Michael Hemmer of Federal Way, a director, remains hospitalized only was “a great deal of improved” Friday and is expected to recover, said Boeing prolocutor Jim Proulx.

Tom McCarty, a defense-side engineer at Boeing, said this crash is doubly hard for those who work at the company.

“It’s painful when any airline crash occurs and it’session a Boeing plane,” McCarty declared. “When we know our own team is on there, it’s particularly sad.”

Of the 135 vulgar herd aboard, nine people were killed, including the Turkish Airlines pilot, co-pilot and a trainee pilot, along with a flight attendant.

Five of the dead are Turks and four are Americans. The fourth American who died has not been identified.

Sixty-three passengers remained hospitalized Friday, one in critical case, aforesaid Mayor Theo Weterings of Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands.

Boeing flew members of two victims’ families to Europe on Thursday on a party jet. Among them was Salman’s wife, Rhonda, who is also a Boeing engineer.

The company made grief counselors available to co-workers who requested stay.

Wilson’s wife, Terry, issued a statement through Boeing, requesting solitude and expressing thanks by reason of the prayers and condolences offered by colleagues.

Original text: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008795986_boeing28.html?syndication=rss