The pilot killed when his Cessna crashed into the Black Warrior River in Tuscaloosa County Friday is being remembered as a man who loved his family and always put them first.

Edward Todd, the 67-year-old owner of Todd Media Aerial Photography, left the Tuscaloosa airport at 9:11 a.m. Friday in his single-engine Cessna 172, flight records show. He was set to arrive back there at 10:16 a.m.

Instead, his flight went off the radar.

Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue and the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene about 10:30 a.m. at Burchfield Branch Park Road on Lock 17 Road. That Alabama Law Enforcement Agency also responded, and is leading the ground investigation.

Kurt Harris, who was fishing on the river, recorded the plane about one minute before it disappeared. Harris took the video at 10:15 a.m., and said it was about three miles from where the plane crashed.

He said they did not hear anything but were surprised at the time that the plane was flying so low.

Investigators said the plan may have struck a power pole before going into the water.

Todd’s body was recovered Friday afternoon.

Todd’s company provided aerial photography services to architects, contractors, developers, realtors, owners, the news media, and many others for over 14 years, according to his website.

Todd was also a certified flight instructor and operated Todd Flight Instruction.

“He truly loved having his own flight school so that he could teach young people how to fly,’’ his sister, Rebecca Todd Minder, told AL.com. “Photography and flying were his passions, and he loved having the opportunity pass those two on to younger generations.”

Flight records show Todd was in the air most days, and flew Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday before his final flight on Friday.

Minder, memorialized her brother in a Friday night Facebook post.

“I feel broken and lost,’’ Minder said. “He was the smartest person in our family, turning his hobbies of flying and photography into careers.”

“His ‘office’ was in the sky, and he got to witness God’s gift from a perspective many never witness,’’ she said.

Todd was a husband, father of five adult children, and a grandfather. Family described him as selfless.

“He made sacrifices, working three or four jobs at a time so that he could provide for his five children,’’ she said, “and even tried to stay in shape so that he could be there to play with his many grandchildren.”

“I adore my brother,’’ Minder said. “I miss him already.”