A St. George's family is mourning the loss of one of their sons in a US military air crash.

Captain Jason Paynter, 38, was killed on a training mission out of Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, on April 12.

This weekend relatives travelled to Pensacola for his funeral service at the Naval Aviation Memorial Chapel.

The Bermudian served 21 years in the US military and was a decorated war veteran.

He survived six tours of Iraq and Afghanistan but died on a routine training flight over northern Georgia, aboard a US Navy T-39N Sabreliner.

The bodies of Capt. Paynter and the three other crew members were recovered from nearby woodland.

US Navy investigators are currently examining the cause of the accident.

Capt. Paynter moved to the US with his family at the age of ten and enlisted in the US Marine Corps in 1989.

In 1997 he was appointed to the Marine Enlisted Commissioning Education Programme and in 2001, promoted to Second Lieutenant.

The Marine was descended from the late Burton Paynter, a former St. George's Cup Match opening batsman and wicketkeeper from the 1930s.

His father Burton Paynter told US news website Inforum his son was determined to fly from a young age. He initially served as a Marine before becoming a military flight instructor.

"He was living his dream," said Mr. Paynter, who now lives in Moorhead, Minnesota.

"Something had to go wrong with that plane, because Jason was a good pilot."

He described his son as a "real jokester" and a "good boy".

The Bermudian added that after one mission in May 2005, Capt. Paynter sent him an American flag with a certificate to say it had been flown over Afghanistan in his honour during Operation Enduring Freedom.

"I never thought I'd be burying him," he said.

Capt. Paynter's cousin, Clearwater Middle School teacher Neil Paynter Sr. told The Royal Gazette: "This is a shock for everyone. He was in the military doing something he loved but it's unfortunate this accident happened.

"His father and my father were brothers, but it's been so long since I've seen him. My family went up to the funeral. I haven't been in contact with them but this is a great loss."

Capt. Paynter is survived by his wife Brandy and three children, Jason Jr., Destiny and Jasmine, in Pensacola.