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Roy Halladay's pilot father: 'I think he could've exercised a little more caution'

Roy Halladay’s father was one of the speakers at the late pitcher’s memorial service last week, but he nor any of the other eulogists brought up the plane crash that claimed his son’s life.

That changed on Monday when Roy Halladay Jr., a pilot himself, opened up to a local Denver television station about his son’s love of flying and the plane that Roy Halladay III was flying when he died.

[RELATED: Brandy Halladay’s brave and emotional eulogy for her husband]

In the days following Halladay’s death, the Icon A-5 plane was called a “Jet Ski with wings.”

Footage of Halladay attempting risky moves in the plane also surfaced. The NTSB released a report this week that said Halladay was flying just 11 feet above the water during his final flight.

Roy Halladay Jr. told the ABC affiliate in Denver that he had “a few discussions” with his son before he purchased the plane in early October.

“I said be careful because I don’t want anything to hurt you,” Halladay Jr. said.

Halladay Jr., a flight instructor, helped his son obtain his pilot’s license and said he has no regrets about getting his son into flying.

“I think it would’ve left a hole in his life if he hadn’t,” Halladay Jr. told Denver 7. “I wish that he had not done this of course. I miss him a lot.”

Halladay Jr. says he wishes his son would’ve been more careful.

“I think he could’ve exercised a little more caution in how he was flying it,” he told Denver7. “I don’t think we’d be in this situation.”

Despite the disappointment, Halladay Jr. wanted to express one dominant thought about his son.

“I’m extremely proud of him,” he said. “He was an All-Star in everything that he did.”

Roy Halladay Jr. at his son’s memorial service on Nov. 14. (AP)
Roy Halladay Jr. at his son’s memorial service on Nov. 14. (AP)