According to reports, Mays was on a flight from Philadelphia that experienced a hard landing Saturday at Tampa International Airport after the front tire of the plane blew out.

After the flight, Mays told a Tampa TV station, “All of a sudden as we hit, you know, it was just the hardest hit, all the things from the ceiling started dropping. It hit me on the head, but I got a hard head.” However, Mays apparently died from heart disease, according to the medical examiner.

Mays, 50, was pronounced dead at his home near Tampa Sunday morning, after his wife Deborah found him unresponsive.

The locals said their brush with the television spokesman occurred less than four days before his death.

Although it was a short span of time that the young people met and talked to Mays, they agree that they will remember that unique encounter.

“We were so excited,” said Graves. “It was the last day of our trip and we met Billy Mays. ... He was very nice to us and took time with us. It was great.”