Found out that Ricky died in a plane crash.

Diana

Diana

Final Approach
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Diana
As I was doing a search on the red board for updated info on Moontown, I found an old post about an accident there. It came as quite a surprise...a very sad surprise. He crashed taking off from Moontown in August, 2008. :(

Ricky was one of the friendliest people that I met on my grass strip tour. He was a great guy and helped me a lot when I flew in to visit Moontown. He gave me a ride back and forth to the hotel for two days, took me out to eat with his wife and friends and spent a lot of time showing me around "The Moon" as he fondly called the airport. Ricky dropped everything to change my oil for me. He was so positive and friendly and went out of his way to make me feel welcome to his grass trip world. He was an an active pilot and often took Young Eagles, and also pulled gliders part of the time. He was an all around good guy and was genuinely nice...he was always smiling and laughing. This is so sad. :( I don't know why it's bothering me so much.

Here are a few photos that I took of him when I was at Moontown. The second photo is of Ricky working on my airplane.
 

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That's a real bummer, Diana. Moontown is one of the neatest places I've ever been to.
 
Dang! That stinks. Was he a member here?
 
I'm sorry, Diana. :(

Sometimes it affects me the most when I lose people I feel I hardly know or lost touch with, because I feel like I should've taken the time to get to know them better and now can't. I understand your sadness.
 
It's bothering you, Diana, because you're a kind-hearted and caring person, and Ricky reflected that in how he treated you. I am sorry for your sadness, I understand it, and I am sad that I never got to meet him myself.

If you liked him, I know I would have as well.
 
It makes me sad as well Diane, I felt a sadness as I read your post. He sounded like my kind of a guy. " Do good things for others and expect nothing in return."
 
I hate that it happened at all and I'm sorry you had to find out that way.
 
This is so sad. :( I don't know why it's bothering me so much.


My condolences Diana. It is always tough to lose a friend.

Rick
 
Diana said:
This is so sad. :( I don't know why it's bothering me so much.


Well of course it's bothering you! For crying out loud, the guy got killed and he was your friend. It IS weird when there is a delay in getting the news and when we only spend a little time with someone. But the heart is a time machine and mine is breaking for you Diana
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I'm so sorry Diana... unexpected losses are especially hard when we discover them unexpectedly.
 
What a sad thing to find out. Seems like a decent person and an experienced pilot. Looks like a fuel selecter in the "off" position caused the accident, a simple enough mistake to make.
 
That just sucks. Sorry Diana.
 
At a Dallas friend's annual party after the OU-Texas game a couple years ago I was talking to a guy I knew from college. He said he's been an eye doc inMcAlester, OK, for many years, so I asked about a college roommate who was hospital administrator there. He said Tommy had succumbed to a heart attack a couple of years prior, I think while we were in Australia for a month. I thought about it for a long time, and have concluded that learning about it after the fact was harder for me than if I had heard about it at the time.

In many cases there's not much you can do or say anyway, but it somehow feels better to know that you did what you could and hopefully had the opportunity to convey and share your thoughts and memories with the family and others.

I'm sorry you're hurting now.

Wayne
 
It bothers you because he touched you and you had a connection however brief and now he's not there. Just remember he made your life better buy the brief but friendly way that he treated you!
 
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A very good friend of mine lost his 21 year old son about 100 yards from the house on Xmas day. He had been accepted to medical school. At the wake, I commented I don't think I could stay composed if that had happened to me.

He responded, "We had the joy of his company for 21 years".
 
timwinters said:
That's a real bummer, Diana. Moontown is one of the neatest places I've ever been to.
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It really is a wonderful grass airfield...almost like a step back in time when grass was the norm.

FlyNE said:
Dang! That stinks. Was he a member here?
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I don't think he made it here, but I told him about the forum when I was there.

Bob Bement said:
It makes me sad as well Diane, I felt a sadness as I read your post. He sounded like my kind of a guy. " Do good things for others and expect nothing in return."
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What a great quote, Bob. That describes how he was.

I appreciate all of your comments and thoughts. Your perspectives have made me think...a lot. It's still hard to wrap my head around this one for some reason. Part of it may have to do with the fact that something that we love so much can kill us so quickly and this was yet another sad reminder.

Ricky was a goodwill ambassador for his airport and the kind of guy one would hope, but not necessarily expect to meet when dropping in at an airport.

The Moontown chapter will be harder to write now.
 
BTW, this thread is yet another reminder of what a great group of people you all are. :)
 
shoot, Diana - look at that smile, that face... I didn't know him at all, but I'm grieving the loss. :( :( :(
 
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