My friend lost his house and his airplane

[Diana]

Some of you met Bill Lynch at Gaston's. He had a TriPacer. The tornado yesterday hit his house and hangar. His airplane is now in a neighbor's tree and his house is pretty much gone. Bill was in his basement and he didn't get hurt. He may be able to salvage his hot air balloon...it was in a trailer and the trailer got knocked over.

I wish we could help him, but we are in Texas right now. Bill spent two days at our house cleaning up after the ice storm. I just wish we could do something for him.

We still can't reach another friend who was in the path of the tornado.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

Oh man- that is sad. My condolances, but I'm glad he is Ok. Everything else is just stuff & can be replaced.

 

[woodstock]

Oh Diana, I am really sorry to hear about this. I'm glad he's safe, too. That's right - it's just "stuff". It still hurts though. I hope you find your other friend.

 

[gibbons]

Oh my gosh. How terrible for Bill - and such a nice guy too. I'm really sorry to hear about this.

 

[Diana]

Oh my gosh. How terrible for Bill - and such a nice guy too. I'm really sorry to hear about this.

Yea, he really is a great guy and he would do anything for his friends. He comes to our family reunions at the farm...he's kinda like Cousin Bill.

 

[TangoWhiskey]

I was worried about you guys, too, when I saw where those storms were headed. Whereabouts in Texas are you?

Bill, I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your home and plane... :-( I'm very glad you are okay.

Diana, I hope you hear from your other friends soon....

 

[KennyFlys]

Diana, I'm sorry for your friend. Even replaceable items will tear at your heart. I'm sure he has a lot of fond memories of times in the TriPacer and his home... the shell is nothing compared to what was within and the momentos of his life.

He's safe. I'm glad of that.

 

[gismo]

Yikes. I hope I never have to go through that kind of experience.

I also hope you/we can find a way to get him to Gaston's next month and if he makes it we should all try to make sure he get's to fly as many different airplanes as possible.

 

[Bob Bement]

That is a bummer. I am glad he got in the basement and is alright. I'm sorry about your house and airplane. I know I would be hurting if I lost N9054N. Bob

 

[HPNFlyGirl]

Sorry to hear about your friend Diana. Glad he is alright. Also...I hope you hear from your friend soon.

 

[Kaye]

Man, that sucks!! I'm so glad he's okay, but I can't even imagine going thru that. Even tho it's just stuff, it still has to hurt.

And Diana, I can imagine how you're fretting because you're not there to help him out.

 

[kevin47881]

Not a good situation but thankfully Bill is o.k.

 

[gprellwitz]

Diana, just echoing what others have said. Glad Bill's alright, and hope your other friend shows up safe and sound.

 

[Diana]

Thanks everybody for your comments...I'll pass them along to Bill.

Whereabouts in Texas are you?

We're still in Fort Davis with Dave Taylor. He and Janet are absolutely wonderful.

I also hope you/we can find a way to get him to Gaston's next month and if he makes it we should all try to make sure he get's to fly as many different airplanes as possible.

Lance, that is a great idea! I'll pass that along to him. Bill was going to be at a hot air balloon festival that weekend, but don't know if he will now depending on how damaged the balloon and basket might be.

Man, that sucks!! I'm so glad he's okay, but I can't even imagine going thru that. Even tho it's just stuff, it still has to hurt.

And Diana, I can imagine how you're fretting because you're not there to help him out.

You're absolutely right Kaye...I hate it that we can't be there to help him out and even pondered heading back home to help him. Bill said this morning that lots of people were just arriving to help him clean up the mess, but still...he was there for us when we needed him.

He didn't have comprehensive on his TriPacer, so he won't be able to replace it.

 

[gibbons]

He didn't have comprehensive on his TriPacer, so he won't be able to replace it.

Diana,

I'm sure Bill knows to check his homeowners insurance if he was carrying insurance on his hangar. The hangar insurance might cover the Tri-Pacer.

 

[AuntPeggy]

Glad to hear Bill is OK. Sorry to hear about the hangar and TriPacer.

 

[rottydaddy]

I know it's cold comfort given such losses, but surviving that is something to be thankful for. Good luck to him!

 

[TeenDoc]

Diana,

I'm sorry for what happened to Bill. Next time you talk to him, please let him know that we keep him in our thoughts and prayers.

Gil

 

[Dart]

I'm glad to here he is not hurt. Myanmar, China, mid-west tornados. Horrible month this May 2008.

 

[AdamZ]

you can always rebuild and replace the plane. Can't replace people. Glad his is safe.

 

[EdFred]

you can always rebuild and replace the plane. Can't replace people. Glad his is safe.

Amen. Been through it myself.

 

[Diana]

We are headed over to Bill's this morning to help him clean up. He said the airplane is still in the tree. Our other friend in that area (we finally got in touch with him...his power is still out) got hit by the tornado and his home is damaged as well as his parent's house nearby. His neighbor was killed when it hit her house.

 

[Dave2]

Diana we've been worried about all of you folks in that part of the country. We'll pray for you all. It's been a tough year.
I remember what it's like from the years when we lived in Kansas and Nebraksa to be wakened in the middle of the night to take shelter.

 

[gibbons]

Diana emailed me these photos and asked me to post them. She and Tom are working to help Bill get things cleaned up. When Diana said the only things that might be salvageable are the tires I thought she was kidding.

This is not going to buff out.

 

[gprellwitz]

OW!

 

[Trapper John]

Diana emailed me these photos and asked me to post them. She and Tom are working to help Bill get things cleaned up. When Diana said the only things that might be salvageable are the tires I thought she was kidding.

This is not going to buff out.

What a shame...at least there's no question that it's a total loss, no arguing with the adjustor, etc. I hope Bill gets new wings soon!


Trapper John

 

[gprellwitz]

What a shame...at least there's no question that it's a total loss, no arguing with the adjustor, etc. I hope Bill gets new wings soon!


Trapper John

Problem is, I think she said that he didn't have hull insurance!

He didn't have comprehensive on his TriPacer, so he won't be able to replace it.

 

[Trapper John]

Problem is, I think she said that he didn't have hull insurance!

I missed that - bummer. Well, let's hope the homeowners on the hanger covers the contents. Wouldn't there be some salvage value for the engine and maybe a few other parts besides the wheels?

Trapper John

 

[HPNFlyGirl]

Wow those pictures are hard to look at.

 

[gismo]

I missed that - bummer. Well, let's hope the homeowners on the hanger covers the contents.

Worth a shot but most homeowner policies specifically exclude airplanes.

Wouldn't there be some salvage value for the engine and maybe a few other parts besides the wheels?

Maybe, maybe not. The engine would only have core value and that's assuming the case is intact and the crank checks out OK. I'd say the chances are slim that the engine didn't suffer a prop strike.

 

[Diana]

There are more pictures from today but I can't get on my main computer. We've had tornado warnings here for the past two hours. A tornado touched down 3 miles north of here and a storm spotter reported a funnel cloud right over our farm. This is too much drama especially after cleaning up from an F4 today.

 

[ScottM]

OW!

He has his life. The rest is all just stuff. My thoughts are with him and all the others that suffered losses.

 

[Ghery]

Diana emailed me these photos and asked me to post them. She and Tom are working to help Bill get things cleaned up. When Diana said the only things that might be salvageable are the tires I thought she was kidding.

This is not going to buff out.

Add the nameplate to the tires and you've got a good start towards rebuilding it. Or not. OUCH!

 

[Henning]

I missed that - bummer. Well, let's hope the homeowners on the hanger covers the contents.
Trapper John

Well, unless the hangar was part of the house, it would be an appertunent structure, therefor be limited to the max limits of the "B" coverage. There is also the issue that a good adjuster can find his insured some extra money. It's not hard to build an extra $20k into a claim like this.
Also, even if he didn't have full comprehensive on the airplane though, he may have some "not in motion" hull coverage. Always worth reading the policy.

Main thing is, he's alive to collect and restart, rebuild.

 

[Diana]

Here are some pictures from today. The church that was next to Bill was wiped out and a lot of it is in his yard. The picture with the couch is his living room.

The Salvation Army came by in a van and offered a free meal. The local pubic health department stopped by and offered free tetanus shots which some of us took them up on (LOTS of rusty nails to step on with all those boards lying around). It's really neat how many services and people were available to provide help.

 

[gprellwitz]

He has his life. The rest is all just stuff. My thoughts are with him and all the others that suffered losses.

Agreed. As I said even before I saw the pictures,

Diana, just echoing what others have said. Glad Bill's alright, and hope your other friend shows up safe and sound.

 

[Diana]

A few more pictures from yesterday. They finally got the TriPacer out of the tree and it looks more like an airplane now. Kinda sad looking airplane.

It was impressive how many people stopped to help...some of them volunteer groups like churches. This Salvation Army truck stopped twice a day. They offered free breakfast and lunch and free drinks like coffee, water, and soda.

That insulation stuff is really irritating...gets in your eyes and nose and you feel like you're covered with it by the end of the day. The nails in boards are everywhere...we got a flat tire on the truck from one of those nails yesterday.

Helicopters and airplanes were constantly flying over...one of them was the governor.

 

[Diana]

We talked with our mechanic who lives a few miles down the road. The other night when a tornado was spotted right over our farm (we were in the furnace room and didn't see it) our mechanic was outside watching and he saw the funnel cloud pass directly over his house too.

 

[gprellwitz]

We talked with our mechanic who lives a few miles down the road. The other night when a tornado was spotted right over our farm (we were in the furnace room and didn't see it) our mechanic was outside watching and he saw the funnel cloud pass directly over his house too.

I am SO glad you were spared. Man, you've been having the worst weather!

It's still painful to look at pictures of wrecked airplanes!

 

[jshawley]

Diana--

Just stumbled on this thread. All I can say is, "Wow."

Glad you and Tom are ok. My thoughts and prayers to all there...