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alaskaflyer

alaskaflyer

Final Approach
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Feb 18, 2006
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Smith Valley, Nevada
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Alaskaflyer
My friend Laurie went down in her plane in which I flew a fair amount of my early logbook hours. She and her friend were killed. RIP.
 
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I saw an article about that. Sorry to hear of the loss of your colleague and friend. Stuff like that does make on stop and think....
 
Sorry to hear about your friend. As I get older the list gets heavier.

The 185 that mushed into the trees last year was mine in 1969, when I bought it new.
 
Richard, sorry to hear you lost not one but two friends. It can be tough being both angry at them for POSSIBLY doing something not so smart and sad at the same time but thats ok your allowed to be both angry and sad especially when it comes to friends.
 
It's hard to loose friends, Specially when it just doesn't make sense. So, care for your new son, he's the future.
 
Sigh. Not a good story. I never like reading that ending. :frown3:
 
I'm waiting for the final NTSB report on a friend's crash in Colorado in August. Those reports always seem so impersonal until they're talking about someone you knew and worked with. Sorry to hear about this one.
 
I am so sorry for your friends. But for the grace of Murphy, so go all of us. Any of us could, despite due diligence, find ourselves in an intractable situation. I certainly hope with all my strength that such a thing never happens to any of us.
 
It's a weird feeling.

I haven't known anyone, directly.

However.

The Cirrus that used to tie down next to my T182T disappeared. I figured they had moved on, or went to another spot, or something. A week later I find out it's the Cirrus that went down at HPN on the way back from the NCAA Bball tournament at 2am in bad wx.

I used to gawk at this Saratoga. It was older, with the forward facing seats. No club seating, so I wasn't really interested even though I was thinking about moving up to a Sara, but I'd go look at it anyway if it was pulled out of its hangar. One day, there's an air-to-air over NY Harbor between a Sara and a helo. Yeah. Same one. I could even recognize it in some of the photos of the crash.

Always an empty feeling. I can't even begin to imagine the emptiness when you actually know the person inside.
 
flyersfan31 said:
It's a weird feeling.

I haven't known anyone, directly.

However.

The Cirrus that used to tie down next to my T182T disappeared. I figured they had moved on, or went to another spot, or something. A week later I find out it's the Cirrus that went down at HPN on the way back from the NCAA Bball tournament at 2am in bad wx.

I used to gawk at this Saratoga. It was older, with the forward facing seats. No club seating, so I wasn't really interested even though I was thinking about moving up to a Sara, but I'd go look at it anyway if it was pulled out of its hangar. One day, there's an air-to-air over NY Harbor between a Sara and a helo. Yeah. Same one. I could even recognize it in some of the photos of the crash.

Always an empty feeling. I can't even begin to imagine the emptiness when you actually know the person inside.
Click to expand...

I haven't had a friend go down yet either... Operative word, "yet." I feel like it's getting ever closer. First, there was the 182 I always saw on the ramp, I found out its owner had bought a Cirrus and crashed it - 3 fatal, VFR-into-IMC CFIT. Then, there was the plane in my logbook that took a bath in Lake Michigan and the pilot survived the ditching in fine shape but died of hypothermia.

Then, it was PoA member Vic Steelhammer (Trombair), who I'd never met in person, and then John Lancaster (FlingWing206). Then, there was the local EMS chopper that went down shortly after departure from LSE - I had met the pilot once, and he was married to a woman that used to be our neighbor across the street.

Y'all be careful, I don't like where this is going... :frown2:
 
Over the years I have lost several pilot acquaintances.

one of my CFI's went down in a Seneca in a Hail storm.

I worked for Papa 51 when the prototype Thunder Mustang Crashed.

Another died in a mid-air at the Reno Air Races
Another died when the stabilizer failed at the Reno Air Races.

Another pilot friend was hit by a drunk driver.
His son, also a pilot, died of complications from diabetes.

One Spun in from 7000 AGL, The airplane came apart in the air. However drugs were involved in this one.

Another pilot friend died for Throat Cancer.

Another from Brain Cancer.

Three more I knew have essentially died from old age.

Another did a 200 mile cross country flight in his glider at 87 years of age and decided that was a good flight to quit flying on. He still goes hiking a lot.

My simple take away from it, most of the pilots I know that died were doing high risk flying, ie Reno Air race, hard IFR at night, Drugs. I know almost as many pilots that have died on non-aviation related causes.

Brian
 
flyingcheesehead said:
I haven't had a friend go down yet either... Operative word, "yet." I feel like it's getting ever closer. First, there was the 182 I always saw on the ramp, I found out its owner had bought a Cirrus and crashed it - 3 fatal, VFR-into-IMC CFIT. Then, there was the plane in my logbook that took a bath in Lake Michigan and the pilot survived the ditching in fine shape but died of hypothermia.

Then, it was PoA member Vic Steelhammer (Trombair), who I'd never met in person, and then John Lancaster (FlingWing206). Then, there was the local EMS chopper that went down shortly after departure from LSE - I had met the pilot once, and he was married to a woman that used to be our neighbor across the street.

Y'all be careful, I don't like where this is going... :frown2:
Click to expand...
You met Steve Case:
http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20090617X05239&key=1
I had only met him once - seemed like a very nice guy.
 
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