Is not flying safe?

[Gene Seibel]

Plane enthusiast dies in freak accident
By Heather Ratcliffe
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
10/24/2006

Mark Birke never pursued a pilot's license because his wife worried
about his safety.

So he became an airplane enthusiast. He hung model jets in their
Webster Groves home. He named his dogs after planes. "Airplane" was
among his son's first words.

But even though Birke was grounded, his death was linked to his love of
aircraft. A car hit Birke on Thursday morning as he and a crowd of
tourists snapped photos of jets taking off from Eglin Air Force Base in
northwest Florida.

Birke, 31, who lost a leg in the impact, died at a hospital in
Pensacola, Fla., the next evening. The driver, an airman attached to
the 96th Medical Group at the base, also was killed. Another tourist
suffered minor injuries, officials said.
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Birke and his father, Charles Birke of Hazelwood, were visiting the
base with the F-4 Phantom II Society, an airplane enthusiast club. This
was the third year they pair had joined a similar tour.

Mark Birke, a purchasing specialist at a St. Louis steel company, first
learned about planes from his father, an aircraft mechanic for Boeing.
Mark Birke decided to join the club after his brother, David, who also
loved planes, died five years ago of cancer.

"He wanted a way to honor his brother and have something he could do
with his dad to keep him active," said his wife, Angela Birke.

Mark Birke drove to Florida with relatives for a vacation last week. He
left his wife and son in Tallahassee with family while he and his
father joined the Phantom convention, a five-hour drive away.

They were among 110 tourists who gathered at Tyndall Air Force Base
near Panama City for the convention. They rode in charter buses to
Eglin, near Fort Walton Beach, and were unloading near the airfield
when the accident happened about 9:40 a.m. Thursday.

Air Force officials say Brett A. Jakubowski, of Arvada, Colo., swerved
onto the grassy area where the tour group had gathered, plowing into
the two victims. His car returned to the roadway and crossed lanes into
oncoming traffic.

The airman then hit a fuel truck head-on, according to a release from
the air base.

Angela Birke said she would remember her husband as a clever, caring
man who was always creative.

"Our house is full of furniture he made. Whatever we needed, he just
created it," she said. "He could do anything with his hands."

The Birkes met at a St. Louis University High School mixer when they
were teenagers. They married five years ago. Their son, Miles, is 1.

"He never was happy unless he was making someone else happy," Angela
Birke said. "It's amazing how many people relied on him to make them
laugh."

Mark Birke enjoyed punk rock music, drawing cartoons and playing the
guitar for his son at bedtime. Angela Birke said she didn't want her
husband to become a pilot because his cousin had died in a plane crash.

"He could hear a jet and tell you what kind it was just from the
sound," she said. "But he never flew."
--
Gene Seibel
Tales of Flight - http://pad39a.com/gene/tales.html
Because I fly, I envy no one.

[Gig 601XL Builder]

"Gene Seibel" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Plane enthusiast dies in freak accident
> By Heather Ratcliffe
> ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
> 10/24/2006
>
> Mark Birke never pursued a pilot's license because his wife worried
> about his safety.
>

Terrible story that basically boils down to the fact that if his wife hadn't
bitched and let him learn to fly he would probably be alive today.

[texasflyer]

Flying is safe.
Crashing is dangerous, so don't crash.
And when your time's up, it's up. The particular way you go is
irrelevant.
That's what I believe.

My $0.02

[Jose[_1_]]

> The particular way you go is
> irrelevant.

Oh, I don't know about that. I don't mind dying, I just don't want to
be there when it happens.

Apologies to Woody Allen.

Jose
--
"Never trust anything that can think for itself, if you can't see where
it keeps its brain." (chapter 10 of book 3 - Harry Potter).
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

[.Blueskies.]

"texasflyer" > wrote in message oups.com...
: Flying is safe.
: Crashing is dangerous, so don't crash.
: And when your time's up, it's up. The particular way you go is
: irrelevant.
: That's what I believe.
:
: My $0.02
:

The whole trick is to control how quickly you stop....

[Steve Foley[_2_]]

"Jose" > wrote in message
et...
>> The particular way you go is
>> irrelevant.
>
> Oh, I don't know about that. I don't mind dying, I just don't want to be
> there when it happens.
>
> Apologies to Woody Allen.
>
> Jose

I wanna go to heaven, but I don't wanna die!

[Peter Duniho]

"Gig 601XL Builder" <wrDOTgiaconaATcox.net> wrote in message
...
> Terrible story that basically boils down to the fact that if his wife
> hadn't bitched and let him learn to fly he would probably be alive today.

Any number of things, including having shown up at the airport that day just
a little earlier or a little later, would likely have changed the outcome.

However, I know lots of people who *are* pilots who still do stuff like
standing around watching *other* pilots fly. I see no reason to suggest
that this guy lost his life *because* he wasn't a pilot. That's just
absurd. He could just as easily have been standing where he was whether or
not he was a pilot.

Pete

[kontiki]

Flying is not any more unsafe than lots of other activities people
engage in during their 'leisure' time. It's just less forgiving if
you are a moron.

One of my flight students went up to a major jumping get-together up
in West Virginia last week (he is also a parachute jumper). One
guy died, and two others were injured during the "event". I asked
him tonight about it and he seemed fairly matter-of-fact about it.

[Peter Dohm]

> > Terrible story that basically boils down to the fact that if his wife
> > hadn't bitched and let him learn to fly he would probably be alive
today.
>
> Any number of things, including having shown up at the airport that day
just
> a little earlier or a little later, would likely have changed the outcome.
>
> However, I know lots of people who *are* pilots who still do stuff like
> standing around watching *other* pilots fly. I see no reason to suggest
> that this guy lost his life *because* he wasn't a pilot. That's just
> absurd. He could just as easily have been standing where he was whether
or
> not he was a pilot.
>
> Pete
>
>
C'mon Pete, Ya gotta lighten up. ;-)

Peter

[Jose[_1_]]

> I wanna go to heaven, but I don't wanna die!

Steve Foley, runway three one, cleared for takeoff.

Jose
--
"Never trust anything that can think for itself, if you can't see where
it keeps its brain." (chapter 10 of book 3 - Harry Potter).
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

[Darkwing]

"kontiki" > wrote in message
...
> Flying is not any more unsafe than lots of other activities people
> engage in during their 'leisure' time. It's just less forgiving if
> you are a moron.
>
> One of my flight students went up to a major jumping get-together up
> in West Virginia last week (he is also a parachute jumper). One
> guy died, and two others were injured during the "event". I asked
> him tonight about it and he seemed fairly matter-of-fact about it.
>


I have a friend who is a jump master, actually he was my first passenger
after I got my private as well, he has seen a few jumpers bite it but he
understands the risks and enjoys the hell out of it. He told me, if you're
going to be stupid you have to be tough! Indeed.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
DW

[[email protected]]

Steve Foley wrote:
> "Jose" > wrote in message
> et...
> >> The particular way you go is
> >> irrelevant.
> >
> > Oh, I don't know about that. I don't mind dying, I just don't want to be
> > there when it happens.
> >
> > Apologies to Woody Allen.
> >
> > Jose
>
> I wanna go to heaven, but I don't wanna die!

An old preacher once told me:

Take care of your body as if you were going to live forever...
and take care of your soul as if you were going to die tomorrow.

[Jay Beckman]

"kontiki" > wrote in message
...
>Flying is not any more unsafe than lots of other activities people engage
>in during their 'leisure' time. It's just less forgiving if you are a
>moron.
>
>One of my flight students went up to a major jumping get-together up in
>West Virginia last week (he is also a parachute jumper). One guy died, and
>two others were >injured during the "event". I asked him tonight about it
>and he seemed fairly matter-of-fact about it.

This was a B.A.S.E. jumping event, was it not?

Personally, I'd want a lot more altitude than one gets just jumping off a
bridge.

Jay Beckman
PP-ASEL
Chandler, AZ

[Matt Barrow]

"Jay Beckman" > wrote in message
...
> This was a B.A.S.E. jumping event, was it not?
>
> Personally, I'd want a lot more altitude than one gets just jumping off a
> bridge.
>
> Jay Beckman
> PP-ASEL
> Chandler, AZ

Well, Jay...not every bridge is like those over the Salt River. :~)

[Gig 601XL Builder]

"Peter Duniho" > wrote in message
...
> "Gig 601XL Builder" <wrDOTgiaconaATcox.net> wrote in message
> ...
>> Terrible story that basically boils down to the fact that if his wife
>> hadn't bitched and let him learn to fly he would probably be alive today.
>
> Any number of things, including having shown up at the airport that day
> just a little earlier or a little later, would likely have changed the
> outcome.
>
> However, I know lots of people who *are* pilots who still do stuff like
> standing around watching *other* pilots fly. I see no reason to suggest
> that this guy lost his life *because* he wasn't a pilot. That's just
> absurd. He could just as easily have been standing where he was whether
> or not he was a pilot.
>
> Pete
>


Hence the modifier "probably." And if he had have died anyway he would have
at least done it after he had spent many, many hours doing something that he
obviously dreamed about doing.

[Jay Beckman]

"Matt Barrow" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Jay Beckman" > wrote in message
> ...
>> This was a B.A.S.E. jumping event, was it not?
>>
>> Personally, I'd want a lot more altitude than one gets just jumping off a
>> bridge.
>>
>> Jay Beckman
>> PP-ASEL
>> Chandler, AZ
>
> Well, Jay...not every bridge is like those over the Salt River. :~)

For BASE jumping from anything over the Salt River, I'd hope to get more
"Aqua-tude" as well as altitude...

"It's true, there wasn't enough room for his chute to open... BUT! It's a
dry failure...!"

;O)

Jay Beckman
PP-ASEL (And Now, High Performance Endorsee In Training)
Chandler, AZ

[Peter Duniho]

"Gig 601XL Builder" <wrDOTgiaconaATcox.net> wrote in message
...
> Hence the modifier "probably." And if he had have died anyway he would
> have at least done it after he had spent many, many hours doing something
> that he obviously dreamed about doing.

Well, IMHO "probably" doesn't even come close to the true likelihood (except
inasmuch as even a trivial modification to his life might have cause a
completely different outcome...in that respect, "being a pilot" is no
different than "dropping his toothbrush").

As far as "doing something that he obviously dreamed about doing",
well...not accomplishing that is a problem for anyone who dreams about being
a pilot but doesn't ever become one, even if they die at a ripe old age.

I think it's awful that anyone would die in such a way, but it seems even
more awful to try to make a case that simply being a pilot would somehow
confer immunity to such events.

But then...the new Peter says I should lighten up. Maybe the fact that I
just don't see the point of the comment "he would probably be alive today"
just has to do with the "heaviness" I apparently carry around with me. :p

Pete

[[email protected]]

Jay Beckman > wrote:
> "kontiki" > wrote in message
>>One of my flight students went up to a major jumping get-together up in
>>West Virginia last week (he is also a parachute jumper). One guy died,
>>and two others were injured during the "event". I asked him tonight
>>about it and he seemed fairly matter-of-fact about it.
>
> This was a B.A.S.E. jumping event, was it not?

Yes. "Bridge Day" at the New River Gorge bridge, held approximately on
the anniversary of the completion of the bridge. For six hours, once a
year, it's legal to BASE jump from that bridge. It's kind of a community
festival as well; the BASE jumping is not the only thing going on.

To give some idea of the numbers involved (in the US), there are about
30,000 skydivers, and for the past several years, there have been about
30 fatalities annually. I am not sure how many BASE jumpers there are;
if you have made one BASE jump from each type of object (anywhere in the
world) you can apply for a BASE number and those are up to a bit over
1000 now. Since 1981, there have been 104 known BASE fatalities
worldwide.

> Personally, I'd want a lot more altitude than one gets just jumping
> off a bridge.

In my admittedly limited experience, many pilots think it's a little nuts
to jump out of a working airplane. Many skydivers think that jumping out
of a working airplane is just fine but that it's a little nuts to BASE
jump. I don't know what activity BASE jumpers consider to be a little
nuts.

Matt Roberds

[Peter Dohm]

"Peter Duniho" > wrote in message
...
> "Gig 601XL Builder" <wrDOTgiaconaATcox.net> wrote in message
> ...
> > Hence the modifier "probably." And if he had have died anyway he would
> > have at least done it after he had spent many, many hours doing
something
> > that he obviously dreamed about doing.
>
> Well, IMHO "probably" doesn't even come close to the true likelihood
(except
> inasmuch as even a trivial modification to his life might have cause a
> completely different outcome...in that respect, "being a pilot" is no
> different than "dropping his toothbrush").
>
> As far as "doing something that he obviously dreamed about doing",
> well...not accomplishing that is a problem for anyone who dreams about
being
> a pilot but doesn't ever become one, even if they die at a ripe old age.
>
> I think it's awful that anyone would die in such a way, but it seems even
> more awful to try to make a case that simply being a pilot would somehow
> confer immunity to such events.
>
> But then...the new Peter says I should lighten up. Maybe the fact that I
> just don't see the point of the comment "he would probably be alive today"
> just has to do with the "heaviness" I apparently carry around with me. :p
>
> Pete
>
>
I'm sorry, Pete,

I really don't know just what posts I might have momentarily combined;
because upon rereading the thread, yours is the one that I agree with.

Perhaps I need to lighten up.

Peter

[MarkBirkefriend]

It was an off duty Air Force pilot who lost control of his car and killed
Mark... For those of us survivors who happened to be googling our friend
and found this thread, I think those of you with the decency not to insult
his widow.

____________________________________
Posted via Aviatorlive.com
http://www.aviatorlive.com

[Gene Seibel]

I am the origional poster. My intention was to share what was a story
with an ironic twist with other pilots. I was shocked as well at some
of the responses, and wished I had not posted the story to begin with.
I am very sorry for your loss.
--
Gene Seibel
Gene & Sue's Flying Machine - http://pad39a.com/gene/
Because we fly, we envy no one.




MarkBirkefriend wrote:
> It was an off duty Air Force pilot who lost control of his car and killed
> Mark... For those of us survivors who happened to be googling our friend
> and found this thread, I think those of you with the decency not to insult
> his widow.
>
> ____________________________________
> Posted via Aviatorlive.com
> http://www.aviatorlive.com