Brad wrote:
Anyway, being a PPL/IR, when I heard about his accident I couldn't (still
can't) help but ask, "What if?" What if I had been there? What if I could
have offered some bit of advice that he hadn't considered? What if....? If
my only choices were to pull up and stall into a bunch of trees vs. a
freeway full of cars, I'd choose the trees, but I can't help but think, if I
were only there. Any advice on how to get past this train of thought?


Flying involves risk. Accept the fact that you are going to lose friends
as your flying career progresses.
I was in the same situation as you, some 20 years ago, asking, "Why?"
Another pilot friend told me what I am going to pass on to you, "When
your number is up, your number is up. Nothing you can do will change it."
Being involved in sport acrobatics, I lose two or three acquaintances
each year do to "accidents". I cannot change what has happened, I just
accept it and remember to learn from their mishap.
You can practice emergency procedures, read everything you can get your
hands on, fly with more experienced pilots, seek out the older
instructors. In short, never stop learning, never get complacent (sic),
don't get so full of yourself that you think you know it all. If you do,
it will bite you in the ass at the first opportunity.
Always err on the safe, conservative side.
If you don't have enough local knowledge and weather information, don't
fly. If something just doesn't seem quite right, taxi back and park the
airplane. Break the chain of events and live to fly another day.