"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:vip_c.291091$eM2.269081@attbi_s51...
You are injecting oranges into an apples discussing here.
the issue of whether or not crashes are entertaining to the masses
is a
whole different issue than the ethics of putting crash video out on
the
net for entertainment or to project one's "hobby".

I see them as different sides of the same coin. One begets the other,
IMHO.

I would not argue that crash footage isn't "thrilling". I would
argue
however, that those who engage in both providing such footage on the
net
for general viewing , and viewing such footage for the purpose of
the
"thrill" involved, and trying to pass their prurient interest off as
being associated with flight safety are not my kind of people.

If it's hypocrisy you're angry about, I'm with you. But I don't think
the
original poster was trying to pass his site off as being associated
with
flight safety in any way.

Don't try selling ME this crap as a safety issue. I know better. I
stood
at the crash site of a close friend during the Cape May Air Races in
71.
His body was still in the cockpit of his AT6 crushed like a dishrag.
I
held his wife in my arms as she tried hysterically to break away and
climb in the cockpit with her husband. I can still feel her shaking
and
screaming to this day. I watched as a spectator....one of these
"photographers" we're discussing here....ran over to where we were
standing and took a picture, not of the wreck, but of HER!!!!

Some of the greatest photographs of our time -- many Pulitzer Prize
winners -- have been snapped in just such a fashion.

Not to defend that photographer's actions, or to minimize your
friend's
anguish -- personally, I couldn't do such a thing, emotionally or
technically -- but this event would clearly be labeled as "breaking
news" by
most journalists, and there are writers and photographers out there
whose
main job it is to cover these types of events.

Somewhere on this planet, a complete stranger, a person with a
camera
who didn't know her, and could have cared less about her, has a
picture
he took without her permission, at the most horrible and personal
moment
of her life,that allows him to share that moment in time with her.
I hope he chokes on it!

I understand your emotion, but I think it's misplaced. Flying
airplanes in
an air race, wing-tip to wing-tip, is INCREDIBLY dangerous. The odds
of an
accident or incident are high, the odds of violent death are not good.
Your
friend knew the risks, and knowingly took them.

He also knew -- as did you -- that the race course was ringed with
spectators and journalists with cameras. To expect photographers to
turn
away from a spectacular airplane crash is pretty unreasonable. To
expect a
photographer NOT to snap a picture of someone trying to run toward a
plane
wreck is unrealistic.

To expect these same photographs to be destroyed, or never published,
is
even less realistic. The internet is just the newest form of
publishing, a
natural progression from Guttenberg until today. This guy's website
is
just an electronic book -- photos printed with electrons instead of
ink.

Although I understand your distaste, Dudley, you are railing against
human
nature. A darker side of it, for sure -- but it's human nature
nonetheless.
You're not going to change it.

I'm not arguing that these things don't exist. Nor am I arguing their
reasons for existence. YOU ARE!!!
Apparently for some reason you just can't grasp the fact that what I
posted initially was simply a personal statement of distaste. It's YOU
who keep arguing a position for crash photos outside the flight safety
context. I'm simply responding to YOUR seeming objection that I find the
use of these photos distasteful to me personally and feel the need to
"educate" me in the finer points of life.

One more time Jay; I'm saying that it's DISTASTEFUL to me personally and
that I for one don't wish to associate with it. Whether or not YOU have
an opposing viewpoint is of absolutely no consequence to me or how I
view the situation at all. I appreciate the fact that you do however,
obviously have an opposing viewpoint and I respect your right to express
it. But when you start branching your "opinions" out of your puddle
jumper cockpit and into my world as a demonstration pilot as an equal,
I'm afraid you have crossed the line with me. You are not my equal, and
on issues like these I will never see you as such.
That being said, and considering I don't particularly relish being
lectured by a pleasure pilot on the idiosyncrasies and dangers involved
in a business I have known thousands of hours in as a participant and
you know only as a spectator, if you don't object I'll just allow you
your feelings on the matter whatever they are,and bid you a fond
farewell.
I don't mean this last comment in a particularly mean way Jay; actually
it's kind of sarcastically humorous as I see it; but If I ever need an
"expert" opinion on flying high performance airplanes in a dangerous
environment, I'll be sure to notify you right away. Until then, I'll
just have to struggle by on what I know about the subject already :-)

Dudley Henriques
International Fighter Pilots Fellowship
Commercial Pilot/ CFI Retired

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