Aviation Fatalities: "he died doing something he loved..."

"RST Engineering" wrote in message
.. .
I second Dudley's theory that Scott was not alive at the moment of impact.
Actually, I don't really have a "theory" per se. I do however, have an
interest in viewing the post mortem report; call it a "hunch" more than a
"theory". It's far too early for anyone, least of all me, to be forming
theories on the cause of this accident.
I'm a firm believer in letting investigations run their course. There are
all too many times when the obvious ends up not being the cause of a crash
at all, but rather something that reveals itself during the post accident
investigation.
I just have a "feeling" about Crossfield based on the way he thought about
and acted about aviation safety issues all through his life. I could be
totally off base, but seeing that post mortem report has at least piqued my
interest if nothing else.
Dudley Henriques

The sentiments you hear and see spoken and written after the death of a
pilot such as the ones you are referring to here are sentiments usually
expressed by those outside the inner circle of the pilot gone south.

I've got a slightly different "take" on this matter.

I am a firm believer in "dying while doing something we love" as being
the preferred way to meet our demise. I believe this sentiment is
expressed NOT by those who are ignorant of the pain of "blunt force
trauma," but rather it is held by those of us who have witnessed
friends and loved ones die of old age, infirmity, or one of the
"wasting" illnesses (I.E.: cancer; tuberculosis; emphesema, Lou
Gehrig's Disease, etc.)

I, for one, spent the last 15 minutes of my mother's life holding her
hand, watching her gasp for breath after agonizing breath. (And this
only after many days of ever-increasing, unrelenting discomfort
beforehand.) I also knew a man who died a long, cruel death, trapped
inside a body that no longer functioned. And finally, my father died a
long, slow death from cancer. This once proud man ended his days
incontinent, and as unhappy as any living being can be.

I can guarantee you, 100%, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they all
would MUCH rather have died while doing something they loved.

Bottom line: A plane crash may suck, but we all end up facing that
wall, someday -- and there are far worse ways to go. Godspeed, Scott
Crossfield.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
ups.com...
The sentiments you hear and see spoken and written after the death of a
pilot such as the ones you are referring to here are sentiments usually
expressed by those outside the inner circle of the pilot gone south.

I've got a slightly different "take" on this matter.

I am a firm believer in "dying while doing something we love" as being
the preferred way to meet our demise. I believe this sentiment is
expressed NOT by those who are ignorant of the pain of "blunt force
trauma," but rather it is held by those of us who have witnessed
friends and loved ones die of old age, infirmity, or one of the
"wasting" illnesses (I.E.: cancer; tuberculosis; emphesema, Lou
Gehrig's Disease, etc.)

I, for one, spent the last 15 minutes of my mother's life holding her
hand, watching her gasp for breath after agonizing breath. (And this
only after many days of ever-increasing, unrelenting discomfort
beforehand.) I also knew a man who died a long, cruel death, trapped
inside a body that no longer functioned. And finally, my father died a
long, slow death from cancer. This once proud man ended his days
incontinent, and as unhappy as any living being can be.

I can guarantee you, 100%, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they all
would MUCH rather have died while doing something they loved.

Of this I have no doubt.
To feel these things when connected to the death of a loved one dying of old
age or a health issue is absolutely normal, and in fact expected.
Your scenarios however exist outside the flight test community, and as such
I see no connection between what you have said and the context of my
remarks.
I can only speak about my community from my experience within that
community. I make no effort to speak outside that reference and for anyone
else.
Dudley Henriques

Fine insight Dudley. To me its a little different in the test pilot
world than GA. For the most part, the things that kill us are things
we can control. In the test pilot world, theres a large area of
unknowns that can kill a pilot. Skill allows the pilot to address the
unknowns, but luck certainly helps as well. In the flying that most of
us on the NG do, the most likely cause of the accident is us. Quite
frankly, I don't want my legacy to be that I was foolish enough to fly
with empty tanks, into a level 5, etc. For the most part, the things
that kill us are lessons that were learned years ago. Do we really
another stall/spin accident to tell us that stall training is
important? Are death contributes little to the knowledge base of
aviation safety.

I enjoy flying, but if I'm going to die doing something I really enjoy,
I'd rather it be in bed with a supermodel.

"Brad" wrote:
Quite frankly, I don't want my legacy to be that I was foolish enough to
fly with empty tanks, into a level 5, etc.

The way I like to think about it is this. Whenever contemplating doing
something that you're not sure about, ask yourself how the NTSB report will
read.

Roy Smith wrote:
"Brad" wrote:

Quite frankly, I don't want my legacy to be that I was foolish enough to
fly with empty tanks, into a level 5, etc.


The way I like to think about it is this. Whenever contemplating doing
something that you're not sure about, ask yourself how the NTSB report will
read.
That's my rule.

Margy

"Brad" wrote in message
oups.com...
Quite frankly, I don't want my legacy to be that I was
foolish enough to fly with empty tanks, into a level 5, etc.

Do you think that you would have better luck with *full* tanks in a level 5?
Once the wings get ripped off, does it really matter whether they had gas in
them or not or even if you have a header tank?

The point isn't so much "dying while doing something you love", but if
you do, it indicates that you lived your life doing something you
loved. That's a good thing. Like you, I don't want to leave a black
mark on aviation.
--
Gene Seibel
Tales of Flight - http://pad39a.com/gene/tales.html
Because I fly, I envy no one.

In article .com,
"Brad" wrote:

I saw a similar sentiment posted in relation to Scott Crossfield's
fatel accident. I'm not sure I really get it...we're all going to die,
but do you really want to die doing something you love?

it might just beat giving up the thing you love in order to live.

--
Bob Noel
Looking for a sig the
lawyers will hate

Perhaps a better way to express our feelings is that "at least he was able
to do what he loved until his last minute with us."

I've thought about the "dying doing something he loved" phrase, too. I
agree with some of the underlying principles, but also see that it is a way
to sugarcoat a tragedy.

"Bob Noel" wrote in message
...
In article .com,
"Brad" wrote:

I saw a similar sentiment posted in relation to Scott Crossfield's
fatel accident. I'm not sure I really get it...we're all going to die,
but do you really want to die doing something you love?

it might just beat giving up the thing you love in order to live.

--
Bob Noel
Looking for a sig the
lawyers will hate