If I die...

In a previous article, "Todd W. Deckard" said:
Your posted "will and testament" is a noble one.

For my part, if I am killed flying -- come to my funeral and say something
nice -- if someone from the media asks you a question please don't say "he
was such a careful pilot" -- and later if the circumstances strike a nerve
then please delve into the accident details and conclusions offered by the
professionals. And if seeing my mistake spares you, then I'll congradulate
you in Heaven.

It struck a nerve with me because two friends died in their float plane
this summer, a few weeks after one of them had allowed me to make some
take-offs and landings in that very same plane. I went to the memorials,
and we celebrated their lives of exhuberance and joy, and told the widows
how much we missed them and what great guys they both were. Then the
pilots stood around and said "how the hell did that happen"? Those
thoughts aren't to be shared with outsiders, but I think it's something we
need to do, for ourselves and for others.

--
Paul Tomblin http://blog.xcski.com/
Is it so difficult to master your bloody pride and admit that yes, a bunch
of hackers turned out a better suite of utilities than your teams of
engineers ever could? -- Robert Uhl

Paul Tomblin wrote:
My brother recently lost a friend of his in a diving accident. And my
brother, as a former sailor on the wreck that the accident happened on
(HMCS Cape Breton), a local PADI dive instructor and an expert in deep
diving techniques, had to go in to find the body after the RCMP tried
for two days and couldn't find him. I was reading the forum posts
about the accident, and somebody posted this. With a few
substitutions, I could see this applying to us just as well.


Excellent idea that we all should think about duplicating.

One thing I thought about after the Challenger exploded and the space
program was shutdown for years was if I had been an astronaut my wife would
have a tape to release to the media with a speech saying, in a nut shell, "I
knew this was dangerous and thought it was worth the risk. Please don't let
my death be used as an excuse to cease or even slow man's exploration of
space."

"Tina" == Tina writes:

Tina And then, Mr Dudley, there were John Gillespie Magee, Jr's
Tina thoughts on your profession. I doubt you've lost that joy
Tina and awe.

I have not, but for some time have enjoyed W.B. Yeats thoughts too. It
helps to know that this was written around WWI and that the Irish,
like other members of the UK, have no love for the English.

An Irish Airman Foresees His Death
W.B. Yeats

I know that I shall meet my fate
Somewhere among the clouds above;
Those that I fight I do not hate,
Those that I guard I do not love;
My country is Kiltartan Cross,
My countrymen Kiltartan's poor,
No likely end could bring them loss
Or leave them happier than before.
Nor law, nor duty bade me fight,
Nor public men, nor cheering crowds,
A lonely impulse of delight
Drove to this tumult in the clouds;
I balanced all, brought all to mind,
The years to come seemed waste of breath,
A waste of breath the years behind
In balance with this life, this death.

--
It is part of the general pattern of misguided policy that our country
is now geared to an arms economy which was bred in an artificially
induced psychosis of war hysteria and nurtured upon an incessant
propaganda of fear.
~ General Douglas MacArthur

An Irish Airman Foresees His Death
W.B. Yeats

Outstanding!

I never thought I'd see the day when I would read my old friend Yeats
in a thread on this newsgroup...

Better knock it off -- If this keeps up we pilots will soon be accused
of having some culture and class...

;-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

I went to the memorials,
and we celebrated their lives of exhuberance and joy, and told the widows
how much we missed them and what great guys they both were. Then the
pilots stood around and said "how the hell did that happen"? Those
thoughts aren't to be shared with outsiders, but I think it's something we
need to do, for ourselves and for others.

I've had the misfortune of attending two memorials for lost pilot
friends during 2007. One was for a middle-aged couple who died
together, leaving only grieving, elderly parents and friends, while
the other was for a young father of two little kids, and an infant.

The difference between the two events was striking. In the former,
everyone (even the parents) said "As least they died doing something
they loved" -- and meant it. Our friends left no dependents, so their
fate was truly their own. Although death came to them too soon, it
seemed almost a noble way to go, compared to so many alternatives.

At the latter memorial, NO ONE said those words, as they would have
sounded cold and empty to the young widow and orphans. The horror of
the situation, the stark loss for the family, and the finality of the
event weighed heavily on all of us, and all we could think of --
silently -- was "What the hell happened?"

The manner of ones death matters mostly to the victim. For the
survivors, timing is everything.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

On Dec 6, 7:38 am, "Mortimer Schnerd, RN" mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com
wrote:
I'd rather have a few seconds of terror
followed by the deep peace that comes
with acceptance of impending death than to
sit in a nursing home waiting for my cancer to eat me alive.

Your comparison completely ignores the decades of life that are likely
lost in a fatal plane crash (on average, crash victims are decades
younger than the life expectancy for adults). Surely that loss far
outweighs any preference one might have concerning the manner of death
itself.

"Crash Lander" wrote in message
...
"Paul Tomblin" wrote in message
...
If I should die while diving at least I didn't die in bed.

Poignant words indeed.
The last line makes for a fitting replacement for the ever clichéd "He
died doing what he loved!", which always seems to rub people the wrong way
for some reason.
Crash Lander
--
Straight and Level Down Under.
http://www.straightandleveldownunder.net/


It is one thing to die while flying. Quite another to kill
yourself/others while flying.

Al G

Jay Honeck wrote:
The difference between the two events was striking. In the former,
everyone (even the parents) said "As least they died doing something
they loved" -- and meant it. Our friends left no dependents, so their
fate was truly their own. Although death came to them too soon, it
seemed almost a noble way to go, compared to so many alternatives.

Before I was flying, we knew a couple who were both pilots. The woman
was killed in a crash, and the husband said he was comforted that she
died doing something she loved. They had no kids. At the time -- being a
young wife and mother -- I could not relate to that statement at all. It
sounded too matter-of-fact. Now, being older and a pilot myself, I
understand it.

I don't find it wrong or offensive to say that when a person dies doing
something they love. IMO, it shouldn't be interpreted to mean that they
*chose* to go that way or that it's okay with you that you lost them
because they were doing something they loved. But as you said, compared
to some of the alternatives, going while doing something you love may be
of *some* comfort to *some* survivors.

But I agree with you--the perspective from the victim's viewpoint vs.
from the survivor's viewpoint may be very different. What/Who they leave
behind, and in what situations, can make it easier or harder to relate
to those statements...and there are a gazillion of them, made after a
death, that rub people the wrong way even though not meant to. I always
cringe when you inform someone of a death and they ask, "How old was
he/she?" ... as if it's *less* of a loss to loved ones if the person was
65 vs. 45.

"Mortimer Schnerd, RN" mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com wrote in
:



Well, first I posted a rather brusque response and then I read what
you'd said. I've almost died twice in my life: once cave diving (oddly
enough for this thread) and once in an airplane. I'd rather have a
few seconds of terror followed by the deep peace that comes with
acceptance of impending death than to sit in a nursing home waiting
for my cancer to eat me alive.

Well, then do us a favor and jump in front of a bus rather than take a
perfectly good airplane with you.


Bertie

Shirl wrote in news:Xmnushal8y-
:

Jay Honeck wrote:
The difference between the two events was striking. In the former,
everyone (even the parents) said "As least they died doing something
they loved" -- and meant it. Our friends left no dependents, so their
fate was truly their own. Although death came to them too soon, it
seemed almost a noble way to go, compared to so many alternatives.

Before I was flying, we knew a couple who were both pilots. The woman
was killed in a crash, and the husband said he was comforted that she
died doing something she loved. They had no kids. At the time -- being a
young wife and mother -- I could not relate to that statement at all. It
sounded too matter-of-fact. Now, being older and a pilot myself, I
understand it.

I don't. I'd much rather die at the hands of a jealous husband..





Bertie