Record-setting young pilot dies at 26

Dan wrote:
On Mar 20, 7:36 am, B A R R Y wrote:
Dudley Henriques wrote:

I'm fairly certain you're right. Behind these "young pilot flights"
there are usually adult people with an agenda.
No different than can be seen at any youth league hockey rink, baseball
field, soccer game, quarter midget race, film audition... There are
always a few parents living through the kids.

True, though few of those kill themselves.


I dunno... I know a sports star that offed himself once the spotlight
faded away. It's just not national news.

On Mar 20, 9:13 am, B A R R Y wrote:

True, though few of those kill themselves.

I dunno... I know a sports star that offed himself once the spotlight
faded away. It's just not national news.

That's a rare occurrence.

People kill themselves for a variety of "reasons," few of them
rational.

Which is why it's hard for those of us thinking rationally to
understand "why."

All sad, and selfish.


Dan Mc

On Mar 18, 3:13*pm, Jim Logajan wrote:
Story on Yahoo:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080318/...obit_van_meter

I'm aware of three people I've known in my life that attempted suicide, and
sadly one was successful. None of them were attempting to escape physical
pain or fiscal trauma. Sometimes the worst enemy a person has is inside
their mind. :-(

The article says she battled depression and opposed medication. It
doesn't say whether or not she was still flying, but I wonder if she
opposed medication because it would mean the loss of her pilot's
license.

Phil

Phil J wrote:
On Mar 18, 3:13 pm, Jim Logajan wrote:
Story on Yahoo:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080318/...obit_van_meter

I'm aware of three people I've known in my life that attempted suicide, and
sadly one was successful. None of them were attempting to escape physical
pain or fiscal trauma. Sometimes the worst enemy a person has is inside
their mind. :-(

The article says she battled depression and opposed medication. It
doesn't say whether or not she was still flying, but I wonder if she
opposed medication because it would mean the loss of her pilot's
license.

Phil
One of the huge problems associated with these kids who are hyped up in
the public eye by their parents early on in their lives is that later
on, the child can't fulfill on the hype and in effect finish the "story".

This can leave a child, now a young adult, with a deep sense of failure
which "aint good" by any definition.

In the case of this young lady, the odds of her actually becoming the
astronaut she was hyped up as desiring to become, and presented to the
world as the reason for her learning to fly were an odds on built in
failure to begin with. The competition for these jobs is so intense she
would have had to become a superior product far exceeding her hype in
order to even have had a chance at acheiving that goal.

I see a tremendous potential for depression and feeling of failure in
all this, and I can only hope that those who perpetrated the events that
led to this young lady's ultimate decision to take her life have learned
an extremely painful lesson and that those parents who come after ths
event learn as well from this tragedy.



--
Dudley Henriques

Phil J wrote:
On Mar 18, 3:13 pm, Jim Logajan wrote:
Story on Yahoo:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080318/...obit_van_meter

I'm aware of three people I've known in my life that attempted suicide, and
sadly one was successful. None of them were attempting to escape physical
pain or fiscal trauma. Sometimes the worst enemy a person has is inside
their mind. :-(

The article says she battled depression and opposed medication. It
doesn't say whether or not she was still flying, but I wonder if she
opposed medication because it would mean the loss of her pilot's
license.

Phil

Did she ever go on to get her license in the first place. There is only
one person with the last name Van Meter in data base and his was issued
in 1955.

"Phil J" wrote in message
...
On Mar 18, 3:13 pm, Jim Logajan wrote:
Story on Yahoo:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080318/...obit_van_meter

I'm aware of three people I've known in my life that attempted suicide,
and
sadly one was successful. None of them were attempting to escape physical
pain or fiscal trauma. Sometimes the worst enemy a person has is inside
their mind. :-(

The article says she battled depression and opposed medication. It
doesn't say whether or not she was still flying, but I wonder if she
opposed medication because it would mean the loss of her pilot's
license.

Phil

Avweb had a story about anti-depressants and flying in Austrailia. Why they
are not allowed by the FAA I don't understand, I would think a
"non-depressed" pilot would be safer than a depressed pilot which the study
does show.

http://shorterlink.com/?O9JMUE

On Mar 20, 11:57 am, "Darkwing" theducksmail"AT"yahoo.com wrote:

Avweb had a story about anti-depressants and flying in Austrailia. Why they
are not allowed by the FAA I don't understand, I would think a
"non-depressed" pilot would be safer than a depressed pilot which the study
does show.

http://shorterlink.com/?O9JMUE

Antidepressant drugs are not simple "un-depressers."

They affect various physiological and psychological processes -- some
barely understood.

I'm with the FAA on this one.


Dan Mc

"Dan" wrote in message
...
On Mar 20, 11:57 am, "Darkwing" theducksmail"AT"yahoo.com wrote:

Avweb had a story about anti-depressants and flying in Austrailia. Why
they
are not allowed by the FAA I don't understand, I would think a
"non-depressed" pilot would be safer than a depressed pilot which the
study
does show.

http://shorterlink.com/?O9JMUE

Antidepressant drugs are not simple "un-depressers."

They affect various physiological and psychological processes -- some
barely understood.

I'm with the FAA on this one.


Dan Mc


So you think it is better for a pilot to hide his/her depression and not get
medicated? I think that is a bigger liability than the drugs are but that is
my opinion and the study from Australia supports that.

On Mar 20, 12:11 pm, "Darkwing" theducksmail"AT"yahoo.com wrote:

So you think it is better for a pilot to hide his/her depression and not get
medicated? I think that is a bigger liability than the drugs are but that is
my opinion and the study from Australia supports that.

I did not say that.

I said "(antidepressants) affect various physiological and
psychological processes -- some barely understood."

Someone who is clinically depressed shouldn't be flying, with or
without medication.


Dan Mc

"Dan" wrote in message
...
On Mar 20, 12:11 pm, "Darkwing" theducksmail"AT"yahoo.com wrote:

So you think it is better for a pilot to hide his/her depression and not
get
medicated? I think that is a bigger liability than the drugs are but that
is
my opinion and the study from Australia supports that.

I did not say that.

I said "(antidepressants) affect various physiological and
psychological processes -- some barely understood."

Someone who is clinically depressed shouldn't be flying, with or
without medication.


Dan Mc

There lies the problem, if a commercial pilot was depressed but didn't want
to lose his job he would most likely continue flying depressed and not tell
anyone. It isn't a very good situation to put a person, either tell your
employer your problem and most likely lose your certificate so you can get
on medication OR not tell anyone so you can keep flying, yet still be
depressed.