Neil Lawson of whiteplanes, died yesterday

On Thu, 11 Aug 2005 02:25:34 UTC, Bruce Hoult wrote:

: In article .com,
: "JJ Sinclair" wrote:
:
: You really don't want to argue that the pilot wasn't operating his
: aircraft below 500 feet (not in the act of landing) and that he wasn't
: within 500 feet of a person, do you?
:
: I really don't think you could argue that a touch-and-go or missed
: approach to a runway or airfield in active use means that you are "not
: in the act of landing".

If all the competition finishes and beat up I have seen were "missed
approaches", some serious retraining is needed in the competition
pilot community.

Ian

As both a keen amateur photographer and a glider pilot,
I am sure that I am as deeply saddened as anyone else,
to learn of the tragic death of Neil Lawson.

I did not know Neil personally, but his work was surely
an inspiration to the whole gliding community - with
apologies to other photographers, almost every published
photograph I have seen of a glider held the caption,
'The White Planes Picture Company'. Neil’s pictures
were certainly an inspiration to me as a photographer.

Neil Lawson had the dream job, he spent his time travelling
all over the world taking photos of aeroplanes and
gliders, it is what he lived, and ultimately died,
for. His images of our sport, however, will live for
many years to come.

I know only what I have read here and in the national
press about the circumstances surrounding his death,
so I will say just that he knew, as much as we all
know, that we partake in a sport which carries with
it the risk of accident. Neil was always prepared to
do what was needed to get the best possible pictures;
it is what he did for a living, and is what differentiated
his images from those of almost every other photographer
at gliding events. Last Tuesday evening, he found himself
in the wrong place at the wrong time, and for that
he paid the ultimate price.

I have read many comments on this forum about competition
finishes, and I shall leave the discussions about gates,
areas and cylinders to those who are more experienced
pilots than I, but the image of gliding in the wider
community is surely at stake here. Our friends and
families hardly hear about the British World Champions
- what they do hear about is the fatal accidents (type
'glider' or 'gliding' into the BBC News website search
if further proof be needed).

I am sure there must be a way of keeping the 'fun'
and excitement in competition gliding, whether that
is for competitors, spectators or photographers, without
risking any more lives to accidents such as this tragic
event.

The work of Neil Lawson was possibly world gliding's
greatest advertisement.

May he rest in peace.

Steve.

There's a critical difference between asking "Why?", and declaring "I
KNOW WHY!" based on third hand information.

I am now getting deeply upset by this and other similar
threads. Please everyone just stop them now - if you
can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.
If you have kind words or memories to share, please
continue to do so.

Neil was my best friend and most dedicated crew, and
I have been most honoured over the years to work with
him on many of his fantastic photographic exploits,
as well as sharing much wine, beer and fun with him.
Everyone knows him for his photos, but those who have
met him will remember him for his incredibly friendly,
helpful and passionate nature. It's fair to say that
I've never met anyone with such an ability to make
new friends wherever he went.

I have just spent the last 2 days with Neil's parents
(he was an only child), uncle, girlfriend and his best
friend of some 42 years. I've also been to Hus Bos
to find out some facts (rather than all the hearsay
and speculation that's doing the rounds), to enable
me to explain to his family and friends exactly how
and why the accident occurred.

JJ and others - I don't know if you've ever done this,
but let me tell you, it was deeply distressing.

Everyone that I've met has been fantastic and supportive
and willing to share their great memories of Neil,
and those involved in the incident have been willing
to explain what happened to me. To all those people,
I'm eternally grateful.

Neil's family have been very understanding and know
that he died doing the two things that he loved - gliding
and photography. They also knew that in doing this,
he was willing to take certain risks - risks which
he calculated and rationalised to himself. Having
been given the facts, they also know that this was
just a very unfortunate accident - a series of individual
things which lead to the ultimate result and nothing
more. They have no desire to change the sport of gliding
as a result. They also have wish to see any blame
apportioned to the pilot involved.

On Wednesday, after his initial posting, I sent JJ
an email expressing how upset I was by him using the
accident as a forum for his personal soap box. After
his second posting, I have to admit to some some red
mist descending and making me click send on a pretty
offensive email, although in my opinion no more offensive
than his. I don't regret this one bit, particularly
as JJ didn't deign to reply to me personally, he just
carried on with his rant. JJ - if you really believe
you have a point that needs to be made on this subject
right now, come here to the UK, and theres a few of
us who would be interested to hear you make it in person,
face to face.

Neil will always be there - every time we smoke towards
the finish line, and you can bet that, as usual, he'll
be egging us on to get closer...

Regards,

Pete Masson

We are all gentlemen here. One thing gentlemen do is to agree to disagree
agreeably.
Allow me to cover a couple of points here. First, I have respect for JJ.
I've spent
time on the phone with him and honestly believe that he WANTS us to be
safer. His
motivations are pure and he only wants us all to live to a great old age and
share a beer
together. Second, I recognise the pain of losing GOOD people of immense
talent.
JJ jumped in because he saw ANOTHER guy lost in a process he feels needs
changing.
I can see merit in his proposal. JJ's message seems to lack tact, given the
outspoken response
his words have recieved....... But we are gentlemen, and we do need to
disagree agreeably.
JJ has a point that needs to be listened too, now isn't a good time for
those very close to the
incident. I would hope that everybody takes a step away from the keyboard
and ask one
question. Can we make Neils legacy one that extends beyond his art, and
after we all
grieve a bit, can we work to prevent this from happening again. I for one
am certian
he would wholeheartedly agree........................
Thanks for reading this
Scott.

wrote:
Greg,

Your parenthetical "as far as I know" is sufficient to illustrate my
point. None of us did know, including at least one SSA director who
popped off without thinking clearly (and who later, to his credit,
reconsidered his action). I will offer that the SSA Executive Committee
handled the situation poorly at the time and exacerbated the loss of
confidence in due process. But that's hardly the case with the Neil
Lawson accident investigation.

However, in a classic example of how far apart some of us really are,
you provide additional fuel for the fire by stating that if an employee
cannot prove an allegation false, he/she would (should?) be terminated.
Thankfully neither most employers, most employees, nor the U.S. legal
system share your view. Denouncing someone to finish their career may
have been common in the Soviet era but the lines at U.S. employment
offices would be much, much longer if that were the situation here
today.

Chip Bearden


If my employer presents evidence I have been embezzling, and I can't
counter it, I would expect I would be terminated.

X-no-archive: yes
In article , Pete Masson REMOVE_TO_REPL
writes
I am now getting deeply upset by this and other similar
threads. Please everyone just stop them now - if you
can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.
If you have kind words or memories to share, please
continue to do so.

Neil was my best friend and most dedicated crew, and
I have been most honoured over the years to work with
him on many of his fantastic photographic exploits,
as well as sharing much wine, beer and fun with him.
Everyone knows him for his photos, but those who have
met him will remember him for his incredibly friendly,
helpful and passionate nature. It's fair to say that
I've never met anyone with such an ability to make
new friends wherever he went.

I have just spent the last 2 days with Neil's parents
(he was an only child), uncle, girlfriend and his best
friend of some 42 years. I've also been to Hus Bos
to find out some facts (rather than all the hearsay
and speculation that's doing the rounds), to enable
me to explain to his family and friends exactly how
and why the accident occurred.

JJ and others - I don't know if you've ever done this,
but let me tell you, it was deeply distressing.

Everyone that I've met has been fantastic and supportive
and willing to share their great memories of Neil,
and those involved in the incident have been willing
to explain what happened to me. To all those people,
I'm eternally grateful.

Neil's family have been very understanding and know
that he died doing the two things that he loved - gliding
and photography. They also knew that in doing this,
he was willing to take certain risks - risks which
he calculated and rationalised to himself. Having
been given the facts, they also know that this was
just a very unfortunate accident - a series of individual
things which lead to the ultimate result and nothing
more. They have no desire to change the sport of gliding
as a result. They also have wish to see any blame
apportioned to the pilot involved.

On Wednesday, after his initial posting, I sent JJ
an email expressing how upset I was by him using the
accident as a forum for his personal soap box. After
his second posting, I have to admit to some some red
mist descending and making me click send on a pretty
offensive email, although in my opinion no more offensive
than his. I don't regret this one bit, particularly
as JJ didn't deign to reply to me personally, he just
carried on with his rant. JJ - if you really believe
you have a point that needs to be made on this subject
right now, come here to the UK, and theres a few of
us who would be interested to hear you make it in person,
face to face.

Neil will always be there - every time we smoke towards
the finish line, and you can bet that, as usual, he'll
be egging us on to get closer...

Regards,

Pete Masson


I support everything Pete says.

JJ's mails do him no credit, nor do they do anything for his countrymen,
although I believe many will be behind Pete and support his plea.

Having once been present at passing of a gliding friend, I know how
distressing the behaviour of the media can be, and insensitivity by
fellow glider pilots is really not welcome.

I am sure that Neil would be deeply distressed by much that has been
written here.

Gentlemen (and Ladies) please think before you post.

Pete: Could you create a web 'book of condolences' that those who
genuinely care could sign in to?

Best regards,

Tim Newport-Peace

"Indecision is the Key to Flexibility."

JJ's mails do him no credit, nor do they do anything
for his countrymen,
although I believe many will be behind Pete and support
his plea.


Not in my case...JJ has been trying to prevent these
sorts of tragedies from happening for years. His position
is known to all who follow this forum.

So if you want to wait for the authorities' report...so
be it. Then let's call a spade a spade when it comes
out. Why do I have a feeling, regardless of what is
written in the report...that the supporters of this
behavior will not budge an inch?

Stewart Kissel wrote:
JJ's mails do him no credit, nor do they do anything
for his countrymen,
although I believe many will be behind Pete and support
his plea.



Not in my case...JJ has been trying to prevent these
sorts of tragedies from happening for years. His position
is known to all who follow this forum.

So if you want to wait for the authorities' report...so
be it. Then let's call a spade a spade when it comes
out. Why do I have a feeling, regardless of what is
written in the report...that the supporters of this
behavior will not budge an inch?

It might be because you have prejudged the situation, as has JJ. From
what I've read, there is no indication the pilot was not performing the
landing properly. JJ's claim that the police arrested him because he
committed homicide was unsupported. At that point, the pilot had not
even been charged, much less convicted of a crime.

--
Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA

Eric Greenwell wrote:
It might be because you have prejudged the situation, as has JJ. From
what I've read, there is no indication the pilot was not performing the
landing properly. JJ's claim that the police arrested him because he
committed homicide was unsupported. At that point, the pilot had not
even been charged, much less convicted of a crime.

At a contest in Minden a few years back, a pilot finishing a landing
roll hit his daughter who was photographing him. The police arrested
him. He got out quickly and injury wasn't serious IIRC.

A bystander (airport employee) was well clear of the takeoff area, but
had his back to the action. A pilot lost control on takeoff and nearly
killed the bystander. You should have heard the wails of complaint
when crew vehicles were then required to park aft of the launch, no
matter how far to the side.

All that these incidents point out is that vigilance must never be put
in the back seat, period.

-Tom