Originally Posted by
SASless
Rotor Heads over the Years has been filled with similar tragedies as this current one.
There was the 109 that cut down the Crane Mast in downtown London, the 139 that came to grief one night in a Cow Pasture during takeoff, there was the 139 that crashed shortly after takeoff from an Island in the Bahamas, and so many others.
We all either knew the pilots involved, knew of those pilots, (and others in so many accidents I have not bothered to list....but LOTS of pilots).
I have lost friends...some who were excellent pilots and some who were lucky (one guy survived a mid-air with a MIG Fighter.....another survived a mid-air in cloud with a friendly fighter).....so this phenomenon of good pilots coming to grief is nothing new or unusual.
It is the why it continues to happen that is the issue.
We all know about it....we are all exposed to it....and despite all the training, experience, education, safety programs.....we still seem to find a way to get our names in the newspaper headlines.
This latest Pilot is no different than the rest of us.....he fully intended to get home at the end of his work day but did not.
Folks....he is not going to be the last one we read about.
Sadly.....one of you riding this post might just be the next one we discuss.
Think about that for a minute......what do you want us to say about your demise?
You can rule me out....I am retired and have no intention of ever being in a situation again, particularly as a passenger...not even in an EMS Helicopter, that it might happen to me.
So....who is next?
I often find myself looking for the "Like" button .... this post from SAS is one of those occasions. My great fear is that after 35 years of flying, I may make a human error one day and end up in a smoking hole in the ground, much to the disappointment of those who will say "he was such a good, careful, professional pilot .... bla, bla, bla". I aim to be a perfect pilot, but I know I never will be. Whenever I hear / read about these (seemingly) avoidable tragedies, I file them away & those memories have helped me make good decisions that I may not have made otherwise. So, I reiterate SAS's comment to ...
"Think about that for a minute......what do you want us to say about your demise?"