FH100.....exactly where do you come up with the idea the Pilot was short in stature?
What is your source for that information....or did you just make that up out thin air somehow?
I assume you do not know the guy.
Would you be surprised to learn he was over Six Feet Tall?
While discussing this tragedy with another Old Git friend who has about four thousand hours in the 76....all of it in the Gulf of Mexico....we both had similar questions about IIMC procedures and the use of the Auto Pilot system.
He also raised concerns about folks being overly quick to criticize those who are no longer able to defend themselves.
The following arrived by email and I think it needs to be shared.
"The readiness to blame a dead pilot for an accident is nauseating, but it has been the tendency ever since I can remember.
What pilot has not been in positions where he was in danger and where perfect judgment would have advised against going?
But when a man is caught in such a position he is judged only by his error and seldom given credit for the times he has extricated himself from worse situations.
Worst of all, blame is heaped upon him by other pilots, all of whom have been in parallel situations themselves, but without being caught in them.
If one took no chances, one would not fly at all.
Safety lies in the judgment of the chances one takes."
In the words of Charles Lindbergh, Journal entry, 26 August 1938
There was a Celebration of Life for the Pilot....attended by about 300 people with helicopters flying in to participate.
A formation flight of Helicopters flew overhead in his honor.
Folks....he was one of us....remember that when you post.....he was well liked and respected and some of his friends attend this Forum.