Sandy Thomson
I am very sad to learn of Sandy's passing. Sandy was, and still is to me, a legend.
I had been out of full-time education for 20 years when I went to ATA, and Sandy (together with Danny, Pete L and Pete Q) was responsible for getting me through the whole ATPL syllabus with first-time passes in all subjects, thus minimising my hair loss!
Rarely have I met anyone with such endearing qualities as Sandy. As a person, he was a true gent and possessed a fantastic sense of humour. Sandy was highly intelligent, with the rare ability to pass on that knowledge in a meaningful way to absolute numptys like me. He was also unassuming and, with his natural humility, was able to relate and communicate effectively to people of all backgrounds and nationalities.
The world of aviation will be far worse off without Sandy. He will be sorely missed. I count myself as one of the privileged many to have known and been taught by him. In all respects, he was a great man.
I hope that his wife and family find some comfort in the fact that Sandy was admired by so many, both as a person and as a teacher. Pilots throughout the world will be rocked by the news of his passing, but our warmest wishes will be with his family and we thank them for allowing him to continue to benefit us well past the age when most people would have stopped working.
God bless, Sandy.