Recently a young gentlemen by the name of James Baxter, on one of my flights, waited until all passengers had disembarked and asked my team if he could stick his head in, take a photo and say gday. We chatted for a few minutes as he told us his story, moving away from his Brisbane family down to Sydney, working for one of the baggage handling companies saving for his CPL, after having passed his PPL. In his spare time he was a keen aviation photographer, uploading his content to all those aviation photo sites. Whilst a flight deck after many years seems just like a boring old car to many of us, seeing the smile and passion on this young man’s face as he scanned our cockpit, is what really makes my day.
I said to my FO as he left, the industry will be in good hands once all us old folks retire, with people like him around.
It was deeply saddening today to find out that this young gentleman was killed by another driver on our roads who had a excessive alcohol reading.
On behalf of the entire aviation community I would like to pass on our sincere condolences, and rest assured his name and passion for this industry won’t be forgotten.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...car-crash.html