PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - In flight Pilot suicide
View Single Post
Old 24th Jun 2008, 07:34
  #10 (permalink)  
AMEandPPL
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Cheshire
Age: 78
Posts: 506
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Unhappy very sad . . . . . . .

There was a case a number of years back of a chap who learned to fly, with the sole aim of committing suicide. Somewhere on the south coast.
To all who met him he was the life and soul of the party, joined in all the club activities, and generally well-liked and respected.

Nobody knew that he had a long, long, history of depressive illness, and several previous suicide attempts. Had a medical with a local AME, but, of course, there is usually very little or no contact between an AME and a candidate's GP .

Lessons went very well, until the day came when he was sent on first solo. Took off, left airfield area, flew out over the sea, and deliberately nosedived in, after transmitting his intentions and his apologies to the TWR on the RT.

Fortunately this kind of thing is very rare indeed.
AMEandPPL is offline