R.I.P. Heros
As an American expat and retired CRM instructor now living on the tiny (5 sq mi) Caribbean island that Mike and the SXM police inspector were going to on a mercy flight to save one of our residents, please allow me to add, I hope, some perspective.
Folks, there is this big world outside the US that does the best it can. Mike and 'Paco' got a call that one of Saba's residents had suffered a heart attack that our local 12 bed hospital could not handle and were asked to medevac him to SXM. Here, you don't say no or this person will surely die. Forget IFR and all the luxeries we have in North America. They come or Ronnie Johnson dies, period.
Yes, it was a clear night with lots of stars and no 'weather' to speak of. They had made dozens of similar flight before this. Only God knows what happened. But Mike, a pilot with thousands of hours of fixed wing and heli flight time set out for our tiny island to save a life. He died while doing so.
Please, may he and his co-pilot rest in peace and prayers and good thoughts to their families and loved ones. In the mean time, my own heart and those of many here are broken.
Last edited by WestIndian; 24th Oct 2008 at 03:29.