As we flew the Arbey Star to runway 34 in Melbourne on Thursday I commented on the amazing green countryside. I seems that even after countless times following the magenta line to Laverton I can still find something on the ground that I can't recall seeing before. As we swung into the home straight and met the bumps from the 30 knot northerly I commented that if I ever get bored from watching the ground go by from the window of an aeroplane I will know that it is time to retire. It was not until we got back to Brisbane a few hours later that I learned that one of my work colleagues was on the flight that is the subject of this thread.
I didn't know Jan well even though I saw her regularly. She was often the cheerful person who met us at the boarding gate with our flight plan in hand as we arrived with our morning coffee. We would exchange pleasantries and as we were of similar vintage I found it easy to chat with her. But time was allways limited by OTP considerations. And then hers would be the happy smile and cheery wave that sent us on our way as we pushed back from the aerobridge.
Many have shared their experiences on this forum. We all have memories of incidents which, even after many years, can spring to mind with a terrifying clarity that can still make us shiver. Mostly we will have memories of a few such incidents because as humans we are not very good at learning from our mistakes. We wonder how we survived when others did not. Perhaps we followed a bad decision by making a good decision and extricating ourselves from a crisis of our own making. Perhaps it was just blind luck. My mother, a woman of prayer, would say that God was looking after us. Generally our families will never know how close they came to experiencing the gut wrenching grief that the families of these three couples are feeling. Our thoughts are with them.
I did not know Des at all. Yet those who did know him have indicated that this was not a pilot who was a risk taker or who lacked experience flying in the VFR environment to which he was accustomed. Perhaps he simply succumbed to a human frailty which afflicts all of us from time to time. He made a mistake.
I will think of Jan when someone else waves me a cheery goodbye as we push off the bay. And even though I did not know her well, I will miss her.
May they rest in peace.
Last edited by Vis 10k Plus; 6th Oct 2012 at 07:15.
Reason: Clarity