WIX Archives

Re: Memorial Page Thoughts

Posted by Tim Savage on Sat Nov 16, 2002 12:29:56 PM

In reply top Memorial Page Thoughts posted by Joe Scheil on Sat Nov 16, 2002 10:56:09 AM

: I think that the best indication of the real usage of this
: is the AAP or Associated Airtanker Pilots web board. The
: y have a memorial page and it is pretty sobering. The mes
: sage board was infiltrated by the news media dduring the l
: ast couple crashes, resulting in reporters emailing and po
: sting requests for information. As always the reporters d
: id not report, they interpreted, and clarified the informa
: tion so that the product was more inflammatory and accusat
: ory against innocent parties. (not convicted in a nonmedi
: a court) I don't know how much info the press gets in the
: UK/EU but I hope we all can keep somewhat quiet. It is t
: ragic, and in a sense needless. But I suppose that I will
: ingly risk the same needless death myself. By choice.
:
: We exist in a pretty invisible world, as not a large perce
: nt of the population know what we care about or do. To po
: st a list and record that can allow others to draw a dange
: rous conclusion would be reckless without a lot of thought
: . Those of us in the know already know anyway. I remembe
: r every time I strap in a plane.
:
: It would probably be bitter irony that the deaths of some
: of the greatest champions of a free warbird movement, coul
: d be used in a statistical fashion by the minions of the p
: ress to shut it down forever.
:
: comments welcome..

I am with you Joe. It is easy in the heat of emotion to suggest things that may be detrimental to the warbird movement in the long term. I lost a good friend in a warbird accident a little over a month ago. This was a guy that I flew with all summer long. What a shock. I have to say that after it happened I was questioning why we take the risks, as were a number of other warbird pilots. Ultimately, however, after the period of grieving a the urge to make emotional decisions passes and you can begin to examine things rationally again. You never forget, and hopefully you learn from what happened so that it doesn't happen again, but I feel that publishing all the names of those who have died doing what I love is not going to help. Like the tanker board, it will just give the press a good place to go next time there is a high profile accident to get their info in quicker manner.

I noticed that even after Joe T's accident one of the local stations down there was reporting that their were seven accidents from F4Us since 1984. Most of those, of course were not fatal (I can think of only two) and some aircraft were ultimately rebuilt, but the insinuation in publishing that info is that the airplane is inherently unsafe. When I look at those same Corsair accidents, I see four engine failures (does that make the 2800 an unreliable engine?) two pilot error (inclduding one fuel exhaustion) and one low level aerobatic.

If we really want to remember those who have been lost, lets learn from each accident to see if there is something that can be done different to preserve the lives and aircraft.

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