Don't be in such a hurry to die.

Originally posted April 19, 2005


About a week ago, one of our former students died. He was a really rich guy who just got his private pilot's license in December. He could afford a brand new A36 Bonanza, a $750,000, 300 horsepower plane. Below is a picture of what it looks like now.

He flew it to Tampa for a 25 hour oil change. They took too long and it got dark. He was flying by himself. After getting topped off, he tried to taxi with the chocks still in. When the line service guy told him this, he responded, "I'm still a little nervous/uncomfortable (I forget which) in this plane." That was the last thing he said to anyone in person before he made a 20 foot deep crater just south of Lake Okechobee. Somehow he became disoriented and flew the thing right into the ground.

It's so senseless the way this guy died. He could have asked an instructor to go with him (one offered to even), he could have waited till daylight when he was more comfortable. I'm sure he had the money for a hotel room.

I guess the moral of this is that just because you have a piece of paper that says you can fly a plane and the money to buy one, it doesn't mean you can do it without thinking. A monkey can be trained to operate a plane. Being a pilot is all about making decisions. This guy made a couple wrong ones, that probably didn't even seem like that big a deal at the time.