ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE:
October 26, 2009 my first cousins KingAir 90 fell out of the sky (from 25,000 feet). We were born 12 days apart, so I was closer to him than my own brother.
Initially word came to me, through family members that his plane was “overdue”. So, even though I was specifically told not to, I called his wife. And to her credit she tried to tell me (without telling me), because she was waiting to gather the whole family (including his children) to tell them all at once. And most of them were all still in route.
Obviously, I could not comprehend / accept her coded message! You see, my cousin was a John Wayne type character, always larger than life, tough as nails and for real true grit. Which is why I knew that if anyone could survive a plane crash (heaven forbid) that he could do it. At this point, I was still hoping that he had to make an emergency landing somewhere.
So, I started researching, and I have background in aviation, so I knew some places to look / start. Which is how I eventually stumbled upon a TV Reporter who was headed to the scene / covered this obscure area of Benavides, Texas.
So, I try to call the guy up, they wouldn’t give me his number at first. But, a few minutes later, he calls me back. And folks that’s how I learned that my cousin had passed away and that there were no survivors (from a TV reporter). A TV reporter whom I told I did not want to be interviewed, and that I wouldn’t authorize my comments to be on record. Which of course he totally ignored and utilized my comments anyways. As I was the only family member interviewed (for good reason).
The point being is I had to pilfer through a lot of stuff online in order to get there. And although the aviation world is far more cautious group, when it comes to negative statements. However, in aviation, the rule is always that the pilot in command is the one who is responsible, period.
So, as you can imagine, I had to read through lots of speculation (most all of it bad / not in favor of my cousins piloting skills), in order to get the confirmation that I felt I needed. I say confirmation, because closure never happens in a case like this. Never!
Why am I spilling the sauce here about this? Minimally because it’s an aviation related tragedy, but, mainly because I had to sift through comments on all sorts of different boards, and the like in order to find answers to my cousins passing. Please keep in mind that there were also three friends of mine on there (four souls on board all total), whose families needed answers too. So, I’m sure of them did the same research that I did. Because you just couldn’t get all the answers, that you needed to process the loss.
My cousin was a self made man and he was a highly respected businessman, upstanding leader in the community, and an excellent pilot. So, it was pretty difficult to absorb some of the commentary.
Look, when you’re searching for answers like that, you learn to avoid what appears to be negative (at first). But, eventually you’ll end up there and you’ll see that commentary. And while none of this commentary is even half way as brutal, as the stuff I saw. However, it’s just a respect thing. And even if you don’t respect Kobe or his daughter, at least show some respect for the other lives / other families / souls who were lost on board that helicopter!
During my research, I eventually saw (what I later discovered My cousin’s wife was looking at / how she knew so quickly). You see, she was watching his flight on a website called flight aware.com. Which is a flight tracking website that you can go and see the progress of virtually any bird in the sky, as long as you know the tail number. And since they had plans that evening she was monitoring his flight when the tracking started to circle (at 25,000 ft) and then a question mark came up. So, she actually knew something was up, before the airport, or anyone knew really.
Point being is that there were nine souls on board that Kobe’s aircraft. And I don’t care if one of them had affair, or not, as it’s not my place to judge. What I do care about is the families of those nine souls, who are hurting beyond belief right now.
As far as why the famous are the first to be recognized, it’s just the way it is. As it takes longer for authorities to get in touch with next of kin for those less well known, as more research is required. In my cousins case there was also an unexpected person on board, whom it took us four / five hours to figure out even. And when an aircraft is consumed by fire (just as Kobe’s was), it is very difficult to identify the victims. Which I’m sure prolonged the process as well, which is why the other names came out slowly.
I have to admit I joined a boat load of forums on the day of, and in the days that followed 10/26/2009. And don’t think for a minute that I didn’t come back to those forums (almost a year and a half later) and share the NTSB’s final report either though. Because even though the pilot in command is always responsible. However, when the Final determination was made, they actually faulted the Controller for giving the pilot (my cousin) a faulty vector which sent him right into the middle of the thunder storm. To be clear the pilot is still responsible regardless. And I know exactly why he accepted that vector, but, that’s a story for another time.
Obviously there a lot more to it than just this, but, you get the point. So, all jokes aside, I would gently ask that everyone please give consideration to the families out there! Because most of them are in fact still searching for answers, of that I can readily assure you! And I’m not dogging anyone for speaking their mind here, as I’m just saying google searches, and meta data search’s bring up all kinds of stuff. So, please just be mindful of the other families, all of whom have lost their worlds this past Sunday morning.
Listen folks, please do not misunderstand, I’m not interested in, nor am I looking for your sympathy, as that’s not my bag. I am however keenly aware of what it feels like to be a part of a tragedy like this. And it is my sincere hope that by sharing my experience, it would at least offer you a somewhat different perspective. In that, even though I’ve lived what I felt was a nightmare, however, I cannot even begin to fathom what some of these families are dealing with right now! None of us can! As there are orphaned siblings, lost mothers, lost sisters, lost fathers, lost daughters/aunts/uncles/brothers/cousins. Because each one of the nine souls on board represents a whole new level of hurt and pain, the likes of which none of us can even imagine. So, please do be mindful of the family members who remain behind.
R.I.P. to all souls on board and may GOD bless and watch over all of their families, in their time of grief and need.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk