My heart goes out to the instructor, the student, and their families.

How is UND handling this? Have they grounded operations until they can find out what went wrong? I know losing a member of your organization can be a rough thing, hope everyone is doing okay.

UND has been no fly since 7:30PM last night until tomorrow morning last I had heard. Classes are still being held, but I know some guys who have had theirs canceled. I know there's counselors around the Aerospace buildings here that the University is providing.

They are saying on the local news today that the airplane was partially submerged in a swampy area in the Little Falls MN area and hard to get to. Have not heard anything else.

Our own, our family's and our loved ones' greatest fear..... RIP

This poem was shown to me fairly recently after the death of a good pilot..... It touched me, so I thought I'd share.


FLYING WEST

I hope there's a place, way up in the sky
Where pilots can go when they have to die.
A place where a guy could buy a cold beer
For a friend and a comrade whose memory is dear.
A place where no doctor or lawyer could tread,
Nor a management-type would e'ler be caught dead!
Just a quaint little place, kind of dark, full of smoke,
Where they like to sing loud, and love a good joke.
The kind of a place that a lady could go
And feel safe and secure by the men she would know.

There must be a place where old pilots go,
When their wings become heavy, when their airspeed gets low,
Where the whiskey is old, and the women are young,
And songs about flying and dying are sung.
Where you'd see all the fellows who'd 'flown west' before,
And they'd call out your name, as you came through the door,
Who would buy you a drink, if your thirst should be bad,
And relate to the others, "He was quite a good lad!"

And there, through the mist, you'd spot an old guy
You had not seen in years, though he'd taught you to fly.
He'd nod his old head, and grin ear to ear
And say, "Welcome, my Son, I'm proud that you're here!
For this is the place where true flyers come
When the battles are over, and the wars have been won.
They've come here at last, to be safe and alone,
From the government clerk, and the management clone;
Politicians and lawyers, the Feds, and the noise,
Where all hours are happy, and these good ol' boys
Can relax with a cool one, and a well deserved rest!
This is Heaven, my Son. You've passed your last test!"


— Captain Michael J. Larkin, TWA (Ret.),

I corresponded with the UND Aerospace dean, Bruce Smith yesterday via email. On his behalf (unofficially), I wanted to pass along his thanks to everybody that has offered up support, thoughts, and prayers for the families of Annette and Adam, as well as the entire UND Aerospace community.

Tuesday's accident is a sad day for UND, but the school will recover and hopefully become better because of the lessons learned from this event.

RIP Annette and Adam. May your spirits live on through the lives that you touched.

Truly terrible and tragic. I will pray for their family and friends. We must always remember, as hard as it may be, that death is not a wall, but another door open in our life. Tailwinds Annette and Adam.

The plane was lifted out of the swamp yesterday; apparently it was about 10 ft underwater. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the airplane was completely intact. Maybe that means it came in at a slow rate of descent, and they were trying their best to ditch???:confused:

To Annette and Adam:


"High Flight"

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long delirious, burning blue,
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew -
And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod
The high untresspassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God.


R.I.P.



atp

Adam was a former student of mine. He was a solid kid with an incredible drive to see what we all at times take for granted. His passion for flight far exceeds anything that I can bring to the table, this is a true tragedy and a sad day for myself, and anyone else who had the honor of flying with him. I have never had a former student killed in such a manner. He was a tremendous student and a good young man that never deserved such a thing to happen. I truly hope that it was quick and painless. A pilot at heart hopefully never dies, they just achieve achieve greater heights than we mere mortals are limited below due to our imperfections. Godspeed young man, Godspeed. Whatever I put here will never change things, but let us all remember that no matter what happens, flight for all of us a privilage, and there are many who would give their lives to do what we on a day to day basis feel is a right. A dream ended too soon, and now I take heart to the phrase "living the dream", it truly is a dream now that two were snuffed out too early.

UND ALUMN
99-04

http://www.wdaz.com/tv/?page=newscast
Click on Thursday, and then the last video under the "News" section (UND Plane Wreckage Removed from Scene).

It was hardly "intact". I'm trying my best not to speculate on what happened in this accident. There's just nothing definite that could have made the plane come down. Good VFR weather (windy), in an aircraft that was airworthy when it left STC (at least, as best as we know now it was. I don't think Annette would have taken off if there was something that she knew was unairworthy about the plane), and two smart and talented pilots. Until the investigation is done, I don't think there's anyway we can know or even if we will ever know what happened.