You're right JJ, I'd much rather die in a bed than doing something I like. How silly of me. Well, while we're being sarcastic, I know that every time I'm going out to do something I like, I say to myself, "Wow, I really hope I die today, because it would really suck if I died in bed!" Okay, end pointless sarcasm. Nobody wants to die doing what they love, SummersEve, except for the rare case of people who just want to die, period. For the rest, they want to live doing what they love. It's just that we're all gonna die sometime, and if you do what you love a lot, you up the odds that that's what you'll be doing when you die. It does not make the death any more welcome, and it does not mitigate it, really, which is what the "at least" phrasing implies. I've been present at the death of someone who "died doing what he loved"; I was the one who had to tell the tale afterwards. And, yes, that phrase came out of the woodwork. I recognize that it's well-intentioned, but I really disliked hearing it, and it was not my observation that it offered any comfort to any of the deceased's loved ones. I may be an anomaly in that reaction, but OTOH I've heard much the same reaction from others who've been there.
LBB, I'll surrender before this gets any sillier. You are absolutely correct. But as far as sorry-you-died cliches go (they're all pretty bad when diagrammed), I'd rather this one over "my thoughts and prayers". But that's just me.
Nothing like tragedy to bring out the best in all of us. Count mine as one vote to just retire this thread now.
Just FYI...I worked on Wall St, Downtown NYC for 20 years and seaplanes of all types land and take off on the East River, both Downtown and Midtown...
This was a truely horrific event, but don't you think that people are making a big deal about the situation? Its very sad to see anyone die, especially the way Lidle did. But on the other hand, death is something that we all have to deal with at some point. What happened to Cory could have happened to anyone- and if it did, would people make such a big deal about it? I truely feel for his family, and his child, but some people are just making this a bigger issue than it is. Maybe I seem insensitive, but that's just the way I feel. I am expecting that ill offend at least one person, but I really didn't attend to do so. Anywho, best wishes to Lidles family and friends.
If it was a regular guy and a truly unfortunate accident, would it be receiving this much attention? No. But then again, you've got two different parts of the newspaper covering this -- the Sports section and the Front page. It's getting twice the coverage, twice the soundbites, twice the commentary.
don't you think that people are making a big deal about the situation? from a tragic accident angle, probably. but, there are other levels to this story. it's not every day that a plane flies into a skyscraper in new york. while the sports media outlets are centering on lidle, the non-sports news is starting to cover the implications of this accident. how did it happen? should there be more restrictions on small aircraft around the city? stuff like that. which i think would be covered whether this involved an athlete or not.
Not sure, but they were never above 800 feet and decended rapidly after crossing the top of the bridge. That decent could have been part of the stall induced spin...we'll find out when the NTSB writes it up. Sanman, I submit it was the door strut attachment failure that jammed the controls. It's been an issue with the 20, and they even issued an SB on it. That would agree with the decent after the bridge, and eyewitness accounts saying the plane was rocking, which could have been one or both pilots fighting to free the controls, and that it didn't stall, but flew into the building. No radio transmission, no deployed chute. I agree with your assessment that altitude is what made the difference ... another 500 feet and the BRS might have been an option. BTW - in all your hours, you've never scud run? Once?
The photos on CNN (Photo Gallery link at left) make it look as if they hit the far side of the building -- in other words, they were heading up the river, tried to U turn and slammed into it after completing the turn.
None of them fly a high-performance aircraft into tight airspace close to the ground unless they are intending to land. If they do, and get away with it, they aren't "good" pilots...they are lucky. Yeah. And guys like this are just lucky.
Oh, and before you go ballistic on me about the difference between military and civilian pilots, take a look at someone a lot of people think is a "good" pilot. My point is, even a good pilot can find themselves in an un-recoverable situation that just went beyond their control.
I know the feelings associated with canyon-bashing and river-ripping...just like your video of the RV4 pilot in Alaska. It's great stuff...very fun... When a meteor hits your plane and knocks you out of the sky, it's an accident. Everything else is preventable... sports.yahoo.com Pilot error...over-
confidence...under-
skilled...you can read the exact same story 104 times at the NTSB website. Airplanes have no forgiveness, even for wealthy, overconfident ballplayers or magazine magnates.
sports.yahoo.com From the article: Aviation experts said Friday that inexperience, the tight airspace over the city, mechanical failure, hazy weather or a gust of wind through New York's concrete canyons could explain why Cory Lidle's plane failed to execute a U-turn and slammed into the side of a high-rise. According to radar data, the single-engine plane appeared to be making a difficult but commonly performed left turn over a 710-yard-wide section of the river between Manhattan and Queens when it crashed Wednesday, killing the New York Yankee pitcher and his flight instructor. ...Much is still unknown about the crash. Investigators said they have not determined who was at the controls. I know a number of people who have died doing things that wouldn't have resulted in a fatality if they'd done something different. I can't think of a single one of those cases where the cause was blatant stupidity or negligence, or (often) something that could have been foreseen. Chewing over the cause of an accident on the basis of data is the province of organizations like the NTSB; chewing over the cause of an accident in the absence of data is like sitting behind someone at a football game and beating a cowbell nonstop.
Yes, people speculating about how something might have happened is akin to mindles cheerleading. When they disagree with you.
Such speculation is only human nature, we all know that the experts will do their job, anyone not thinking this thread would contain it is indulging in wishful thinking.
I can actually understand that, Gary. If you wanted to spread the word about your brother and tell the world what a great guy he was and how he'll be missed, I get it -- especially if Larry King called him and asked him to be on the show. The fact that King called him in what have been the six hours after his brother died is bad enough, but then to even suggest, "Hey, you've got nothing better to do! Hang around while we pay the bills!" That was tacky. We all grieve in our own way, so even though I can't imagine going on a television show 6 hours after my brother dies, I won't judge. Maybe telling the world about his brother is how he coped, or took control of the situation. I just don't think it should come as a surprise to him. This is larry king we're talking about. Being tacky is larry being larry.
