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> I suspect his crash was a suicide. I wouldn't count on that. Most of us wouldn't do that to the aviation world. Decreases plane availability, especially for
by iamtheworstdev 2y ago
> I suspect his crash was a suicide.
I wouldn't count on that. Most of us wouldn't do that to the aviation world. Decreases plane availability, especially for something like a T-34 Mentor, increases insurance rates, increases FAA stance on already asinine policies, etc.
occams razor - he misjudged his aerobatics.
- gcheong 2y agoUnless you leave a note or tell someone, could the FAA determine it was intentional? Given the type of aircraft could a pilot plausibly commit suicide in a way that made it look like pilot error?
- sokoloff 2y agoAbsolutely could be done undetectably/unprovably. There is often no conclusive root cause for a pilot error event. If that “error” was intentional, it would be very hard to prove.
- satisfice 2y agoIf you hang out with pilots, I'm sure you've heard them fantasize about this as a good way to die. It doesn't happen much in real life, although there are a few incidents that have been in the news that were clearly suicides. It's not really plausible that he misjudged the altitude. His altitude for that maneuver was about 2000 feet lower than it should have been. I've also flown a T-34 (my dad owned one on Orcas Island... I kind of wonder if Bill bought his from Dad) and did some aerobatics around Orcas. We were at much higher altitude.
- iamtheworstdev 2y ago> few incidents that have been in the news that were clearly suicides. i only know of two - one was a stolen plane by a mechanic or ground crew, not a pilot. the other was a mass murder, not a fantasized suicide.