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Thomas L Mischler's avatar

One doesn't need to pilot an airplane to find oneself in a life-or-death situation. Here is an occurrence that I do my best not to contemplate at 3 AM - or any other time:

In my mid-twenties, my then wife and I visited the Grand Canyon. There was a cliff jutting out over the canyon, and we saw a few brave souls walking out there for a photo op. It was surrounded by a sheer drop of approximately one mile - and yet we thought it would be a clever idea for me to walk out there and have my photo taken. Even in the naivety and uncertainty of youth, I was justifiably terrified while I was out there and I called to her to see if she had taken the photo so I could return to safety. She replied, "just a minute." Soon, she said, "OK." When I returned and breathed a sigh of relief, she told me she had slipped and nearly fallen while trying to get a good shot - she was on the "dangerous" side of the safety fence, so the drop for her would have been the same as if I had fallen. Nearly a half century later, I shudder every time I think of our foolishness.

Just as Ernest K. Gann defied the odds and lived to a ripe old age of 81, I've managed to survive far too many stupid decisions like that to live to a ripe old age of 71. It is said that God watches over fools & drunks, and as I qualify in two categories (33 years in recovery), I can attest to the veracity of that statement. Long ago I gave up asking, "Why?" because in most cases there is no answer available to me, and so focusing on the question is usually an exercise in futility. Instead, I do my best to think about what lesson I can learn or who needs my help. And I use experiences like the "cliff-standing" to maintain an attitude of deep thankfulness as much as humanly possible.

Every day is a miracle of each one of us defying the probabilities. I have no idea why I'm still around, but I'm damn grateful.

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TCinLA's avatar

Captain A. G. Lamplugh, a British pilot from the early days of aviation once famously said “Aviation in itself is not inherently dangerous. But to an even greater degree than the sea, it is terribly unforgiving of any carelessness, incapacity or neglect.”

Thanks for reminding me with that visual of one of the stupidest accidents I can think of recently - the P-63 and B-17 at the Dallas air show. The level of incompetence there was so thick you must have been able to taste it. The kind of pilots now attracted to the warbirds movement includes too damn many who think the fact they're rich means they're brilliant - and they aren't. It used to be different.

The death of my friend Chris Rushing in Reno Sunday before last at the races in a landing accident after winning the T-6 race, when apparently (no final word) the tower failed to tell the T-6 behind him that he was too close and should go around, so he landed on top of Chris - the only thing Chris had done wrong was be #1 for landing in front of that guy - and they're both gone. I'm glad the Reno Races are no more and I hope they don't find anyplace else to run them.

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