OSU plane crash

[BKDotCom]

I see there has been no mention of the plane crash on the Tulsa Now forum...

So.. sounding callous:  why has there been such a crazy amount of local media coverage??
There are plane/auto accidents taking lives all the time, yet, this one has occupied nearly all the headline spots on the local news/media websites since the story broke.   Just seems to be receiving a crazy amount of coverage.

[godboko71]

Was the same few years ago. I feel for the families, however it is a risk anyone takes traveling.

[Hoss]

I see there has been no mention of the plane crash on the Tulsa Now forum...

So.. sounding callous:  why has there been such a crazy amount of local media coverage??
There are plane/auto accidents taking lives all the time, yet, this one has occupied nearly all the headline spots on the local news/media websites since the story broke.   Just seems to be receiving a crazy amount of coverage.

You do remember 10 years ago, right?  I think alot of it has to do with the 'lightning doesn't strike twice' theme.  Here it did.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Always a sad thing.  

When I was at OSU, there were some kids killed while making floats for homecoming.  Electrocuted when the float fell onto some power lines.

I went by the memorial in Colorado this fall for the crash 10 years ago.  Nicely done.  Went to high school with Bill Tietgens, and he was just as good a guy then as people said about him 10 years ago.

Personally, I cannot understand why school personnel are allowed to fly general aviation.  No offense, Red, but I would rather pay a little extra and put them on commercial flights.  And driving ain't a solution either - much more dangerous.  But if drive or fly, no more than two per vehicle.  Like many companies, limit the 'damage' in case of a wreck.

[GG]

I see there has been no mention of the plane crash on the Tulsa Now forum...

So.. sounding callous:  why has there been such a crazy amount of local media coverage??
There are plane/auto accidents taking lives all the time, yet, this one has occupied nearly all the headline spots on the local news/media websites since the story broke.   Just seems to be receiving a crazy amount of coverage.

A coach touches  many lives in a very public way.  A coach at a major public university touches many more lives. 

I met coach Budke last year at an OSU Baseball Game.   He sat behind my son and I.   He was so popular with the kids, they kept coming up to him saying hello and he was very gracious taking time to greet them.  It was easy to see he was a very special man to them.  When the coach at OU is very gracious towards him I think she said at coaches meeting she would always make a point to sit next to him, it says a lot about a man.

You are not callous, you are just ignorant.   

[nathanm]

Personally, I cannot understand why school personnel are allowed to fly general aviation.  No offense, Red, but I would rather pay a little extra and put them on commercial flights.  And driving ain't a solution either - much more dangerous.  But if drive or fly, no more than two per vehicle.  Like many companies, limit the 'damage' in case of a wreck.

They'd do more driving than flying if they went commercial. There are a lot of airports out there where there is no commercial service. If you're traveling to small town after small town, GA is the only way to go. Neither RA or I are dead yet. I suspect he flies a lot more often, being a pilot, but I've spent more than my share of hours in the passenger cabin.

[Red Arrow]

Personally, I cannot understand why school personnel are allowed to fly general aviation.  No offense, Red, but I would rather pay a little extra and put them on commercial flights.  And driving ain't a solution either - much more dangerous.  But if drive or fly, no more than two per vehicle.  Like many companies, limit the 'damage' in case of a wreck.

Statistically, flying commercial is probably the safest way to get somewhere.  General aviation can be safe if you obey the laws of physics, maintain your plane, keep your pilot skills current and recognize that there are times you just don't go.  My former boss and I flew a lot of places in his plane.  It had color weather radar, loran/gps, RNAV, coupled autopilot that would fly the ILS and just about everything but a head and wet bar.  The P-Baron was a capable plane, legal for intentional flight into known ice.  The boss went to the simulator frequently and took me twice.  There were still times when the weather appeared to be too much for a Baron so we stopped, had a drink to think about it, and then had to stay where we were because you don't drink and fly.  Gethomeitis is a deadly condition.

There have been commercial planes brought down by weather.  Fortunately it is very rare.


Depending on where you are going, how many passengers the GA plane holds...., it may not be more expensive to fly commercial.  This is even more true with the price of Avgas ($5.77/gal recently at Jones/Riverside).  GA really provides flexibility and time savings.  There are lots of places you can fly direct to in GA that going commercial just isn't really practical.  All of my employers have had limits on how many employees can be on the same plane, even commercial.


Edit:
As Nathan noted, there is still the drive to and from the airport whether you fly GA or commercial.

[Conan71]

Statistically, flying commercial is probably the safest way to get somewhere.  General aviation can be safe if you obey the laws of physics, maintain your plane, keep your pilot skills current proficient and recognize that there are times you just don't go.  My former boss and I flew a lot of places in his plane.  It had color weather radar, loran/gps, RNAV, coupled autopilot that would fly the ILS and just about everything but a head and wet bar.  The P-Baron was a capable plane, legal for intentional flight into known ice.  The boss went to the simulator frequently and took me twice.  There were still times when the weather appeared to be too much for a Baron so we stopped, had a drink to think about it, and then had to stay where we were because you don't drink and fly.  Gethomeitis is a deadly condition.

There have been commercial planes brought down by weather.  Fortunately it is very rare.


Depending on where you are going, how many passengers the GA plane holds...., it may not be more expensive to fly commercial.  This is even more true with the price of Avgas ($5.77/gal recently at Jones/Riverside).  GA really provides flexibility and time savings.  There are lots of places you can fly direct to in GA that going commercial just isn't really practical.  All of my employers have had limits on how many employees can be on the same plane, even commercial.


Edit:
As Nathan noted, there is still the drive to and from the airport whether you fly GA or commercial.

Slight fix...

[Red Arrow]

Slight fix...

Correct. Legal and proficient are not necessarily the same. 

[BKDotCom]

You do remember 10 years ago, right?  I think alot of it has to do with the 'lightning doesn't strike twice' theme.  Here it did.

Sports teams (and even more so, coaches) spend a lot of time in the air.

a quick search reveals:

2011 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/08/world/europe/08russia.html (entire team?)
2001 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_State_Cowboys_basketball#2001_plane_crash
1993 http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1138563/index.htm (Zambian soccer team)
1977 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evansville_basketball_plane_crash (entire team)
1972 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uruguayan_Air_Force_Flight_571  (became the movie "Alive")
1970 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wichita_State_University_football_team_plane_crash
1970 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Airways_Flight_932  (37 members of Marshall Football team)
1960 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cal_Poly_football_team_plane_crash (16 players)
1958 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich_air_disaster (Manchester United soccer team)

[Conan71]

Correct. Legal and proficient are not necessarily the same. 

One thing my CFI drilled into me was there were a lot of "current" pilots who died because they weren't proficient.

[heironymouspasparagus]

I really like the idea of having access to a plane to fly myself.  Better yet, own one.  If I couldn't get a decent DC-3 it would have to be a 737 converted to "motorhome" configuration.  747 might not be too bad...

If I were President of OSU, I would be putting everyone on a commercial flight - different ones.  All my employers until this one had limits on employees in one plane at a time.  (We got 737's at this one.)

[Red Arrow]

I really like the idea of having access to a plane to fly myself.  Better yet, own one.  If I couldn't get a decent DC-3 it would have to be a 737 converted to "motorhome" configuration.  747 might not be too bad...

The kind of plane depends on where you want to go.  There are a lot more airports suitable for a King Air or DC-3 than for a 737 or 747.

The kind of plane also depends on why you fly.  Point A to Point B is a different mission than following an abandoned rail road ROW from Muskogee to Okmulgee or Henryetta just for the fun of it.

[Hoss]

The kind of plane depends on where you want to go.  There are a lot more airports suitable for a King Air or DC-3 than for a 737 or 747.

The kind of plane also depends on why you fly.  Point A to Point B is a different mission than following an abandoned rail road ROW from Muskogee to Okmulgee or Henryetta just for the fun of it.

True.  While I never quite got my paper (I was about 5 hours shy and a check ride), I am good friends with a guy who did, all the way up to his ground teaching certificate and he was working on his commercial.  He's a good pilot, but I don't think he's flown in over 18 months.  I'm guessing he'll need to re-certify instrument, and likely renew his medical since I believe if he wants to keep his paper, he needs to have yearly medicals for commercial, and if he doesn't want/need commercial, he can get it every third year now that he's over forty.

Meticulous doesn't begin to describe this guy.  He'd pore over every inch of that 172 when we'd fly.  I'd be right behind double-checking.  I'd help out by Pledgeing this glass, checking the fuel, etc, etc.

Longest we ever flew was a 172 from RVS to AMA right after he got his instrument paper.  He was proud to file his first IFR flight plan with flight service, and we did get fly through the clouds.

We also flew from here to Alton IL in a 172 retractable.  Those are always fun because you getter better speeds because of the drag reduction.  We were doing about 150 kts over the ground on the way; a little less back (quartering headwind).

I miss flying, but it's so damned expensive now.  Back then, we were aghast at 100LL being 3.95 a gallon...

[Red Arrow]

He's a good pilot, but I don't think he's flown in over 18 months.  I'm guessing he'll need to re-certify instrument, and likely renew his medical since I believe if he wants to keep his paper, he needs to have yearly medicals for commercial, and if he doesn't want/need commercial, he can get it every third year now that he's over forty.

I miss flying, but it's so damned expensive now.  Back then, we were aghast at 100LL being 3.95 a gallon...

The Airman Certificate does not expire.  Medicals expire and must be renewed.  Over 40(?) is 2 years even for Class III medicals used by pilots with a Private rating. Then there is the Biennial (every 2 years) flight review, number of recent flights to carry passengers, and Instrument Proficiency checks if you don't fly instruments often enough to stay proficient/current.  There are even more requirements if you want to fly for a living.  I don't feel the need to spell out all the requirements here.

Edit:  I almost forgot, I miss the days of $2/gal Avgas.  It wasn't that long ago, only about 10 years.