I'm not defending GAL but what, pray tell, did they have to do with this accident?
The accident itself, no.
For Jimmy being on that aircraft, yes.
If not for the incompetence and malfeasance of ATA management, exacerbated and abetted by the greed of GAL and the amateurs at MatPat, Jim Monahan wouldn't have found himself on the street, forced to take a job he wouldn't have even considered previously.
The following is from an article in the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel:
PLANTATION - When three Plantation police officers knocked on her door Monday night, Holly Monahan knew her worst nightmare had finally come true.
James Monahan, 58, her husband of 39 years, a devoted pilot who loved everything about airplanes, had died in a fiery crash during a training mission in Ohio for Air Tahoma, a cargo transporter that had recently hired him.
Holly Monahan said she never thought twice about her husband's new job, because he had previously flown 20 years for ATA before that airline folded.
"Aviation was his whole life," said Monahan, 57, still in shock today. "No one from the company has told us any details."
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the crash.
James Monahan and Urs Anderegg, 58, and Sean Gardiner, 41, both of Miami, died when the 1956 Convair 580 they were flying crashed into a row of trees, skidded into a cornfield in Lockbourne, Ohio, and burst into flames Monday.
Holly Monahan said she doesn't know who was behind the controls at the time.
According to the FAA, the plane was headed to Mansfield in northern Ohio when it crashed. The FAA has cited the company for flight operations problems several times, most recently in 2005.
Holly Monahan said her husband's body was so badly burned he will have to be identified through dental records.
"This was a new company [for him] and this was a new job ," she said. "This was a flight training mission."
James Monahan was qualified to fly an array of different planes and was a certified flight instructor.
The couple met in high school, and married when they turned 18, his wife said.
They are parents to Jennifer, 32, of Melbourne, and Patrick, 28, who lives at home.
The tragedy couldn't have come at a more difficult time, Holly Monahan said.
Their daughter is expecting a baby girl any day, Monahan said. They already have a grandson, Logan, 16 months.
In addition to working for ATA for 20 years, James Monahan had also worked form National Jets Inc. in Fort Lauderdale for 10 years, flying charter flights and air ambulances throughout the United States, Caribbean, Canada and Central and South America, according to his resume.
He had also worked for Florida Aircraft Leasing Corp. in Fort Lauderdale where he conducted ground and flight instruction, and had served in the Army in the early 1970s, his wife said.
"He never had an accident," Holly Monahan said.
She said one of her husband's favorite jobs involved flying U.S. troops to and from the Middle East.
"He loved it when he got to bring them home," she said.
Longtime friend George Friedlund, who worked with James Monahan at National Jets, was heartbroken by news of his death.
"He was beyond a nice guy. He was the best guy you'd ever know," said Friedlund, of Pompano Beach. "I had lunch with him the week before he went out there. He was excited about flying again. And he was a very, very safe pilot. He never took chances."
The receipt for Monahan's first flying lesson is framed inside the couple's home, hanging next to the front door. The receipt for $5 is dated July 17, 1967, from the Showalter Flying Service in Orlando.
Monahan also was an avid fisherman. A 28-foot Seabird the Monahans often took to the Florida Keys is docked behind their home.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
