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I lost a friend today...

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402ME

I'm in Dallas but didn't know the pilot. My condolnences to his family and friends. Does anyone know what the circumstances were or what trouble he was having - evidently he said something about it to ATC?
 
Sorry everyone, but i must chime in again. It seems i have now lost two people i knew in the same day. I knew Will, he was a great guy. I talked with him a few times in ASG when i would stop in on my run. I know he just accepted another job out in CA to get him home, and he seemed pretty happy about that.

Man what a week.... :(

God bless both Nick and Will


TXCAP4228: see the Gargo board for more info on Nick in TX
 
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My heart is aching for these fine folks that are no longer with us on earth and their families too. It makes our furloughs/layoffs seem rather insignifcant. I lost a Chieftain-flying friend back in 2000 in Denver.... We miss you down here Tariq. There's just not enough tears in the world...

Onward and Upward,
Skyking



:(
 
I was sitting in a hotel room in Killeen yesterday and had heard about the crash through a friend. My heart sank and my mind went numb.

When I flew for Texas Air Charter/Texstar we had lost a pilot, Brian Schroedor, in Del Rio, TX. The same feelings that I felt then came back when I heard N402ME had gone down in Lewisville. I had flown N402ME numerous times and It was my favorite aircraft of the fleet. It is truly a sad day.

I never knew Tetuay but I remember reading several of his posts. My condolences go out to his and the families and friends of the other lost pilots.
 
http://www.dentonrc.com/

This is a great article from a Denton newspaper about Nick. I think it needs to be posted here.





Pilot was fulfilling dream

Loved ones remember Corinth man killed in plane crash

12/06/2002




All Nicholas Hibberd ever wanted to do was fly


He was the youngest child born into a family of pilots. His father is a
23-year veteran pilot for Southwest Airlines. His brother, who gave him
his first flying lesson, also flies for Southwest. Even his sister,
whose husband flies for American Eagle, is a former pilot.


His ultimate goal was to join his father and brother as a pilot for
Southwest.


"I got on there at 28 and he was going to try to beat me," said his
brother Jeff.


But on Thursday officials identified Nicholas Troy Hibberd, 24, as the
pilot of the small plane that crashed in Shady Shores early Wednesday
morning. The plane, a Cessna 402, disintegrated on impact. Authorities
are still investigating the cause.


National Transportation Safety Board officials could not be reached for
comment. Officials said Wednesday that the investigation into the crash
will take weeks.


At 6:15 on the cold, dreary morning, he reported to air traffic
controllers that he was having trouble maintaining control of the plane.
A minute later, the plane crashed.


Friends and relatives gathered at the home of his parents, Larry and
Darlene Hibberd, in Corinth Thursday. They told a story of an
exceptional young man who had already accomplished more by 24 than most
people do in their lives, and with the promise of more to come.


His father said he was extremely close to his infant niece, Anna Botti.


"He and I always joked about being pals, buds, and all that, so she
became his best pal," he said.


A number of the family's friends are also pilots, and they said Nicholas
was an excellent pilot.


"Nicholas was such a good pilot that I asked him to be the instructor to
give my son his first solo in an airplane, which I think states real
clearly what a quality pilot he was," said Steve McPhail, who flew with
his father in Vietnam. "It was a big day for both of us when we watched
my son solo after getting instruction from Nicholas."


Charlie Brown, another Southwest pilot and friend of the family, agreed.


"My son flew with him to get his commercial certificate," he said.


Nicholas had been living at home, his father said, since he graduated in
May 2001 from the University of Texas, where he received an education
degree and earned university honors every semester. He had worked as a
flight instructor and had been working for TexStar Airfreight of Denton
for about four months, he said.


"In fact, he called us [the day before the crash] and said he was going
to be hired for a charter company in Addison flying jets," he said.


He also joined the 136th Airlift wing of the Texas Air National Guard.
Family members said that Lt. Col. Jim Conoly, acting wing commander, had
called Thursday to say that Nicholas would be a great loss to the unit.
He told the family that Nicholas was one of the hardest-working young
men he had ever worked with.


Nicholas also helped his mother do volunteer work for Meals on Wheels,
his father said.


"He was one of the most exceptional persons I've ever known," said Frank
Botti, who is married to Nicholas' sister, Cynthia. "Everything he did,
he did more than well, and from scholastic to operating an airplane, he
knew how to do everything to the best of his ability."


His brother, Jeff, said the family had lived in the area since Nicholas
was in preschool.


"He did extremely well in school and had lots of friends," he said.


He was an excellent student at Lake Dallas High School, where he
graduated in 1997, and he also was a star football and basketball
player, said school athletic director Scott Head, who coached Nicholas
in football.


"He was an exceptional individual and a great kid," Mr. Head said. "He
was the kid you dream about having as a coach. We enjoyed him. He's
going to be deeply missed by his friends and the teachers that were here
when he was. He was somebody you always wanted to see, and it's a shame
he's no longer with us."
 
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Flight Express

It is with a very heavy heart that I must say the pilot at Flight Express was my good friend who flew to the same airport as I did 5 days a week. He was the closest thing I had to a co-worker since we do all of this alone. He did have a wife in Los Angeles and he commuted home every weekend and talked to her every night on the phone. He had just accepted a flying job in the Los Angeles area so he could be at home and he was just finishing his last few weeks with the company. They were expecting their first child in February. I have been sad and numb for the last few days so I haven't had the heart to get on the computer. After seeing all the posts for Nick(Tetauy) I felt compelled to say something and I would hope and assume that the same sentiments would go for William Ford as well. He was a great pilot and a great friend. I also talked to Nick on the computer as I am a native of North Texas. I never met him in person but I could tell by the PMs between us that he was a great guy. God Bless these two fine men and their families.

Jeff

Eagleflip, thanks for that post, it put a small smile on a face that hasn't seen one for days now. Thank you, really.

Hyper, Will and Nick left us on the same day, hence maybe the confusion on the type of plane and tail #. The 210 was 210CT, also one of our best planes, as if it matters at all.

414 Flyer, hey Ron, thanks for the concern, I should have e-mailed, it never occured to me that people I know would wonder if it was me.

C210drvr, PM me so I know who you are, I guess you already know me
 
Guys, I am so sorry to hear of your losses.

If it is of any consolation, I was in a GA accident that nearly killed me (16 years ago) and I don't remember being scared, I only remember trying to recover (low altitude stall/spin), and even though I was badly injured (I spent almost a year in a wheelchair) the crash itself was not scary nor painful. . . . that came a few hours later, in the hospital.

I guess what I am trying to say here is don't torment yourself wondering if your friends suffered, because they were likely preoccupied with flying the airplane to the end, as we all would be.

My heart goes out to the friends and families of these two men. Please see Timebuilder's other post about starting some sort of fund.
 
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