Thanks Ben.......

Geico266

Geico266

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Geico
As Ben posted a few days ago he witnessed a horrific accident that took the lives of two very actice aviators in the RV community. Ben has been handling the details of moving the plane, assisting the NTSB with it's investigation, and has not left the hangar as long as the investigators were there.

Ben has also reached out to the surviving 2 adult daughters through intermediaries ( yours truly arranged :D) and has (or will) be comforting, consoling, and informing them of what he witnessed, and what he had learned from the hours he has spent glued to the investigation.

Ben has also generously commited to donated all funds he will receive from the NTSB for the use of his equipment, hangar, and time to the family survivors in their hour of financial need for funeral expenses. The check will be presented at a benefit dinner at LOE (Lots of Experimentals) flyin in Loveland, CO on October 5th.

Ben, you officially are award one hardy "Atta Boy" for all of your hard work, first responder instincts, extraordinary generosity, and most importantly the humanity you have shown bringing dignity and caring to the remains of the victims.

This, ladies and gentlemen is what the RV community / homebuilders is all about. Helping each other, assisting each other when you can, and including the human decency and compassion shown here by POA's own, ........ Ben, from WY.

Thanks Ben, you are a true humanitarian, and I'm proud to call you a brother and fellow aviator.
 
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Geico266 said:
As Ben posted a few days ago he witnessed a horrific accident that took the lives of two very actice aviators in the RV community. Ben has been handling the details of moving the plane, assisting the NTSB with it's investigation, and has not left the hangar as long as the investigators were there.

Ben has also reached out to the surviving 2 adult daughters through intermediaries ( yours truly arranged :D) and has (or will) be comforting, consoling, and informing them of what he witnessed, and had learned from the hours he has spent glued to the investigation.

Ben has also generously commited to donated all funds he will receive from the NTSB for the use of his equipment, hangar, and time to the family survivors in their hour of financial need for funeral expenses. The check will be presented at a benefit dinner at LOE (Lots of Experimental) flyin in Loveland, CO on October 5th.

Ben, you officially are award one hardy "Atta Boy" for all of your hard work, first responder instincts, and extraordinary generosity.

This, ladies and gentlemen is what the RV community is all about. Helping each other, assisting each other when you can, and the human decency and compassion shown here by POA's own, ........ Ben, from WY.

Thanks Ben, you DA man.
Click to expand...

Plane was released by the NTSB this afternoon and is sitting in my yard... Let me get some dinner and spool down in the hot tub and I will post a more detailed report of the last three days......

I will say right now,,, All those times I said the NTSB will not properly investigate an experimental crash.... I was WRONG...:redface::redface::redface:

This NTSB gal is GOOD.. REAL GOOD...:yes:
 
N801BH said:
Plane was released by the NTSB this afternoon and is sitting in my yard... Let me get some dinner and spool down in the hot tub and I will post a more detailed report of the last three days......

I will say right now,,, All those times I said the NTSB will not properly investigate an experimental crash.... I was WRONG...:redface::redface::redface:

This NTSB gal is GOOD.. REAL GOOD...:yes:
Click to expand...

The NTSB might be good Ben, but it's their job. Your actions over the last 3 days have been extrordinary to a couple you only met after their deaths. :yes:

:cheers:
 
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We should worry about Ben getting through this incident .
 
I was once told that a hero was simply a good person who had the opportunity and the integrity to do what's right.

Thanks Ben. !
 
To add to Tom's definition of a hero.... "Doing what's right when no one is looking".
 
Geico266 said:
To add to Tom's definition of a hero.... "Doing what's right when no one is looking".
Click to expand...

OK.. Stop... I am not a hero... I am a regular guy who loves aviation.. I look up every time a plane flies over.. It is an addiction..

I saw a plane nosedive into the ground... I hauled ass to the site to see if I could help... it was instantly apparent I could not save anyone.. The scene was beyond discription..:sad::sad::sad::sad:..

They were fellow aviators.. I could NOT let them down and need to help the surviving family get through this tragedy... Hero is not a discription of me at all.. I am just a normal guy who loves flying...

I need to get some sleep now that I am out of the HT and getting ready to have some food.. In the morning I have a flight with a very special person and the 112.2 therapy was needed..;):yes::)
 
N801BH said:
OK.. Stop... I am not a hero... I am a regular guy who loves aviation.. I look up every time a plane flies over.. It is an addiction..

I saw a plane nosedive into the ground... I hauled ass to the site to see if I could help... it was instantly apparent I could not save anyone.. The scene was beyond discription..:sad::sad::sad::sad:..

They were fellow aviators.. I could NOT let them down and need to help the surviving family get through this tragedy... Hero is not a discription of me at all.. I am just a normal guy who loves flying...

I need to get some sleep now that I am out of the HT and getting ready to have some food.. In the morning I have a flight with a very special person and the 112.2 therapy was needed..;):yes::)
Click to expand...

Get some rest buddy, you have earned it. A little R&R after the trauma you have been through is well deserved.
 
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N801BH said:
Plane was released by the NTSB this afternoon and is sitting in my yard... Let me get some dinner and spool down in the hot tub and I will post a more detailed report of the last three days......

I will say right now,,, All those times I said the NTSB will not properly investigate an experimental crash.... I was WRONG...:redface::redface::redface:

This NTSB gal is GOOD.. REAL GOOD...:yes:
Click to expand...

The NTSB has a tough job and sometimes down right ugly. I had the pleasure to work along side and train along side these people and I never met one that wasn't a professional and very good at what they did. I learned a lot from them. :thumbsup:
 
N801BH said:
OK.. Stop... I am not a hero... I am a regular guy who loves aviation.. I look up every time a plane flies over.. It is an addiction..

I saw a plane nosedive into the ground... I hauled ass to the site to see if I could help... it was instantly apparent I could not save anyone.. The scene was beyond discription..:sad::sad::sad::sad:..

They were fellow aviators.. I could NOT let them down and need to help the surviving family get through this tragedy... Hero is not a discription of me at all.. I am just a normal guy who loves flying...

I need to get some sleep now that I am out of the HT and getting ready to have some food.. In the morning I have a flight with a very special person and the 112.2 therapy was needed..;):yes::)
Click to expand...

So, you're not only a hero, but humble as well.

-Rich
 
OK, Guy/Gals....

This deal is finally winding down... I was hired by the NTSB to assist the investigator to completely go through that plane with a fine toothed comb. And I mean she / I looked at EVERYTHING... For all the times I made the comment that the NTSB didn't really give a crap about experimentals and not properly investigate their crashes.... I sincerely apologize.. This gal is in the early thirties and probably the smartest young person I have ever met. If she wanted to see a particular bolt, or nut, or bracket, or pushrod or ANYTHING... She and I did what we had to do to get to it...The whole process was tedious, morbid, methodical , and downright fascinating. She left no part aside and she considered all avenues of failure.. I am telling you.... Having her associated with the NTSB is wonderful asset to the flying public.. I didn't hurt that she was kinda cute too.

As it stands now the NTSB released the wreckage to the insurance company on Sat afternoon. Of course they don't work weekends like the NTSB and yours truly so I now have possession of it and it is sitting in my yard to help save on storage fees.. I also have to hand it to this feisty brave gal... After spending days digging through the wreckage of what was a VERY nice, highly modified experimental she had absolutely no problem asking and then getting into my highly modified experimental to fly some flight profiles to try and simulate the fatal flight path and get what seemed like hundreds of pics of the crash site and the valley itself.. The whole time she had a smile on her face and really enjoyed riding in an experimental.. Even after all the time we spent digging through the mess of that RV-7.. I don't know if I should be 20 years younger or her 20 years older but................. I REALLY like her attitude, thought process, curious mind and her outlook on life.. She is gonna make some young man a great catch for sure....

I will go out tomorrow and snap a few pics of the wreckage and if anyone is curious to see how a RV-7 comes apart when it hits mother earth I will email them to you directly and I will not post those horrific pics on the net..... Also, she said there will be a preliminary report in a few days and a final report in a year or so... I will leave it at that but after watching the entire investigation process and her thirst for answers I am 100 % convinced, whatever her conclusion is, no one else could have done it better... I am still on track to send ALL funds that are sent to me by the NTSB, to the LOE fly in reps so they can give it to the family to help offset the costs of the final expenses.


I will say this once again..... Please fly safely, you can turn a perfectly good plane and wonderful humans into another NTSB investigation in the blink of an eye with just one small mistake.....

Godspeed to the couple in N820RV and tailwinds and blue skys to all of you aviators..


Ben
N801BH
 
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Ben,
Having spent an entire career seeing the aftermath of what you saw from the begining, I can tell you without a doubt, what you are doing for the family will help you deal with what you saw that day. More times than I can count firefighters, paramedics and cops have collected money, started funds or scholarships, repaired houses and have gone over and above for victims of tragedies. It is a coping mechanism for you as much as it helps the family. Good for you for stepping up.
Roy
 
Sorry to hear about this tragic event, and many thanks for your "service".
 
Nice work, Ben. They will never know how much you have done.

26 years have passed since I spent the morning of Feb 1 picking up personal effects and small body parts of my best friends in a frozen wheat field and then loaded the body bags into the 421 for their last flight back home. For several years I thought about it daily, and now think about it mostly when plane-crash scenarios similar to yours are mentioned.

Some of the little things that can happen as a result of these deals are unusual and perhaps inexplicable. Prior to the 340 crash, I had always listened to the car radio almost any time I was alone. During the busy time afterwards, while helping with funeral arrangements, kid custody and financial issues, insurance and legal issues, selling the practice and a (seemingly) jillion other things, I found that the radio was just a noisy distraction and turned it off. For whatever reason I haven't listened much since. No higher-calling or morality issues prompted the decision, it just happened.

Not to say any of this will occur, just to let you know that your mind may deal with this situation in ways you don't expect or fully understand. If so, it's happened before to somebody you know and who will be more than happy to talk about it if you want.
 
Thanks to you all for your kind and thoughtful comments. I am sleeping ok again and kinda back to my same old self........

I called the number the NTSB gal gave me again and left a message but so far whoever they are, they have not called me back.. It is some number in the Phoenix area :dunno::dunno:..

Honestly the wreckage is not in my way at all and can sit there till a logical plan develops....

I hope the family is doing well...:yes:
 

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Thanks again Ben, you have done a very noble thing for a family you haven't even met. :yes:

Nicely done.
 
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