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My Life In The Sky
The Journey Of An All-Weather Pilot
“Jim, I think they said tornado”.
Jim and I were flying into Dallas Texas orbiting in a holding pattern waiting for the weather to improve. Thunderstorms encircled the area, and we couldn’t land until the weather moved out. Dallas Air Traffic Control announced, “Exit the hold, we want to get you in before the tornado”, – yep Jim, they said tornado. I flew professionally for 5 years with reginal airlines and 34 years corporate with Raytheon Company. I accumulated 19,400 hours of accident-free flying over the 39 years. Accident-free flying is a combination of training, experience and fate. Accident-free flying is also the result of a team of professionals. I flew with outstanding pilots supported by exceptional maintenance and dispatchers all of which kept me safe. Flying for a living you didn’t pick which day you flew. Flying only when the weather was good was not an option. We had an all-weather airplane and an all-weather flight crew. I flew during Hurricane Sandy that produced windshear, rain and turbulence. I flew in blizzards, nor’easters, fog, snow, thunderstorms, blowing sand in the desert of Saudi Arabia and an occasional tornado. “Some days are more fun than others”, I would often say.
Many days I just enjoyed the joy of flight and experienced sights that only a pilot’s view could appreciate. I have watched the northern lights – brilliant lights that appear as rays that dance and flicker across the sky while crossing the lonely Atlantic. I have seen the sun rise and set over the horizon from flight altitudes that you could notice the curvature of the earth. I have looked down below me from those flight levels to see a bright full moon rise from the horizon. Some of these stories may sound like I am a risk taker. I am not. The love of flying comes with inherent risks, and you must accept them. My goal was uncompromising safety but there were certainly challenges along the way. The expression: “Ships are safe in the harbor, but that’s not what they’re built for” reminds me of jets sitting safely in a hangar. During one snowstorm at Dulles airport, the snow collapsed from the hangar roof and crushed millions of dollars’ worth of jets. Jets aren’t even safe in a hangar. Fate is the hunter; you can mitigate your risks but sometimes events beyond your control can be fatal. I know a few skilled pilots that have been killed because events beyond their control. Most stories are from early flying days so that today’s readers might appreciate the challengers of flying before the leap of technology to help pilots stay safe that exists today Fate had in store for me a blessed career that I genuinely enjoyed the journey. My journey was filled with stories of a lifetime of flight that I thought people would find interesting and I wanted to share.
