On Wednesday I attended the Ottawa Flying Club Christmas party. While there a CBC reporter showed up asking about a plane crash all of us attending were stunned anone would have been flying in that near zero rain that would have been ice at altitude and in the extra low ceiling that even airliners could not legally land in.
Well it turns out someone was flying in it. And reports said it was a Cessna Cardinal. Once I got home and saw some pictures it was instantly clear from the white with black and red highlights It wa C-FEFQ.Cardinals are relatively uncommon (I know of 2 in the region) It was C-FEFQ and I knew i knew two of its owners personally. Later I found out it was with Barry and Jacques on board. I met then both having met them on a flying club trip in September to Gaspe and having nothing but great things to say about them and their creampuff of an airplane too.
They were the type of shared plane owners I was aspiring to be, plenty of post retirement free time plenty of hours and the instrument rating in a suitable plane to have it if you need it, a sense of exploration. And comfy seats (Comfy seats mean a lot in terms of the joy of flying an aircraft, your bum is your friend and its a simple bonus)
This is the first time fellow pilot friends have died in an accident. As a teen I lost a friend and her two younger sisters in Aviateca flight 901 even though I knew Andrea, and even Stephanie and Melanie better. These are the first fellow pilot friends I've lost. It hurts especially when I look at the route and realize that other than not launching at all they were making the best of the bad situation presented to them. And I will never second guess a decision I was not in a position to make.
May the brown be down and the blue be up wherever they may be.
Brent
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