Francis Meyrick

Diary (7) “Chopper Down “

January 5, 2009

When you hear a helicopter has crashed, your heart skips a beat.
When you hear it is one that belongs to your company, you sit around in small groups of disconsolate pilots, wondering what the hell happened.
Eight dead. Including both pilots. One surviving passenger critical.
Massive media blitz.
My wife emailed me at the base, to say that the Coastguard had released a photo, and gave me the link. There were five of us pilots in the room, when I accessed the site. As the photo downloaded, I will always remember the shocked silence.
Somebody said:
“Good God! “

I knew both pilots. They were GOOD pilots. A highly experienced crew.
Our mechanics are GOOD wrenches. The best in the industry.

And everybody feels it.

Godspeed, guys. We’ll miss you.

“Nuff said “.

F.M.

Last edited by Francis Meyrick on January 10, 2009, 7:38 pm