As a mother of a general aviation flying family of four, this story today of another flying family of four passing away in a plane crash here in Colorado is heartbreaking. I still believe that general aviation is safe, but it's hard to read that such a young family passed away while flying in an Cessna 182, similiar to that which we have owned and flown in.
With my husband as the pilot (who is also an air traffic controller), we started flying our kids when they were very young (at about the same age as the two youngsters from Texas) and have thought nothing of flying our kids (who are now teenagers) cross country with us. Like the father and pilot of the plane who was killed today, my husband is an experienced pilot as well. Seeing first hand the preparations involved with a trip in a small airplane, flight preparations make you feel safer than getting in your car to drive to Denver.
We also plan to complete our goal of visiting all 50 states with a trip to our last state of Alaska probably in the next few years. Flying cross country with your family in a small airplane is an experience my kids will never forget and seeing the states from a little speck in the sky is remarkable. As Dr Seuss put it: "Oh, the places you'll go!"
As a mother there were times when we flew that if the "what if" factor happened, I had no fear knowing that because we usually flew together as a family of four....we would all be together. I also can understand why people with families include their children in on the adventures like that of which I've written about here before.
Blue skies to this young family...
For more info about our own family flying adventures, visit: www.rodriguezflightcrew.com
Comments
Glad to hear the support of those with families in general aviation. It's always hard to read about the loss of them!
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