Brad... to follow up on the advice.. about numbers being up... exactly..
when your number is called.. nothing you can do will change it.. just train
and be the best proficient pilot you can be..

I flew low and fast for 20yrs in the military.. B-1B, I've lost some
friends.. and made several friends..

some examples of "numbers called up"
1) a tail boomer (tanker refueling operator) scheduled for an "air show
practice ride", had a nose cold and goes DNIF (duties not to include
flying).. a second operator takes his flight. First Boomer goes home..
aircraft crashes and engine from aircraft breaks loose and takes out his car
as he drives home. His number was called.
2) A B-52 navigator going to work, forgets something at home and turns
around to go back. He saw the car of Boomer #1 above coming towards him
before he turned around. He watched the result of the accident in his rear
view mirror. If he had not turned around.. he would have been hit by the
aircraft debris also.. his number was not called.

There are a few more instances.. but I always made it home. And I wonder
sometimes.. why my friends did not.

I've retired now.. and still fly for personal enjoyment..
BTIZ

"Brad" wrote in message
...
About 3 weeks ago, I was awoke by a phone call from my mom letting me know
that my cousin had been killed in a plane crash. Actually, both him and
his
girlfriend. For those of you who were at Oshkosh this year, you may have
heard of him and his father, Ray and David Stits. David was killed while
out on a pleasure flight in his Stits Playboy and experienced an engine
failure. According to what we (the family) have heard, he was attempting
an
emergency landing on I-15 near Fontana, CA, but was concerned about the
amount of traffic and pulled up stalled and spiralled into the ground.
Killed on impact.

Unbeknownst to him, or his father, they were my mentors/heros. They
were/are the ones I look up to in the aviation world. And they never miss
a
chance to ask me about my latest flying 'adventure'. Knowing how much
experience they have, I always got a kick out of this. The last time I
saw
him was at my grandfathers 80th b-day(last May) and as soon as I walked
in
both him and his dad walked over and were quickly asking me why I had
stopped my flight training.

Anyway, being a PPL/IR, when I heard about his accident I couldn't (still
can't) help but ask, "What if?" What if I had been there? What if I
could
have offered some bit of advice that he hadn't considered? What if....?
If
my only choices were to pull up and stall into a bunch of trees vs. a
freeway full of cars, I'd choose the trees, but I can't help but think, if
I
were only there. Any advice on how to get past this train of thought?