Depression and flying

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Pilot intentionally downs Butte-based helicopter into Helena hayfield

By Martin J. Kidston for Lee Montana Newspapers - 02/07/2006



HELENA - A 21-year-old flight instructor from Butte apparently
committed suicide Monday by crashing his company's helicopter into a
Helena hayfield, but only after placing a call to the air traffic
control tower and informing them of his intentions.
The man, identified as Patrick Pfeifhofer, of Italy, was working as a
flight instructor for Silver State Helicopters in Butte on a visa.

The helicopter, a Robinson R-44, crashed off Lincoln Road about three
miles north of the Helena Regional Airport at about 12:17 a.m.

Lewis and Clark Coroner Mickey Nelson said it appeared that Pfeifhofer
intended to kill himself based on a conversation that took place
moments before the crash between him and air traffic controllers.

"It appears he didn't want to hurt anyone,'' Nelson said. "He
stated that in one of his conversations. He said he loved America and
that he didn't want to hurt anyone. It seems likely at this point
that it was a suicide.''

Jerry Airola, president of Silver State Helicopters in Nevada, said
Pfeifhofer's actions had left many saddened and shocked.

"It devastated a lot of people,'' Airola said. "We did a stand
down today. We're not doing any flying. We'll bring in counselors
for those who need to talk about it.''

Airola said Pfeifhofer was an Italian citizen who first began working
for Silver State in Colorado.



He transferred to the Butte office several months ago and had become a
proficient instructor, Airola said.

"It was his birthday yesterday, and he went to a Super Bowl party
where apparently he got in a fight with his girlfriend,'' Airola
said. "They broke up and he went to the airport and took one of the
helicopters.''

Airola said Pfeifhofer attempted to call his girlfriend on his cell
phone, along with his sister in Italy.

Later, Airola said, Pfeifhofer radioed Helena's air traffic control
tower and announced his intentions to commit suicide by crashing the
helicopter into the ground.

"He said 'I love America and I don't want to see anyone get
hurt,''' Airola said. "As an employee, he had access to the
helicopters there in Butte. I think he knew what he was going to do
before he even took off because he moved some of the newer aircraft out
of the way to get to the oldest one.''

Airola said the 1999-model aircraft was valued at around $300,000, much
less than the company's newer models.

Mike Fergus, a public affairs specialist with the Northwest Mountain
Region of the Federal Aviation Administration, confirmed earlier in the
day that the aircraft was in fact registered to Silver State
Helicopters.

The company is based in Nevada and leases an aviation hangar at the
Bert Mooney Airport in Butte where it offers the helicopter flight
school where Pfeifhofer worked as an instructor.

"The helicopter crashed under unknown circumstances 10 miles north of
Helena,'' Fergus said Monday morning, declining to comment on the
crash. "It was destroyed by fire with one person on board.''

Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Cheryl Liedle said the first emergency
call rang in at 12:17 a.m. reporting a fire in the Helena Valley.

It wasn't until deputies arrived at the scene did they realize a
helicopter had crashed about 200 yards from the three houses off
Lincoln Road.

Liedle said the crash sparked a fire that was quickly extinguished by
the West Valley and Lewis and Clark volunteer fire departments.

Others in the valley reported seeing a small fireball in the area of
the crash. One man said his son watched the accident unfold.

"There wasn't much left of the helicopter,'' Liedle said.

Fergus said the National Transportation Safety Board had dispatched an
investigator to the scene from Seattle to examine the crash.

The FAA, he added, would examine any flight anomalies, including the
pilot's rating and his medical history.

Silver State Helicopters employs 450 people in 22 locations and owns
about 180 helicopters, the company said.

Coroner Nelson said Pfeifhofer's body would be sent to the State
Crime Lab in Missoula for an autopsy.

"We're tying to get the family notified over in Italy,'' Nelson
said. "They do it a little different there than we do it here. This
is definitely a different situation.''

Wow, some people just can't deal...

In a previous article, "Flyingmonk" said:
HELENA - A 21-year-old flight instructor from Butte apparently
committed suicide Monday by crashing his company's helicopter into a
Helena hayfield, but only after placing a call to the air traffic
control tower and informing them of his intentions.
The man, identified as Patrick Pfeifhofer, of Italy, was working as a
flight instructor for Silver State Helicopters in Butte on a visa.

I spent two years without a medical because I took Welbutrin for two
months. Is it any wonder that pilots who suspect that they are suffering
from depression don't seek treatment?


--
Paul Tomblin http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
"Grove giveth and Gates taketh away."
- Bob Metcalfe (inventor of Ethernet) on the trend of hardware speedups
not being able to keep up with software demands

Suicidal people should not use the following methods to kill
themselves... because it injures other people or destroys
property... and it is bad publicity and leads to bad laws...
crashing airplanes and helicopters
shooting yourself
stabbing yourself
crashing your car
jumping off of buildings can hurt people on the ground
poison

I suggest that a 20 foot steel cable, such as used with
garage doors and available at all home centers, placed
around the neck is quick, probably painless and 100%
effective if you jump from a 40 foot bridge. If you do it
over a river at full flood, there won't even be a funeral
and the cable won't even be seen for about 6 years since
your head and body will NOT be hanging there to draw
attention.

Anybody want to take bets that the guy was an Italian with
German ancestors, with troubles from his girlfriend because
she meet somebody else on the Internet?



"Paul Tomblin" wrote in message
...
| In a previous article, "Flyingmonk"
said:
| HELENA - A 21-year-old flight instructor from Butte
apparently
| committed suicide Monday by crashing his company's
helicopter into a
| Helena hayfield, but only after placing a call to the air
traffic
| control tower and informing them of his intentions.
| The man, identified as Patrick Pfeifhofer, of Italy, was
working as a
| flight instructor for Silver State Helicopters in Butte
on a visa.
|
| I spent two years without a medical because I took
Welbutrin for two
| months. Is it any wonder that pilots who suspect that
they are suffering
| from depression don't seek treatment?
|
|
| --
| Paul Tomblin
http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
| "Grove giveth and Gates taketh away."
| - Bob Metcalfe (inventor of Ethernet) on the trend of
hardware speedups
| not being able to keep up with software demands

Anybody want to take bets that the guy was an Italian with
German ancestors, with troubles from his girlfriend because
she meet somebody else on the Internet?

That sounds like a subject for Jerry Springer.

I spent two years without a medical because I took Welbutrin for two
months. Is it any wonder that pilots who suspect that they are suffering
from depression don't seek treatment?

It truly is a Catch-22 situation, and I'm sure the FAA's current policy has
made liars out of many hundreds of pilots.

Luckily (for me), flying itself is a catch-all cure for depressions of all
kinds...

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

by (Paul Tomblin) Feb 9, 2006 at 02:42 PM


I spent two years without a medical because I took Welbutrin for two
months. Is it any wonder that pilots who suspect that they are suffering
from depression don't seek treatment?

A serious submission from me:

Suspended for two years! That's a long time. Wellbutrin is the same
medication used in an anti smoking drug (Zyban). I wonder if treatment
for anti-smoking using Zyban disqualifies you for medical.

Personally, I don't smoke, but a few years back (in '01) I was on Lexapro
for a few months after sudden death of a loved one. I resisted the doc's
advice to take it(the whole macho thing: sign of weakness, just get over
it, that sort of thing), but after I took it for a while I felt better,
and phased it out.

Would that episode prevent me from getting a real license (PPL)? (I'm not
interested in the sport license, which strikes me as a waste of time unless
you wanna fly in circles for fun...)

In a previous article, "Skylune" said:
Suspended for two years! That's a long time. Wellbutrin is the same
medication used in an anti smoking drug (Zyban). I wonder if treatment
for anti-smoking using Zyban disqualifies you for medical.

Yes, Zyban is disqualifying.

Personally, I don't smoke, but a few years back (in '01) I was on Lexapro
for a few months after sudden death of a loved one. I resisted the doc's

Lexapro is also disqualifying. As is any other SSRI antidepressant.

Would that episode prevent me from getting a real license (PPL)? (I'm not
interested in the sport license, which strikes me as a waste of time unless
you wanna fly in circles for fun...)

To get a medical, you'd have to prove that the drug is no longer affecting
you (which isn't hard if you haven't taken it in a few weeks) but also
that the condition that it's treating no longer affects you. Both my
primary care physician and my psychologist had to write letters to the FAA
for me. Then it took them over a year to process them, because half of
the doctors in the aeromedical branch were called up by their reserve
units. Then I got a special issuance for a year, and after the year was
up the FAA needed letters from the PCP and psychologist again, and then I
got a normal medical.


--
Paul Tomblin http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
You cannot run Windows innocently. Guilt of aiding & abetting, at
the very least, is automatic.
-- David P. Murphy

To get a medical, you'd have to prove that the drug is no longer
affecting
you (which isn't hard if you haven't taken it in a few weeks) but also
that the condition that it's treating no longer affects you. Both my
primary care physician and my psychologist had to write letters to the
FAA
for me. Then it took them over a year to process them, because half of
the doctors in the aeromedical branch were called up by their reserve
units. Then I got a special issuance for a year, and after the year was
up the FAA needed letters from the PCP and psychologist again, and then I
got a normal medical.

(I know I'm opening myself up for a ton of abuse, but what the hell....)

So it was the stupid bureaucracy that held you up, rather than any kind of
waiting period. That's good info. Thanx.

Since my episode of blackness was several years ago without a relapse
(I've learned to vent a bit more... ;-) ), would I need to declare that?

"Skylune" wrote in message
lkaboutaviation.com...
To get a medical, you'd have to prove that the drug is no longer
affecting
you (which isn't hard if you haven't taken it in a few weeks) but also
that the condition that it's treating no longer affects you. Both my
primary care physician and my psychologist had to write letters to the
FAA
for me. Then it took them over a year to process them, because half of
the doctors in the aeromedical branch were called up by their reserve
units. Then I got a special issuance for a year, and after the year was
up the FAA needed letters from the PCP and psychologist again, and then I
got a normal medical.

(I know I'm opening myself up for a ton of abuse, but what the hell....)

So it was the stupid bureaucracy that held you up, rather than any kind of
waiting period. That's good info. Thanx.

Since my episode of blackness was several years ago without a relapse
(I've learned to vent a bit more... ;-) ), would I need to declare that?




Yes you would.