At some point during a professional pilots’ career it will happen; or so the statistics tell us.  For me, it’s now been three times.  You will lose a friend, a colleague, an aviator, to the unforgiving nature of the job and suddenly the romance of aviation fades into the horizon.

The first time was almost three years ago to the day, August 27^th, 2006.  The crew of Comair flight 5191 chose a shorter than required runway and, unable to gain flying speed, came to rest in the rolling hills surrounding Lexington, Kentucky.  It was a Sunday morning.  Two days prior I sat in the crew room with Captain Jeffrey Clay, the pilot who was in command of that fatal flight.  I’d seen him around several times before.  But on this day, he and I sat directly across the table from one another and conversed as the president of our airline addressed company issues in a town-hall style meeting.  I don’t remember what the meeting was about or what Captain Clay and I discussed.  What I do remember, is that it had nothing to do with emergencies or accidents.  In fact, nothing could have been further from our minds than the reality of what would happen less than 48 hours later.

…

…Continue reading From Brian’s Logbook »

You’d like to think you can act like an adult in moments that call for professionalism and couth.  When Scott presented us with that Letter of Determination Brian and I both made a valiant effort to read from “Dear Brian and Jami” through the formalities and particulars of his evaluation.  But at some point we both retreated and dropped to the bottom line like a three year old on Christmas morn.

 We are pleased to recommend Brian Staples as a pilot for AIM Air.

Brian training for his exams

It’s not often my husband reveals his inner thoughts for public review, but when I looked up at him the right corner of his mouth was turned up, restraining a smile.  Then he looked at me, uninhibited and grinning like a smitten schoolgirl, licensing him to slide down in his chair, hang his tongue out the corner of his mouth like a beagle and release a growl of relief, articulating so eloquently how we both were feeling.

 He arrived Friday morning the 14^th and received a couple of pilot handbooks and manuals and was told to come back Monday morning “ready to fly”.  Monday night as Brian recounted the days events to me, he hesitated to call it flying!  Having never flown this specific style of aircraft (a Helio tail-dragger, for our aviation enthusiasts out there) he explained to me that by the end of the day he wanted to grab it by the collar and slap it into submission.  Instead, as my hero always does, he showed up Tuesday morning with new resolve and a big ‘ol set of spurs!  Needless to say, by the time Thursday rolled around he was eager to debrief and ‘tie down’ for a sleepless night by 8:30pm.

 In all seriousness, as we recounted the many weeks of anxiety and preparation, we both felt humbled by the Lord’s provision: bringing the money we needed for the evaluation in one 11^th hour gift, allowing me to flee to California so he could turn our house into “The Zone” for the entire week, and of course, giving him every bit of stamina and charisma to “press on toward the goal” and claim his prize!  Truly, God was in, over, and around the entire event and has again proven to be the God of Perfect Provision.

 So, from here, we begin!  We are scheduled to have our ties cut and ready for his 8 week Technical Orientation by early September of 2009.  That means we have to have our entire support budget raised, our house sold, our bodies immunized, our bags half-packed and have learned enough Swahili to say “where’s the bathroom” in 10 short months!   I think we’re going to need a bigger set of spurs!