Yesterday was a tragic day at our airport. One of the finest aviators I ever had the privilege of being a friend to was lost in an accident a few miles from his home here. Some of the circumstances are known, but none of it matters, the only thought is how we will not see him in this life again.
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Because it was a slow national news day, stations as far away as Utah and California spread the disinformation and non-truths gathered by an invasion of media ghouls, all willing to trade another families suffering for some small ratings uptick for themselves. I started off civil by asking “If your father was lost would you want your own mother to meet strangers with cameras at the front door?” A thought which would give pause to normal people but seemingly had no effect on vermin.
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I have received calls all morning from friends asking politely if it was anyone in my home or in the Weseman family, or part of what we were doing. It was not, it was an RV-4 accident. The man was a very treasured and dear friend, a real one of a kind guy. Many of our closer friends met him, and will remember him well, at a later point when everyone in his greater family is told, I will share some good stories in his memory.
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If you still believe that one brand of news is more ethical than others, let me say that if you were here yesterday, it would have cured you of this illusion. All networks were represented, and they all behaved like jackals and ghouls. Our airport is private property, and after one neighbor briefed the media, they were asked to leave. Instead they all kept sneaking back in, and all three tried to ring the doorbell of the mans home, when his wife had been a widow for 45 minutes. You can claim this is local TV, but the lies they told were eagerly snapped up and retold by their national networks, including Fox. 12 hours after the accident they were still staking out the entrance, hoping for ambush interviews, This morning I caught more on the runway, “filming on location” although the accident was many miles away. I had the sign above made to further clarify they we didn’t need scum like them in our community.
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Today is a still day at our home airport. The song of a very beautiful life abruptly stopped and now things seem terribly quiet. I’m fighting off the temptation to hop on the dirt bike and ride up to his hanger, because my heart says he must still be up and is place putting in another day working on his 14th homebuilt. He isn’t there, but if you knew him, you would understand that some lives are vibrant enough it’s impossible to imagine the world without them.
21 Replies to “5/29/19 – A bad day at the airport.”
I will miss you terrible Bob. Bob was all ways there for me when I needed him in aviation and other family needs. Rest in peace my friend you will be missed.
Sorry to hear of your loss, William. As we get older, many people we have known will depart the vicinity for better pastures. It is always a shock to lose them unexpectedly, but it is a fact of life that we all will go west. As long as his friends remember him, he will not truly be gone…..
“I began to feel that I lived on a higher plane than the skeptics of the ground; one that was richer because of its very association with the element of danger they dreaded, because it was freer of the earth to which they were bound. In flying, I tasted a wine of the gods of which they could know nothing. Who valued life more highly, the aviators who spent it on the art they loved, or these misers who doled it out like pennies through their antlike days?” Charles Lindbergh
Sorry w im to far removed from the scene so i limited in comment my guess is that plane accident s suck. And the media have no moral s.they make us out to be meat out of the grinder i e roadkill on the flight deck having no i d e a how the plane gets built. It is why i we pray every day. Men propose and God disposes take care our lord returns soon
William, I am so sorry and i agree with what you wrote 100%. Being in the media business for 8 years i know exactly what you are talking about. In the years I covered EAA on the radio I was always told by my superiors to notify them if there ever was an accident on the field and I felt sick about it. I can understand both sides, but going after the widow 45 min after the accident is appalling. Once again, I am sorry for your loss and the loss of his family.
Sorry for your loss William. Our love and prayers are with you all. We will wait patiently till the pain lessens for the details you wish to share.god bless you all.
I feel so sorry for his wife/family to have to go thru this disgusting abuse by the media trash during their time of morning. The media has absolutely no conscience anymore. I am sorry for the loss of a very active friend/aviator/builder. I am sorry I will never have the pleasure/opportunity to meet him. Rest In Peace my friend.
William, I am so sorry to hear this tragic news. I did not know Bob other than by reputation. I visited the field with Paul during one of your colleges and met so many of the wonderful folks there. What an awesome community of aviators and builders. I am heartbroken for you, Paul, Dan, and Rachel and all the others that I met. You are all in my thoughts and prayers.
“We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world and the best we can find in our travels is an honest friend.” -Robert Louis Stevenson.
I am sorry to hear of your loss of yet another good friend.
I will miss you terrible Bob. Bob was all ways there for me when I needed him in aviation and other family needs. Rest in peace my friend you will be missed.
William,
I am so sorry for your loss. My thoughts are with you and your friends and neighbors at the airstrip.
Rob L.
So sorry to hear of your loss.
A sad day indeed
So sorry to hear of your personal loss, and the loss to the community.
Sorry to hear of your loss, William. As we get older, many people we have known will depart the vicinity for better pastures. It is always a shock to lose them unexpectedly, but it is a fact of life that we all will go west. As long as his friends remember him, he will not truly be gone…..
Sorry for your loss.
My sincere condolences.
“I began to feel that I lived on a higher plane than the skeptics of the ground; one that was richer because of its very association with the element of danger they dreaded, because it was freer of the earth to which they were bound. In flying, I tasted a wine of the gods of which they could know nothing. Who valued life more highly, the aviators who spent it on the art they loved, or these misers who doled it out like pennies through their antlike days?” Charles Lindbergh
I am sorry for your loss, William.
Ron Beitel
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Sorry w im to far removed from the scene so i limited in comment my guess is that plane accident s suck. And the media have no moral s.they make us out to be meat out of the grinder i e roadkill on the flight deck having no i d e a how the plane gets built. It is why i we pray every day. Men propose and God disposes take care our lord returns soon
Sorry for the loss. I pray the family gets the privacy they need to grieve.
William, I am so sorry and i agree with what you wrote 100%. Being in the media business for 8 years i know exactly what you are talking about. In the years I covered EAA on the radio I was always told by my superiors to notify them if there ever was an accident on the field and I felt sick about it. I can understand both sides, but going after the widow 45 min after the accident is appalling. Once again, I am sorry for your loss and the loss of his family.
Sorry for your loss William. Our love and prayers are with you all. We will wait patiently till the pain lessens for the details you wish to share.god bless you all.
I feel so sorry for his wife/family to have to go thru this disgusting abuse by the media trash during their time of morning. The media has absolutely no conscience anymore. I am sorry for the loss of a very active friend/aviator/builder. I am sorry I will never have the pleasure/opportunity to meet him. Rest In Peace my friend.
William, I am so sorry to hear this tragic news. I did not know Bob other than by reputation. I visited the field with Paul during one of your colleges and met so many of the wonderful folks there. What an awesome community of aviators and builders. I am heartbroken for you, Paul, Dan, and Rachel and all the others that I met. You are all in my thoughts and prayers.
Chris Michaelis
Condolences to all and godspeed to your friend.
sorry to hear of the bad news, condolences to all.
“We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world and the best we can find in our travels is an honest friend.” -Robert Louis Stevenson.
I am sorry to hear of your loss of yet another good friend.
I’m so sorry to hear of this tragedy. May peace of mind and heart settle upon all touched.
W,
Thx for the update. I’m fully aware I was only getting a grain (if at all) of the truth.
Peter
Just reread the lyrics of Don Henley’s “Dirty Laundry”. Sadly appropriate. Condolences to all concerned.