Hate to say it, but a pilot buddy told me today that word was Ron was a bit loose and took too many risks. Said an instructor that knew him predicted he would likely some day go to far.
sadly this is the case with a lot of (dare I say most) pilots. the more hours they log, the more invincible they feel. seems unlikely he had anything to do with it in this case though. not a lot a pilot can do to cause or recover from a structural failure at that altitude. I'm really interested to see what the result of the investigation is.
Other way around Tex. There are old pilots and there are bold pilots, but there are no old bold pilots.
well, yeah, but no pilot starts off "bold." every pilot that I've ever known starts their training with a great respect and a certain fear of flying. the dumb ones (or bold, as you put it) lose that respect and fear over time and start cutting corners and being stupid. the more hours they log, the more "bold" they get. the smart ones maintain a certain amount of respect for the dangers that exist...and eventually become "old pilots."
the "safest" flight of any pilot's career is his first solo. it's usually downhill from there...to varying degrees.
