RIP Aviators

I have written a post about the passing of a Seneca grad of 2009 earlier this year and it is unfortunate that I have to write another for 3 more.

It's been 8 days since Aziz, Cynthia, and Lloyd took off for flight, and although their physical bodies along with the airplane (C-GSCZ) came down to an unfortunate landing, their souls continue to soar the skies above us. It has been 8 days of thinking and trying to understand what has happened. 8 days of random triggering of the deepest burden of sadness I have ever felt. 8 days of feeling remorse and condolonces and sometimes thinking of when are we going to wake up from this. 8 days of what if this or what if that and knowing that no matter how many what ifs we can think of, it won't bring them back.
But most important of all, the past 8 days have been spent remembering their great loving nature and celebrating their short-lived lives.

Today was a very special day, and although Cynthia has yet to be laid to rest, we have taken this day to celebrate each and every one of them and how they have impacted each of us in their own little or big way.Seeing the turn out today and the many others wishing they were able to come was just a confirmation and sometimes wake up call to what it really means to be part of Seneca Aviation.

Pilots of all kinds in the industry, alumni, staff and faculty, and those that I haven't seen in a long time or haven't even met yet were there to pay tribute to the lives lost on that dreadful Thursday evening. What a remarkable sight I thought, as I reminisce and say my last goodbye to Aziz, Cynthia and Lloyd.

To many people, we may look like security guards or other alike. To some that know we are pilots, have not a clue of what it is to be truly a pilot, especially that from Seneca. And to the few that have been where we are right now, know how hard yet truly rewarding it is to be part of this camaraderie.
Today gave a brand new meaning to what I often call my second family that is Seneca Aviation and I am forever grateful to be apart of such a tightly-knit community.

This profession and more importantly, this passion we have chosen is a dangerous one and although this loss has taken a great toll on us, we mustn't fear of what lies ahead because of this. Instead, we must take the lives they have lived and use it for strength and inspiration to continue to do what it is we truly love above all the rest.

I sat inside one of the Beech Bonanzas today, the one which I flew with Aziz and Cynthia just two days prior the accident in fact, and as hard as it was to try and understand what has happened and the pain it felt when I had tried to visualize being in that airplane, I know full well that what they would want is for us to get back on that horse and fly with them once again.

Theodore Roosevelt once wrote:
"It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best knows achievement and who at the worst if he fails at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."