Austin Pilot's suicide note

[captain_john]

[Spike]

Briefly, I think many of his complaints and arguments were on target. His method of action was unacceptable though.

[cjensen]

I haven't read it, nor do I intend to...my thought on anyone that commits or is suicidal, is that this person is taking the most selfish act one can, and I won't waste my time reading about why someone decided to do this. You want out, fine, but no one ever thinks of anyone but themselves when doing this, whether admitted or not.

I hesitated to post in this thread, but did so only to say that, and one more thing...this was despicable, and it doesn't deserve the spectacular headlines it is getting.

[papakeith]

Yeah, what Chad said.

[Thermos]

...this was despicable, and it doesn't deserve the spectacular headlines it is getting.

The spectacular headlines will be our problem, we can't ignore 'em. I already heard one normally-respectable news outlet lead off a report about whether our skies are "secure." I can only hope that this media frenzy will die down before some politician calls for more rules and restrictions.

[BSwayze]

CJ,

Well, I decided I would read it only because I wanted to see where this guy was coming from. I tend to agree with you, Spike. Anyone who has ever been audited or had any trouble with the IRS can understand some of what he is saying. We are innocent until proven guilty in this country in all areas of law, EXCEPT when dealing with the IRS. They start from the base assumption that you are guilty and you have to prove your innocence. It can be frustrating enough to drive you crazy. If you let it. I think that was this guys main problem. He let it get to him and he spent his life trying to buck the system. Our system is far from perfect, but where else on earth are you going to go? There's no place any better.

His solution was a desperate act, an atrocity that helps nobody. You're right, Chad. It was selfish. I'm really pissed that he chose to use his airplane to carry out his final deed, because it may result in all of us losing even more of our remaining freedoms. They're already talking about "beefing up security" at all GA airports.

Thanks, mister.

[TomNativeNewYorker]

You want out, fine, but no one ever thinks of anyone but themselves when doing this, whether admitted or not.

Concur.

[Bob Barrett]

Mental Illness can strike any of us with out warning! This does not excuse what this person did in Austin. We all need to be aware of people whose behavior suddenly changes and seek to help them. Maybe no one saw this coming but most likely someone noticed this man's deteriation in functioning. Unfortunately we have all known people who have committed sucide but each time I think someone was aware of changes. Not all sucides can be prevented but a lot of them could be if we seek help for people in trouble.

[RVNewsletter]

Should I use primer on my airplane?

[1:1_Scale]

Only if you can afford to after the tax man takes your money

[airguy]

Sounds to me like this guy basically created his own mess. He admitted in the beginning of the rant to readings of the tax code with others and "experts" trying to find a way around paying taxes, likely by creative use of certain loopholes and tax shelters, and this didn't work out for him. That's a roll of the dice - you don't get to bitch about it in Vegas when you roll a 7 on the craps table - you take a chance and live with the outcome.

I was amused that he was complaining about pay rates for engineers in Austin being less than California. Really?? What was your first clue? Here's a dose of reality - pay rates for WALMART GREETERS are lower in Austin than California (nothing against Walmart). It's the market/location. You don't move from California to Texas and expect to get paid more (or equally) for the same skill set - just ain't gonna happen.

He apparently spent his whole life trying to find ways to cheat or buck the system, instead of working within it - with predictable results - and then threw a very public tantrum when he got (predictably) frustrated. My only sympathy is for his wife, she just lost a husband and home, and likely is now left with quite a financial mess as a result of this guys stupidity and selfishness - though in retrospect, she may be better off in the long run. At least he had the common decency of not taking her and the kids along with him.

[lancef53]

Wow, what a nut. He tried to work the system and got his fingers slapped. From what I can tell, he did this because over the past 20+ years he had to pay 50k in taxes and penalties? That really does not seem to be like a real big number in the scheme of things. He didn't like the system, and he let it consume him.

Bswazye is right--I was audited about 5 years ago. The statement innocent til proven guilty is for murderers and child molesters, not taxpayers It was a frustrating experience, but I don't plan on flying my plane into anything because of it.

[Thermos]

Should I use primer on my airplane?

Nah, let's bash the press instead!

[Park]

This guy was unstable. He killed a one and injured two. I was there five minutes after it happen, it was like being on a movie set, it was unreal. Here's a copy of what I sent family that day.

"I'm sure you all saw the nut case that flew his plane into the building in Austin. I was with my step daughters husband south bound on 183 about three miles north of the site crash. Cande called me on the phone to tell me about it so of course Travis and I decided to go take a look.
It was awful, we arrived with-in five munites after the crash. There was heavy smoke and some flames but in seconds the flames grew in size very rapidly engulfing half of this seven story building. The video footage does not do it justice.
We past about 150 ft. in front of the building on my side of the truck. The flames were easily 200+ ft high and I rolled up my window and covered my face because of the heat. Travis is now having a hard time seeing the road because of the heavy smoke and debre is also falling on the road, maybe this was not a good idea to "take a look".
As we drove away the building was coming apart and we thought for sure a 100 people must be dead. I heard most everyone was in a meeting.
Crazy"

[hydroguy2]

Mental illness is a terrible thing

[RVNewsletter]

More attention forthe real victim, please.

[Thermos]

More attention forthe real victim, please.

Well said.

Dave

[lancef53]

Thanks for the link, I had heard nothing about him, and too much about Stack.

[svanarts]

And now Hunter's wife is suing Stack's wife.

[Spike]

yeah, cause she didnt lose anything in this deal either. *ugggg*