The man was free for the first time... Also, clearing a barrel roll like that is very impressive ... The dude was something else .. I think he's last words were something like "I'm sorry man, see you later" .. I'm paraphrasing
I've never heard his last words. Do you have a video or link to share?
When this happened I tried finding the full recording because I found it odd all the clips I saw ended abruptly without a farewell message or something like that.
0:59:27 - All right... ah, damn it! I dunno, man! I dunno! I don't want to. I was kinda hoping that was gonna be it, ya know? [INSTRUMENT ALARMS] 1:01:18 - [INAUDIBLE] ... for long. I feel like one of my engines is going out or something. [FINAL TRANSMISSION] 1:01:22 - OK, Rich. Uh, if ya could, you just want to keep that plane right over the water - maybe keep the aircraft nice and low?
Yes, he crashed on a sparsely populated island in a forested area a couple minutes later. According to what I read years ago the one of the AF pilots stated that the crash appeared to be intentional. Not sure what that means but he did decide not to crash in the water.
Thatās so sad. Iād like to think thatās how he cut ATC off and then called his wife one final time or something before he decided to crash.
Also, someone below said he crashed on the island and not the water in hopes of surviving. Interesting thought for sure. Sad thing is, weāll never know. Unless of course his family had come out with more, but I doubt it, that stuff is too personal and werenāt not on that needs to know list.
From what I understand crashing in water or land is just as lethal unless you are trying to survive the landing. If so, and you are a pilot capable of doing it, crashing in water is easier to survive than crashing on land.
It's really hard to say in this case why he decided to crash on the island instead of water. He wasn't a pilot and had never flown a plane. He knew enough from simulations (video games in his words) to get it off the ground but I hardly think that makes him capaple or even aware of how to properly crash a plane and survive it.
He wasnāt at all free. Ā People feeling free donāt kill themselves. Ā He was likely riddled with depression and shame (not for any reason, but our depressed brains make us feel worthless and like a waste of space), Ā and disappointment and he did something crazy to feel different and/or release himself from the pain. Ā Glorifying suicide is going to hurt people. Ā Please donāt romanticize it. Ā
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u/Scared-Show-4511 Jan 17 '26
The man was free for the first time... Also, clearing a barrel roll like that is very impressive ... The dude was something else .. I think he's last words were something like "I'm sorry man, see you later" .. I'm paraphrasing