With Heavy Heart

Today around 1:30 I got a call from my friend down at Southern Utah University.  "You're ok, right?" she said.  "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"  "I didn't know if you were flying at UVU or not."  Confused, I asked what was going on.  I was informed that an airplane from UVU had crashed in Payson and that both occupants of the airplane were killed.

I'm glad I was able to say that I was ok.  But what about my friends?  I quickly texted Heather to see if she was ok.  I got a text back from her very quickly.  She was fine.  That made me feel much better.  I later learned that one of the pilots on board, though not a close friend, was in one of my classes last semester.  I had a few conversations with him and he seemed like a really nice guy, always with something intelligent to say during our classroom discussions.

Throughout the rest of the day, many friends called or texted me to see if I was ok.  I truly appreciate those calls and messages.

The aviation community is a close-knit community.  Though many didn't know David Whitney well, his loss still affects us all.  Anytime a plane goes down, there is a feeling of reverence towards the pilots.  It's a very difficult feeling to explain.  The best I can explain is the feeling that we all felt as we watched 9/11 unfold.  The scene and those who died earn your respect and reverence. So it is with today's crash.  We lost a bright and aspiring pilot as well as a talented flight instructor.  May God be with them and their families.

Lord, guard and guide the men who fly
Through the great spaces in the sky.
Be with them always in the air,
In darkening storms or sunlight fair;
Oh, hear us when we lift our prayer,
For those in peril in the air!

Aloft in solitudes of space,
Uphold them with Thy saving grace.
Thou Who supports with tender might
The balanced birds in all their flight.
Lord, if the tempered winds be near,
That, having Thee, they know no fear.