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'Jim, I think they said tornado'. Jim and I were flying into Dallas Texas orbiting in a holding pattern waiting for theweather to improve. Thunderstorms encircled the area, and we couldn’t land until the weather moved out. Dallas AirTraffic Control announced, 'Exit the hold, we want to get you in before the tornado', - yep Jim, they said tornado.I flew professionally for 5 years with reginal airlines and 34 years corporate with Raytheon Company. I accumulated19,400 hours of accident-free flying over the 39 years. Accident-free flying is a combination of training, experienceand fate. Accident-free flying is also the result of a team of professionals. I flew with outstanding pilots supportedby exceptional maintenance and dispatchers all of which kept me safe.Flying for a living you didn’t pick which day you flew. Flying only when the weather was good was not an option. Wehad an all-weather airplane and an all-weather flight crew. I flew during Hurricane Sandy that produced windshear,rain and turbulence. I flew in blizzards, nor’easters, fog, snow, thunderstorms, blowing sand in the desert of SaudiArabia and an occasional tornado.'Some days are more fun than others', I would often say. Many days I just enjoyed the joy of flight and experiencedsights that only a pilot’s view could appreciate. I have watched the northern lights - brilliant lights that appear asrays that dance and flicker across the sky while crossing the lonely Atlantic. I have seen the sun rise and set over thehorizon from flight altitudes that you could notice the curvature of the earth. I have looked down below me fromthose flight levels to see a bright full moon rise from the horizon.Some of these stories may sound like I am a risk taker.I am not.The love of flying comes with inherent risks, and you must accept them.My goal was uncompromising safety but there were certainly challenges along the way.The expression: 'Ships are safe in the harbor, but that’s not what they’re built for' reminds me of jets sitting safelyin a hangar. During one snowstorm at Dulles airport, the snow collapsed from the hangar roof and crushed millionsof dollars’ worth of jets. Jets aren’t even safe in a hangar.Fate is the hunter; you can mitigate your risks but sometimes events beyond your control can be fatal. I know a fewskilled pilots that have been killed because events beyond their control.Most stories are from early flying days so that today’s readers might appreciate the challengers of flying before theleap of technology to help pilots stay safe that exists todayFate had in store for me a blessed career that I genuinely enjoyed the journey.My journey was filled with stories of a lifetime of flight that I thought people would find interesting and I wantedto share.
