Another Fatal Gyro Crash Today - Okeechobee, FL

[mark treidel]

Brandon, Thanks for that offer......I sent you a P/M with Don's personal information so you can send some flowers from all of us here on the Forum. I'm certain everyone here appreciates that effort on your part.....Regards,

 

[JRB549]

Ron, that is a sad pic you posted. Pat, my ex and I (her first flight with Pat) and his plane. Pat dosent fly anymore ( I miss Pappy), the ex is gone, his plane is gone and now Don. Raise a glass for ole Don boys, he had a life of flyin that was full, I heartell he had more ratings than is believable. Sad indeed.

 

[Steve McGowan]

Dam, dam, dam

Dam, dam, dam

After talking to Jake last night, it finally struck me and I put a face on who Don is. CRS will and is overtaking me with placing the peron with they're names.

I had flown with him quite a few times at Bensen Day's thru the years.. And only caught a glimpse of him there last years shortly before I left.

He was alway's fun to be around and constantly asking if he could help me out with anything.

He will be missed by many people, and as everyone flying gyro's, I consider them family.

Papy ,, Please don't stay a stranger..

me&BOO

 

[Friendly]

Brandon, Thanks for that offer......I sent you a P/M with Don's personal information so you can send some flowers from all of us here on the Forum. I'm certain everyone here appreciates that effort on your part.....Regards,

Brandon,
I have not contributed to the flower fund in a while, where do we pay pal the contributions. I appreciate the time you take to recognize our fellow pilots and acknowledge to their families that we are sorry for their loss. God bless them all.

 

[Dmorris]

I hate to hear we've lost yet another. Our community is very small as it is. I sold my last RAF to Terry Eiland. There are two others that are gone that I considered personal friends. I did not know Don but I want his family to know how sorry I am.

May God comfort you in your loss.

 

[greg spicola]

Latest witness statement was Don had just taken off and called on the radio
that he thought he was having a heart attack made a sharp u-turn back to the taxi or runway and tried to land but didn't quite get it straight when it touched down and it rolled breaking the mast and sending the rotor blades into the cabin striking him. but I guess we will have to wait and see if this is what happened.

Sunstate will Miss Him.

 

[route66]

Donald Earle McGregor
(November 7, 1932 - March 14, 2009)

Sign Guest Book
Donald Earle McGregor
Donald Earle McGregor, age 76, of Okeechobee died March 14, 2009 at his home. Born November 7, 1932 in Muskegon, Michigan to Clarence and Marjorie McGregor he came to Okeechobee in 1984. He proudly served our country in the US Air Force during the Vietnam War. He retired from the Air Force as a Major with 20 years active service. He attended services at Christian Science of Sebring. He was a member of the Masonic Lodge, Shriners, River Acres Airdrome and several other organizations.
He is survived by his wife, Jeanita McGregor; four sons, Larry, Ronald, Robert and Michael; daughter, Diane Ray; sister, Virginia Langlois; brother, William McGregor; stepdaughter, Donna Wortham; 16 grandchildren; and 17 great grandchildren.
The family will receive friends at their home. A memorial with Masonic Services will be held 11 a.m. Friday, March 20, 2009 at the Okeechobee Masonic Lodge.
Memorials may be made to the Shriners Children’s Hospital, Shriners International Headquarters, 2900 Rocky Point Dr. Tampa, FL 33607.
Friends may sign the guestbook at www.bassokeechobeefh.com.
All arrangements are entrusted to the loving care of Bass Okeechobee Funeral Home and Crematory, 205 NE 2nd ST, Okeechobee, Fl 34972.

As per the families request I sent a donation to the Shriners Children Hospital in memory of Don from the Forum. Hope all agree.

Dear Friends at the Rotaryforum.com:

Thank you for your $50.00 gift to Shriners Hospitals for Children-Tampa. Your gift has been made in memory of Mr. Donald McGregor and will provide one-of-a-kind pediatric care to children with special medical needs -- helping them to defy the odds and achieve their dreams.

Combined with our innovative research, your gift helps us impact the lives of children throughout the world. Your support is very much appreciated.

Sincerely,

Marlena Lagina-Kleine
Vice President, Development and Communication
Shriners Hospitals for Children

P.S. If you have the opportunity, I hope that you will visit one of our hospitals to see how your gift is making a difference in the lives of children every day.

 

[Fl90]

Fairly recent heart surgery as well.

 

[Gyropilot007]

I HATE to read this kind of thing.

Bob

 

[Joe Pires]

So sorry to hear of our loss.

 

[Jimmy]

Thankyou Brandon for posting the charity & service info so quickly.

Noa Santamarina & I were asked by the FAA to help them with the investigation of our good friend's accident. Noa has significant mechanical knowledge & owns the same type gyro that was involved in the accident.

Alongside the FAA, we spent about 5 hours over 2 days reviewing the crash site & wreckage. I must compliment the FAA officials on their thorough & respectful approach. They asked us many questions & wanted our full participation.

I will post some of the details & our conclusions in a day or two, but for now you can know that all evidence points to this as a ground incident as opposed to in flight.

 

[Steve McGowan]

Thankfully

Thankfully

The FAA had ask for help with the investigation,
As for Terry Eiland's and Bill Finnegan's crash the FAA and Sheriffs offices had declared it a Crime Scene,
No REAL Conclusions/determinations was ever found due to the unprofessional
personell at the scene. ONLY Speculations well after the fact.

Atleast this will not be handled in such an attitude as that was.

Steve

 

[ventana7]

So very sorry to hear this terrible news.
Don was a fantstic guy and he will be missed.

He and his wife were very friendly and outgoing and I enjoyed many hours in his company.

 

[Jimmy]

The address for the Masonic Lodge where services will be held :

107 NW 5th ave, okeechobee, fl.

Friday 3/20 , 11 am

 

[fiveboy]

Is there an actual flower fund and if so should we be replenishing it (hopefully to not be used again for a long long long time)?

If so how do we do that, or is that what our dues are used for?

 

[pilotescort]

Adm

Adm

Pat has a medical condention where his muscles don't want to do what they are asked to do. He thought that the thing to do is get out and stay on the ground. I admire his decision.

It's tough to stay on the ground when you want to fly so bad, but indeed our personal self is the most important part of a pre-flight inspection. Obviously, it is not wise to throw "caution to the wind" in regards to our personal health. This is a great but unfortunate lesson Don may have provided us with. When I spoke with Don earlier this year flying seemed to be the ONLY thing that mattered. He impressed me with his excitement concerning the sport, but I was cautioned to not get into a cockpit with him. God rest his soul.

 

[mark treidel]

Mr. Beetler, I dont know where you got your 'warning' to not get into the cockpit with Don. No one who prints stuff like this ever has the guts to say a name anyway. All I can say is through personal observation of his flying skills, he was one good gyro pilot. Furthermore, posting this for all (including his family while they are in mourning) to view is totally insensitive on your part. You certainly could have left that sentence out of the equasion.

 

[Early Bird Dave]

Gentlemen, take it easy!
Pilotescort is a very kind person and I believe some english language interpretations are causing some problems. Let's not flame this thread. Not everyone writes what's on there mind in a way that we can interpret.
I believe he is just noting that Pappy had to make a hard decision to ground himself.
(Bud's quote in his thread)
Then he spoke openly about some rumors of Don's health which I cannot confirm but if you note earlier in this thread they are mentioned.
Both Pilotescort and myself are pilots training currently in gyro's and have had the pilots mental and health condition drummed into our heads as part of your preflight.
I am sure he meant no disrespect to Don or his family.
If you reread his thread with this in mind I think you can see that it can be taken in another way, so please reduce your responses until he can post to clear this up.
This is a sensitive time and we all have to think calmly. JMHO
Thanks guys.
My condolences to Don's family. David Hopkins

 

[Russ Hobbs]

That's an unfortunate problem with electronic communications, meanings can be misleading, I have had my posts read back to me in a truly different light than what I had meant to convey. Pilotescort you may want to edit that line out, it comes across as a negative, unintentionally or not.

 

[fiveboy]

In deference to the fact that electronic messages are in fact very often subject to misinterpretation (as I have found out many a time) I am deleting my harsh comment and will just say I think it was in poor taste at this time to write that, in any way.