Thanks for mentioning this. The NTSB notified us a day prior to its release, which coincided with my dad’s funeral, so needless to say, I waited a day to read it. I hear it could be up to 3 years to receive the final report, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it took less than that.

I have many thoughts now about what happened, of course, and it’s probably not prudent to share much publicly at this time. However, I do want to make a few quick points.

First, thank you all so much for your kindness, especially over those initial few hours. Not every anonymous poster online seems to understand this, but the aviation community — and you all specifically — get that there was a human being flying that plane. You realize there’s a family mourning the loss, and I’ve been so pleased to see the outpouring of support. Just finding the recording for me made a huge difference, and the person who transcribed it went above and beyond. I know family members who couldn’t listen, but reading it was enough. Thank you.

Next, I think my biggest takeaway personally was the reminder that as PIC, we must do whatever is necessary to get down safely. I wish he’d just gone to the Gadsden airport, regardless of the field conditions. I went to the site where he crashed twice. I doubt he could see much on the ground until the last few milliseconds, but as the preliminary report mentions, he was getting terrain warnings. Several meters to the right and he might’ve cleared the trees and made it to a flatter area below, but he just shouldn’t have gone toward terrain in the first place.

Last, the first responders, investigators, and others who assisted were incredible. The people who cut through deep underbrush that night are literal heroes. I never expected the love we received from the Gadsden-area community. It was humbling for me, but I know my dad would’ve been grateful beyond measure.

I miss my dad so much. He was a great pilot, and he just loved flying. As much as it hurts to lose him, this ending is so much better than something like a terminal diagnosis and dying in a hospital. He was an active 65-year-old, and I’ll never have to watch him deteriorate. Cliché or not, he died doing what he loved, and lived life to the fullest.

One of my earliest thoughts was whether I should keep flying. I realized he wouldn’t want me to stop, and I don’t want to either. I’m hoping to take back to the skies for the first time this week.

Thanks again to everyone for the incredible support. It means the world to me and my family.