Hard to believe this is for real...so sorry for his family and friends

Tailwinds Hank, may you rest in peace

Thanks everyone for your kind words, it means a lot. The world is worse off without Hank.

I became aware of Hank missing when his uncle texted me asking if I knew where he was. He was supposed to meet a friend back at his home airport at 10:00 but hadn't showed. I was at Llano at the time having just finished lunch with some friends. I texted Hank and called him but no answer. I told Hank's uncle I'd launch and start a search of all the areas that I knew Hank liked to visit on morning flights. I alerted a mutual friend in south Texas that Hank was missing and he launched and headed our way (Hank's uncle was up looking as well).

Another friend texted that he'd heard there was a fire and an aircraft down and gave us directions. I was close to his place so landed, entered the location, and took off for it. Hank's uncle headed that way as well. We both could see the smoke plume. Hank's uncle arrived first and said he saw a lot of brush piles burning and a helicopter with a bucket and believed it was just a brush fire. He headed back to his place to meet up with our friend and formulate next steps. I was close to my home airport and needed water bad so headed there. Once on the ground I checked a local TV website and saw that indeed there had been an aircraft crash at that location and there was one fatality.

I called 911 asked for the Sheriff, told them who I was and what I'd been doing, and asked for information about the accident. They connected me to DPS (our Highway Patrol) who told me they'd have the officer working the scene contact me. About 10 minutes later I got a phone call from the NTSB (referred to by the officer).

I told them we had been looking for Hank and what aircraft he'd been flying. They told me the plane had been destroyed by fire but that it was a high wing tail wheel with a Lycoming engine and that the DPS officer could see a tiny patch of red out on one of the wings. At this point I couldn't get any information on how it impacted the ground.

I called my friend and asked him to break the news to Hank's uncle since he was with him. I decided someone should go to the crash site to see it so the family would have something about the accident besides just a NTSB report.

Although it was only a couple of minutes by air from my airport to the site, it was over a hour by road as it was across Lake Travis. A lot of time to think. I arrived at the incident command center to find a lot of different fire agencies, emt's, forest service tanker trucks, the DPS, and of course news reporters.

I told one of the DPS officers who I was (he was the officer that had contacted the NTSB) and learned the site was back in a very rugged area, and that he had been back there and the plane was on its back but seemed relatively intact except for missing one landing gear. At this point, perhaps 3:30pm, I was told firefighters had the 30 acre fire mostly contained, the pilot's body was still in the plane, and the scene was now under the control of the FAA and the investigator was due in a short time.

At some point the Fire Commissioner (I think that was her title) arrived, and she told me she'd seen black smoke and then white smoke at about 7:30am. She assumed someone was burning brush and using diesel or kerosene but called it in (that's how I remember it anyway). The fireman arrived thinking this was just a brush fire. As they fought the fire over hills and draws they eventually discovered the wreckage of an airplane.

The FAA inspector arrived, I explained who I was and what I wanted to do and he told me he'd meet with me later. He was gone for about 3 hours when the medical examiners arrived and soon headed to the scene. I pleaded my case to the Incident Commander who was sympathetic and he asked the fire chief if he'd take me out. Just before sunset the ME's returned and the chief took me out accompanied by the Incident Commander. Enroute a call came in telling us that the FAA inspector did not want anyone at the scene, including me. The Chief asked if it would be okay to take me to the location where the FAA inspector had disembarked and he agreed to that as long as I remained in the vehicle.

We entered the unoccupied ranch and worked our way to the scene. I was surprised when we arrived that we were only maybe 50 yards from the site, perhaps closer. I was able to make out the entire outline of an aircraft from it's structure. Everything appeared intact except it was missing a gear leg. The remnants of the wings appeared to be in the correct location with possibly one of them detached, perhaps by the fire, I don't know. The tail did not appear to be smashed. The engine looked like it was where it should be although I couldn't tell for sure if it had been pushed back some or not. The plane was on a slight upslope and just a few feet short of a 6' to 10' near vertical embankment at the top of a hill.

Directly behind me, across a small deep ravine were high line wires. My memory tells me that the towers to each side carrying these wires were located along the side of the hill, not along the crest. And in close vicinity was a fairly high radio tower anchored by guy wires.

I'm am not an investigator, nor have any training as such, but based on what I saw my belief is Hank caught one of the transmission wires severing the gear leg and causing the aircraft to become inverted. And based on the intact nature of the aircraft, on an upslope, I further believe Hank actually landed the plane on it's back. As implausable as this might seem during a phone call that was made to me this morning regarding this accident, and the questions asked of me and answered, this is a working theory. I was told that today they would test the continuity of the aircraft.

I can't thank enough the 50+ firefighters, emt's, tanker drivers, helicopter crews etc. that worked this. It was a tough job with the air temperature over a 100, how much hotter it must have been at the fire. A neighbor couple even went to town and brought back food and drinks, enough for all, paid for by them. Extremely generous.

TAKEAWAY: aside from the obvious about high lines, when Hank became missing and we needed to try and find him we had no idea where he'd gone. Obviously we all know we can't file a flight plan for a lot of the backcountry exploring that we do. But after searching some of the places I knew he liked to visit, I realized that he could be anywhere within probably a 60 mile radius of his home airport. That is an enormous area to search. It ended up he was just across the lake from me probably headed to one of his favorite spots right near my airport. He ended up on an unoccupied ranch in a rugged area. Had his plane not caught fire he might not have been found until the ranch became occupied and its owner explored this part of the ranch. I have no idea if the ELT went off but it was destroyed in the fire within minutes. Seems to me the best solution is one of the Satellite tracking devices, even if destroyed by fire there is still a last known location which could be as long as 10 minutes (in most cases) away or as short as one second. For myself I carry a Sat Phone, a PLB, and an inReach (mounted).

I leave you with this photo. Hank came along with me a few months ago and one of the places we landed was along a river in some high flowers. I was wearing long pants and Hank shorts. Seems these flowers were atop nettle like plants. But that didn't stop Hank from exploring the area. He took off and when I looked back I saw his tall lanky self bounding through the weeds like a kangaroo. This was Hank's joy for life. He would absolutely want all of us to keep flying.

Godspeed my friend, we will meet again.

Thanks for the details Phil.
Once again, sorry for your loss.
Please keep us updated.
I sure hope if I ever turn up missing I have friends like you out there looking for me. Good man.

Thanks for sharing... What a horrible loss... God speed

I am terrible with words and can't describe how I feel. Never met Hank but I remember his posts and the impression I had from them. Prayers for those affected and tailwinds to Hank

Sierra Victor wrote:I sure hope if I ever turn up missing I have friends like you out there looking for me. Good man.

Agreed.
.

Sierra Victor wrote:Thanks for the details Phil.
Once again, sorry for your loss.
Please keep us updated.
I sure hope if I ever turn up missing I have friends like you out there looking for me. Good man.

That sums it up right there.

What a terrible loss. Condolences to his family and friends. Rest in Peace

Damnit, I had seen his post about Llano next year.
He was already fired up.

Godspeed Hank

Prayers for his family and friends--very sad.

Cary

Amen, deepest sympathies.

I never had a chance to meet this fine young man, but his participation in this community paints an enthusiasm and passion for flying that we can all relate to.

Condolences to all.

This was Hank's joy for life. He would absolutely want all of us to keep flying.

“A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for.”
― William G.T. Shedd

You've been a good friend, Phil. Godspeed, Hank.

Blue skies Hank, we'll miss ya brother!

The reason Hank left the airplane behind is that he can now fly without it...
Enjoy that Hank and RIP.
Condolences to family and friends in a very difficult time.

Some of us have lost quite a few friends to this aviation passion, so please fly safely !

Difficult news to hear. Praying for peace and understanding.

CW

Thank you Phil for everything you did here. May God bless Hank and his family.

1 Corinthians 15:25-26
25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death.

Very sorry to hear this news
Condolences to all friends and family

Sorry for the loss, All are in our Prayers.

NTSB began their investigation today. They determined that Hank did not hit a wire, but hit a tree directly under the wires. The plane went another 290 feet after hitting the tree. Wasn't at full power on impact but was making some power. They feel he was upright going under the wires and are trying to calculate how he ended up inverted.

Thanks for taking the time to convey the details that you have. I like to think that if we can learn even a little lesson...or takeaway...that maybe that will make the loss a little easier to bear. Condolenses to his family and friends. Too many lost this year it seems like.