Afgan Crash

[412driver]

amen brother.............

[deuce bigalow]

Sorry for the brother karkin it. But have you noticed the uncomfortable silence around the racist comments and the aggressive hatred(nukemall). By this logic if a visitor to our country was killed in a FLQ explosion in 1967 then it would follow that all of Canada should be turned into a "Glass parking lot". You guys are better then this. I don't know if Mark was starving but com'n!!! Afganistan??? It's a well known dangerous place. How much was he paid?? Not enough for sure. I have seen time and again company's agreeing to contracts in places like Rwanda, Somalia, Iraq, to name a few all for a few bucks. Are the crews hugely compensated? Not!!! I was told by a ops manager that there would be no danger pay in Kuwait (6 months after the first Iraq war ended) because there was no danger. How did he know? The company would not have sent us there if it was dangerous. I you not. Three days into that job we were shot at, at night in Iraq. I don't blame the locals. They are ignorant and don't know any better. They see all Western influence as a threat to their way of life. How would you Heli-ops or 412 react if a foreign power came into Canada and started telling us how it was going to be?? You guys would be the first to head for the hills with a gun. So let's slow down a little bit with the hate posts guys. And Kyle. Are ya there?? This kind of stuff is just as important as someone calling someone else a pee-pee head or whatever. I really hope I don't see any more posts of this nature here in the future.

[Heli Ops]

Deuce your comments are read and noted. The difference with this one is that Mark was not killed in an explosion, or booby trap etc. He was shot in the back of the head at point blank range by an Afghanie, or whomever as he was getting out of a civillian marked helicopter. It had no military markings on it, all it had was a big Pacific Helicopters logo. Murdered is a lot different to being a victim of war, in my opinion. We all have our opinions on this, and when friends are involved, the emotions are probably a little more pronounced than they normally would be had it not been someone we know.

 

I also think its hard to blame money grubbing operators, without these same operators many pilots out there wouldnt have jobs. Contracts in places such as Iran, South America and Africa are always hotly contested and yes there should be danger pay but you already stated below that if operators can get away with not paying it, then they will. Maybe HEPAC there in Canada could look at things like that, primarily when it comes to Canadian pilots and mechanics. Operators probably look at it as though if they dont send a helicopter for the contract then their competition certainly will. Just my opinion.

 

Maybe someone like HAI, since they seem to be the most active of worldwide associations, come up with some sort of hot spot list, and anyone going to those countries needs to abide by certain rules, ie: pay and conditions, protection etc etc. Just a thought.

 

Appreciate your comments and will see what 412Driver has to say on this as well.

 

Heli Ops

[Biggles]

My thoughts exactly Heli Ops, and thank you for putting it so well, as I had no idea how to reply decently let alone even a with hint of grace. I hear you Deuce and for a short split micro second even gave it a thought. This however was not an "accident" as Heli Ops put it, and ignorance doesn't cut it for me, not in this case, not in any case. Emotions soar for dang sure when your home base as been threatened, that's part of being human.

 

Consider this, just imagine how many hopeful and desperate people of that environment would welcome change. A civilized change. To live without fear, shame or having rifles handed to little ones. To speak freely and express or experience the "western" freedom. To not have to bow or lower your half covered eyes as if you haven't the right to exist. It may never happen, but some still have dreams. No, ignorance will never cut it. Racisim is not an issue here, it wouldn't matter what color the holder of the rifle was, you don't just shoot people in the back of the head. I have no sympathy for such people who savagely get off on barbaric acts such as these and for that matter, those who support and approve are just as sick if not sicker.

 

Thank God for that "edit" button, forgot to mention your mention of HEPAC Heli Ops, excellent point, a huge area that needs improvement.

[DecuMajor]

Hey D.B.

 

Just a few thoughts, in no particular order.

 

1) Your opinion is noted, along with everyone else's.

 

2) No one forces a pilot to go anywhere, if they don't like it they can say "no".

 

3) I assume you've never lost a loved one under circumstances such as these.

 

4) Glass parking lot suits me fine.

[412driver]

sure, emotions are a huge part of it. so is spending time as a 2nd class citizen in the arab world. having to take s#$t and abuse from stupid people is hard to take but yes, you put up with it for the $$$$.

 

as to why mark was there? he intially went in for Gulf Helicopters. he had a bit of bad luck that he got caught in a sandstorm and had a hard landing but NO injuries. Gulf Heli hung him out to dry after YEARS of good service. Gulf didn't replace the machine so PNG stepped in and as he was already familiar with the operation was a natural fit. he WAS trying to get out. left behind a family.............

 

as to the nukem bit? dam straight but hey, that WHITE guy in vancouver killed all them women? nearest lampost and a string of rope!! Clifford Olsen?? WHITE guy! line him against the wall and shoot him!! ****, i'd even pull the trigger!! am i bloodthirsty? no, but what comes around goes around. too many people trying to find the grey in a black and white world. if you believe in God read the old testament, if you are an evolutionist well, survival of the fittest.

 

no, mark wasn't forced to go................

 

yes, you have the right to your opinion as do i.........

 

it's bad enough when you lose friends in a crash but this was outright murder!!

 

so lets drop nuclear weaponry on those asian-mongolian-arabic people and level their country into a nice flat piece of landscape that is wheelchair accessible......

 

i'll end this rant with this: put one of your friends in that machine and tell me you wouldn't feel different.............

 

kyle, i apologize if we pushed the envelope on this one. but i retract nothing.........

[deuce bigalow]

I think I'll go to bed and sleep on this. But before I go 1). 2). Just because a murder happens in a place doesn't mean you advocate feeding everyone that lives there into the fire. My Dad fought in a war 60 years ago to try to put an end to that kind of thinking. 3). My thoughts and sympathys are with Marks family.

[deuce bigalow]

P.S. If a friend of mine was killed I would be mad as **** at the SOB that killed him. Not at everyone that looked like him.

[Biggles]

You're so way off on this. I don't sense racism so much as I do hate for the hurt and unnecessary pain let alone the friggin mindlessness and the attrocities that are happening and keep on happening. Just as 412 Driver said, whether it's buddy in YVR, or Bonehead elsewhere, whether he's a flippin blue alien, it doesn't matter, its horrific period. Mark's family (if I may even dare use his name with all due respect) must live, digest, and accept this. This is their brand new, totally undeserving life long sentence, and they will always remember and re-live the nightmare. Sorry, but the names used in reference to the culture are merely adjectives for all those who support and carry on these senseless activities. Nothing compared to what Mark went through though isn't it? Bet ya he'd give anything to be called a name or two and still make it home. See, I don't know this fella, don't even know his last name. It doesn't matter, a brother is a brother. It's family. It's the comraderie. It's the glue that makes this dang business so unique. When will people wake up and appreciate this!

 

412 Driver - sorry that you lost a friend, and to his family - my warmest heartfelt sympathy.

[Biggles]

DB, I must add (since I can't get into the edit button again), that a prime example of how fortunate we (westerner's) are, is that for the most part, even when we may have extreme views/opinions, so long as we appreciate and respect those differences, we can still maintain a form of comraderie. However, exchanges based on very personal thoughts/feelings betwen people who don't really know each other, should perhaps be approached cautiously or altogether avoided (pretty well in the same lines as politics). So easy to let it all get out of hand.

 

That's it for the Biggsie, tuckered right out.