I read with great interest about how Mr. Jim Stewart asserts that his life was saved by the design of the Sport Jet (Can your airplane save your life? Sept. 8). Then I got to the “So what happened?” section and was appalled that Mr. Stewart blamed the crash on Air Traffic Control.
The article read: “He claimed the tower cleared him to takeoff one minute and 28 seconds behind a Dash 8, when three minutes should have been the minimum time allowed.”
Mr. Stewart, if you knew that there should have been a three minute delay, why did you accept the takeoff clearance?
You were the pilot in command, Mr. Stewart. You screwed the pooch on this deal and for you to attempt to place the blame on somebody else is inappropriate, unprofessional and an action I would not expect from a former F-15 pilot.
I look upon test pilots as the best of the best, and because you are in that group of pilots, I hold you and other pilots like you to a higher standard of conduct, in and out of the cockpit, and I am disappointed that you have failed to accept responsibility for your actions that contributed to this accident.
Kim H. Wallis
via email