re: This WGNO article about Theophile is disrespectful

you are probably right, I was just curious how you knew. passengers were my uncle and cousin

quote:

---

Buddy's uncle and cousin were his passengers and only lived because Toe went back to plane for life jackets for them.

---

Went back to the plane wreckage to retrieve life jackets after the crash? Or you talking about something that happened before takeoff?

quote:

---

He was always the 2nd or 3rd reporter to call in on the show and was always saying "we're staying in late today to see if the fog burns off, etc...".

---

Outside of landing or taking off at a commercial airport, there are no reliable nav instruments that give precise height above ground level in IFR conditions, especially over water. Not radar altimeters, and DGPS is not accurate in the vertical domain. By accurate I mean 1 meter or less.

It doesn't surprise me that Theo flew VFR conditions in a long proven, very reliable Seaplane (Cessna 185 with Floats) with a "landing strip" virtually anywhere along the coast or marsh. If the FAA was that concerned they would have pulled his license.

I suspect they got caught in a sudden and severe thunderstorm and had to ditch in heavy wind and rain, challenging for any pilot IFR or not. The wave height and chop in those conditions is very difficult for float planes.

Theo's caution in not flying in fog and the amount of hours he had safely going to and from the islands tell me he was a careful, skilled pilot. But, Mother Nature doesn't care she is the enemy that must be respected.

RIP Theo you were a great guide and better man.

quote:

---

quote:
Buddy's uncle and cousin were his passengers and only lived because Toe went back to plane for life jackets for them.


I was actually going to say, at this point we don't know cause of death. Could have been during crash or something after like drowning. Either way, RIP Theophile.

---

Not to speculate but... having seen a Navy plane crash on a flight deck - where all the occupants of the Electronic warfare bird escaped pretty unscathed - the bird did not, and having come up on the immediate aftermath of an A-6 intruder crash site, a crop duster crash and the next day of the NOLA panam crash site. going back into any plane that crashes - the first thing that comes to mind is lots of broken lexan and shards of sharp metal everywhere - getting in and out of any of the wreckage I have seen up close - while swimming would be downright dangerous getting in and back out of said plane in itself could have been life threatening. If he had serious / fatal injuries from the crash and still went back and got PFDs for his passengers... to him.

quote:

---

Buddy's uncle and cousin were his passengers and only lived because Toe went back to plane for life jackets for them. Now, would you sue the estate of someone who saved your life?

---

quote:

---

you are probably right, I was just curious how you knew. passengers were my uncle and cousin

---

So are you guys buddies?

quote:

---

Buddy's uncle and cousin were his passengers and only lived because Toe went back to plane for life jackets for them.

---

I had no doubt in my mind that Cpt. Toe aided in their survival due to knowing what kind of man he was.

That said, how are the survivors doing? I have not seen any reports of their status other than Sunday when one of them was transported to University in critical condition.

quote:

---

I would not count on any insurance company paying money out of goodwill.

---

I'm betting dollars to donuts they'll attempt to make an out of court settlement. I've seen it happen before and it even happened to my wife.

She was driving home from her job and had a stop sign on her street and the street she was turning on was one way with her needing to take a right hand turn. She looked to her left for oncoming traffic and when she saw none, she proceeded with the turn------only to be struck by a man on a bicycle riding the wrong way on the one way street. He insisted on calling the cops and they exchanged information, including her insurance carrier.

The guy got a ticket for riding his bike the wrong way on a one way street, but even then, my wife's insurance company sent him a check for $1000 and she didn't find out about this until renewal was due on the insurance about 3 months later.

quote:

---

Have the passengers/sports on his plane made a statement yet?

---

I haven't heard much about the other two passengers as to their condition and the last I saw posted that I read, they were still in the hospital.

I won't venture to guess as to how this happened or what their options were prior to the crash.

It's just a sad thing all the way around and sometimes bad things happen to good people.

quote:

---

I haven't heard much about the other two passengers as to their condition and the last I saw posted that I read, they were still in the hospital.

---

I haven’t heard anything about them since Sunday’s accident. I find it odd that their FB page has not made a post about Theophile’s passing and to offer their sympathies to the clients during their recovery.

Ginger has made posts about losing her soul mate on her page, but nothing from Bourgeouis Fishing Charters.