Raw emotion: the only way I can really get across how I feel about the tragic helicopter accident that involved Kobe Bryant and 8 others.
Social Media and all the News Media outlets will say what they want to say to get the ratings and reactions they want and need. I’ve read and heard so many different scenarios, speculations, assumptions, and even blame. I have my assumptions as well.
I am a retired Army pilot. I continue to fly as a commercial pilot for Helicopter Emergency Medical Services. I will probably sound insensitive but having been in aviation as long as I have been, the end result will be “Pilot Error”. Most accidents are.
For my fellow aviators, stay humble. Don’t. Be. That. Guy. Every single one of you have walked away from a mistake that could have ended catastrophically. I know I have. I learn from others, and from my own mistakes. So, before you bash this pilot who unfortunately is not here to defend himself, take a long, hard look in the mirror and reflect. Shut the fuck up, share some insight and learn. LEARN. As aviators, that’s what we are suppose to do to better ourselves and prevent this from happening again. Ara Zobayan is human. A soldier in a brotherhood of helicopter pilots and loved by many.
On another note, once a soldier always a soldier, right? I have lost my best friend, as well as many other friends and brothers at arms in combat. I have burdens that I will carry for the rest of my life. I, like the other millions of you, chose to defend a nation to the death. We volunteered to die for our country and if deep down, you knew you couldn’t or were not strong enough to stand by this, then you betrayed our country by joining. You may have “not signed up for this” but really, you did. Our lives, yours nor mine, are no less or no more important than Kobe Bryant’s. We signed up for this. Not for glamour or fame.
For those who gave and give their lives, they will always be remembered and have their version of a hero’s welcome. We will always be soldiers but some have to lose the sense of entitlement, and get off your high horse. You signed up for this shit. So did I. I can be upset about a celebrity dying without disrespecting those who died for our country.
And most of all, I’m a father just like a lot of the victims of this tragic accident. As a pilot, as a soldier, as a father, I have replayed in many ways with my wildest of imaginations, what happened that day. The Pilot, a father figure. A father with his daughter and wife, Kobe with his daughter, a mother and let’s not forget the surviving father with 2 children who are now motherless. All with the same promise we make to our daughters, our children. “I will protect you for as long as I am alive”. You can spin it how you want. For a brief second, the thought of a broken promise, “I’m Sorry” could have been the very last thought, the last thing said. That thought hurts.
I’m not perfect. I’m not the perfect pilot. I’m not the perfect soldier, I’m not the perfect father. I. Am. Not. Perfect. PERIOD! Far from it. Neither were they.
Everyone has a different status. So, lets mourn and celebrate life as we should and not one up the next guy. Think about it: If your parents die, you become an orphan; if your husband dies you become a widow; if your wife dies, you become a widower. There are no words for losing a child. It is impossible to articulate such a loss.
Your time will come.
Your time will end.
How will you be remembered?
What will be your legacy?
I’ll end this with one of Kobe Bryant’s quotes:
“The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great in whatever they want to do”.
Mamba Forever