I guess I would describe myself as a nodding acquaintance of the late Rob Holland. We spent part of an afternoon at the Abbotsford Air Show years ago shooting a video. He was patient, gracious, forthcoming and laser focused on the task at hand. Ever since, whenever our paths crossed he would give me that nod.
That was his way. Never a big showman, no entourages or flashy gear. Pure focus on being better every day. And when that canopy closed, pure aviation magic. One quote stuck with me from our time together. “This is all I ever wanted to do. No Plan B. This is it,” he said as he went off to fly the “race” with the jet-powered truck.
So I guess it’s kind of fitting that his fatal crash at Langley Air Force Base has been so understated. In an era when influencers jump on every high profile crash to try and pull as many views as they can with theories based mainly on other YouTube videos and their own experiences, it’s eerily quiet on the crash cause speculation front.
Following this crash, arguably the most compellingly puzzling one that I can remember, there is practically none of it and I looked. I found one influencer’s stab at it but he had nothing–except lots of views.
They say location is everything and when it comes to plane crashes it can be the deciding factor in our coverage. There are dozens of crashes every day and if we tried to cover them all it’s all we’d do. So, circumstances set the standard for our coverage. It’s purely subjective and the loss of someone of Holland’s stature is an automatic above-the-fold story and news alert.
At first I thought the lack of speculation on the cause of the crash was out of respect for Holland and maybe a little introspection on the part of the YouTube crowd. I mean if it can happen to someone like him…..
But then I realized it was the location. There is absolutely no chance that there is no video or firsthand witness accounts of that crash. Langley Air Force Base is one of most sensitive military installations anywhere and every angle of that tragedy has been recorded. Obviously the military has determined that only the people actually investigating the crash will get to see the data and while I understand that sentiment I wonder if it’s a bit outdated.
The rest of the world is full of blabbermouths carrying cinema quality cameras in their back pockets. Doorbell buttons, motion-activated porch lights and now drones seem to be shooting video of everything everywhere. A lot can be gleaned from video of a plane crash and when combined with ATC audio the average armchair crash investigator has a lot of evidence at their disposal.
And although I have long resisted sharing my opinions on the cause of crashes, especially here, and I wonder if that’s serving any purpose. Certainly any discussion of a crash must be respectful but is there any real point in avoiding public dissemination of the evidence-based facts? There may even be some benefit. A high profile stall/spin crash of a plane like mine has certainly made me much more aware of the stall margins and the rapid results of not respecting them.
So, it’s almost with nostalgia that we patiently wait for details on Holland’s crash but I’m wondering if there’s any benefit to the security curtain drawn around the circumstances. I guess we’ll all find out in a year or two when the NTSB report is issued.
