The loss of one of our family members while flying is particularly heartbreaking especially when the loss could have so easily been prevented.  I knew Wendell briefly and last saw him at our Crawfish Boil during Sun & Fun.  The fact that he is gone is tragic, however, it would be even more tragic if we as Lancair builders and pilots failed to learn from the facts which led to his untimely death.  Wendell had obtained a full weather briefing prior to initiating his flight and knew well the weather that he would encounter.  It was this severe weather system that he flew into and his failure to acknowledge its severity that caused his death.  

We as pilots have been warned from the day that we first flew that weather was the ultimate threat to our flying and that thunderstorms in particular could quickly cause us to loose control of our aircraft.  No matter what radio system, no matter what EFIS system, no matter what other equipment we may have in our cockpits, the system that we need beyond all else is good judgment.

We now have lost two of our family members within one year to poor judgment regarding weather.  I do not say this to demean either pilot.  I say this to emphasize the absolute necessity to know when to say no to a flight, irrespective of the cost of the delay.  We know that to disregard the possible wrath of Mother Nature is to invite disaster.  

Since coming to Lancair, I have made obtaining insurance for our customers, at a reasonable rate, one of my top concerns.  We have had Lancair Training Seminars ongoing since August of last year.  Weather is one of the items that we emphasize in those seminars.  While no training can substitute for good judgment, perhaps good judgment will accompany those who have been continually reminded, through training, that penetrating thunderstorms can kill.

Again, my sympathies to the Durr family.