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RV-8 Down - Houston Area

I know Bob real well and he is a very good guy. We were in the same flight of four and I watched every bit of the accident. Please, please, please everyone be careful out there... I'm still having the replays of the accident and can't get it out of my head.....
 
Those TX boys are pretty tough, he'll be back in the saddle in a few.

Stephen, give him our best VAF get well wishes.
 
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Stephen

I was in the yellow with blue nose Sonerai that left about 1/2 hour before you did. I experienced a 20 mph wind shear taking off, both at the center of the runway & then again while over the trees. Do you think that could have had any bearing on the accident?

Ivan from Sugar Land.
 
PIREP

Stephen

I was in the yellow with blue nose Sonerai that left about 1/2 hour before you did. I experienced a 20 mph wind shear taking off, both at the center of the runway & then again while over the trees. Do you think that could have had any bearing on the accident?

Ivan from Sugar Land.

Comment about PIREP retracted, I did not realize it was an un-towered airport.
 
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Bob Milne Update 4/5/09 RV8 Crash Angelton

Hi everyone, for those of you that don?t know me, (Dave Murphy) I?ve been a friend of Bob?s for 20 years. Unfortunately those Texas boys might be tough but this one is going to take more than a couple of weeks to be back in the saddle. Bob is on a ventilator and burned pretty bad on his hands, forearms and face and neck. His vitals are good and all signs look good for now. They will wean him off it as soon as they can and for now chest x-ray?s look good but it will take a couple of days to see if any problems develop with his lungs. There was a small hole in his shoulder and cleaned out today (4/5/09) and will undergo plastic surgery in a day or two. For know they have him sedated and resting comfortably
 
Give him our best when he comes to, he will be in our prayers tonight.

Please keep us updated on his progress.
 
What happened

Any information as to what occurred?

Lets keep our thoughts on our RV Brother!!!!

I know Bob real well and he is a very good guy. We were in the same flight of four and I watched every bit of the accident. Please, please, please everyone be careful out there... I'm still having the replays of the accident and can't get it out of my head.....
 
my prayers for a speedy recovery for Bob!

best of luck with pulling thru this! good people at Memorial Herman, he'll be well taken care of.
 
Thought I'd share these photo's of Bob's plane. Some of you in the Houston area might recognize it (him) from the photos.

Phil

DSC01465-1.jpg


100_0920-1.jpg
 
Steve,

I've seen Bob's plane parked outisde of his hanger a number of times on my way to Larry's. Also I always get a huge smile every time I see you guys flying formation overhead.

Please pass my family's prayers along.

-Matt Sturgis
 
Apparently 4-4-09...

...was a bad RV day.

IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 88WG
Make/Model: EXP
Description: RV6A
Date: 04/04/2009
Time: 1842

Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Unknown

LOCATION
City: ENGLEWOOD State: FL Country: US

DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES, THERE WERE TWO PERSONS ON BOARD, ONE WAS FATALLY INJURED, ONE SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURIES, NEAR ENGLEWOOD, FL

Hoping the injured recover quickly...
 
Hello, My name is Sherry Quekemeyer. I am a B756 FO for CAL. Bob was one of my instructors and is a great guy. When we heard about his accident, a group mobilized to help his family. I am a participant in the "Help-A-Pilot" internal CAL Charity which helps CAL pilots and their families in times of need. Through this work, and my friendships with Freya Schiller and John Ryan, I was contacted to assist Bob's wife, Shirley with any needs.

It seems that more than anything, she needs assistance with transportation back and forth to Memorial Hermann Medical Center. Freya has offered her a guest cottage nearby, but Shirley would like to stay at her own home in Kingwood until Bob is out of the coma and alert. Shirley is not capable of driving herself to the med. center. If any of you all are in the Kingwood area and would like to help, please either call our main contact number--THE CAL FLIGHT TRAINING CENTER FRONT DESK (Laura) and leave your contact info, days available, etc. at 281-553-8200 or call me at 832-934-2243. I believe we have everything covered throughout the weekend; however, this will be a very long process. If anyone knows someone who drives daily from Kingwood (perhaps has a spouse who works at the med center), please keep Shirley's needs in mind. Thank you all for your consideration,

Sherry Quekemeyer

PS. Dave Murphy, please call me.
 
A fundraiser for Bob has been set up at the Williams Airport Fly-in on April 18th.

Link for the Fly-in

This picture has been printed in a poster size for everyone to sign at the fly-in. Kind of like a get well card.


100_1488.jpg
 
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That's a great idea -- any thoughts on how those of us who aren't locals can sign the get well card? Or contribute to the fund?

-- Chris
 
I'll get another update later today, but Bob is still hanging in there.

His burns are very severe primarily on the front of his body from the waist up. I'm not real sure about his legs, but from what I hear the majority of the burns are on his upper body.

He's got moderate lung damage from the flames and that's a pretty large concern right now. An infection in the lungs is apparently very difficult to treat.

Bob is still breathing on a respirator, but (as of Thursday night) they cranked down his oxygen to 50%. Once he hits 30%, they'll begin to ease him off the respirator and let him start breathing a little bit on his own.

When he came to the hospital, they anticipated the swelling and we ahead and put tubes in place to keep his airway clear. That's what he's breathing through and why he's on a respirator. It's a good thing they did, because he did have a lot of swelling.

If I can get another update today, I'll pass it along.

Phil
 
I'm Robert Milnes younger brother Bruce from Pensacola, I will post an update on him later today. He is still holding his own and I'm certain your prayers are being heard. Thank you all for your support; he is not out of the woods yet.

Bruce Milne
 
Welcome to VAF!!!!

I'm Robert Milnes younger brother Bruce ------

Bruce Milne

Bruce, welcome to VAF, sorry that the circumstances that brought you here are what they are.

Be sure to tell Bob that a lot of us are out here praying for him.
 
Houston??

Hey Bruce,

Are you in Houston right now? I just spent a little time with Steen and Paul in Kingwood earlier today.

If you're in Houston, let me know. Bob's told me a lot about you and I'd love to meet with you. Also, if you're here, it would be great if you can come to the fund raiser next weekend.

Let me know,
Phil
 
Ditto on what Phil said. We would love for you to come out to the fundraiser!

Hey Bruce,

Are you in Houston right now? I just spent a little time with Steen and Paul in Kingwood earlier today.

If you're in Houston, let me know. Bob's told me a lot about you and I'd love to meet with you. Also, if you're here, it would be great if you can come to the fund raiser next weekend.

Let me know,
Phil
 
Robert Milne update 4-13-09

My wife and I are in Houston until Tuesday and then we need to head back to Pensacola.

I have kept family in the loop - here is yesterdays post 4-13-09,

--------------------------
After I wrote you all earlier Lisa and I went in and visited Bob with Steen and we were recalling some more humorous events from the past on the North Shore of Lake Superior (Minnesota arrowhead region). Steen had stated earlier that he thought that Bob had teared up... While we were talking I touched Bob on the chest and he had a definite reaction to the touch. We also felt he was doing much better; actually we where quite happy about what we saw and reported this to everyone when we returned to the waiting room. The nurses have encouraged us to touch Bob and ask for a response while talking with him. Only two locations are really "touchable" and they are the center of his chest and his toes - Shirley warned us Bob has real ticklish feet but we could not resist one little toe touch - just to check and see if he was with us... We never did get a solid response but he is sedated and under heavy pain medication. Everyone was happy to hear about the responses we reported.

Bob's heart rate was fluctuating a bit yesterday - I'm no doctor but I saw some heart monitor activity just as I left the room that made me nervous. On the monitor it looked like a lot of electrical noise - close rapid peaks and valleys higher and lower than the actual heart beats - like a seismograph recording an earthquake - it occurred through several heartbeats on the monitor. Today his heart rate monitor in my eyes reported a steady and strong heart beat - it stayed pretty much at 97, yesterday it was going from 87 - 100+ up and down rapidly - anything but steady. He is also taking substantially more breaths on his own while still attached to the ventilator. I believe yesterday he was taking about 10 breaths on his own for a total of 24 per minute and today his is up to 19 breaths on his own for a total of 29 or so.

Bob had swelled considerably from the accident and that swelling has gone down to the point his body looks more "normal".

I am very happy to have written you this note, keep the prayers coming. This is going to be a long recovery and visits from family and friends will - I believe - continue to help Bob know he is not alone and give him the strength to pull through and overcome his injuries.

Karen (Bob's Sister) also sent me a link to a Pilots website where a Pilot that took off 30 minutes or so before Bob reported the following:
----------------------------------

I was in the yellow with blue nose Sonerai that left about 1/2 hour before you did. I experienced a 20 mph wind shear taking off, both at the center of the runway & then again while over the trees. Do you think that could have had any bearing on the accident?

=======================================

Karen stated this morning the words ?Bob and plane crash? can not belong in the same sentence. I agree, he is just too calculated a pilot but we will not know the actual circumstances until we can speak to Bob.


Vansairforce, I will continue to post updates as often as possible.

Thank you for your support!! I will metion your support to Bob on todays visit at the hospital. Memorial Herman Burn Center Jones Pavillion.

Bruce Milne
 
Hi Bruce,

Thanks for the informational updates and please know that everyone on this forum is thinking about you and your family whether they are posting it or not. These things affect everyone in general aviation (and more so RV builders) so it's painful and sad just to read.

I think most of us have learned not to opine on causes of crashes because they are often not what they appear to be on the surface.

In this case, I'm going to post the link to the NTSB preliminary data - no conjecture or personal opinion on my part, just what is on the NTSB website. Here is the link:

http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20090406X51627&key=1

Whatever the cause, I know we all hope to see Bob pull through this.

Best Regards,
Stein
 
Hello,

My name is Karen Reynolds and Bob Milne is my brother. I have a request, Bruce has been emailing the family, and we are large and all over the US, from coast to coast, but Bruce is leaving on Tuesday and I am sure he will continue to email us, but he will not be able to see Bob, I will not be there until Friday so could anyone who actually sees my brother, please post on here so the whole family will know. I appreciate any and all information that comes my way and I am fairly sure the rest of the family feels the same way. I will be there for a least a week this time, and should know more about when I WILL BE BACK once I talk and see Shirley.

I want to Thank everyone who has sent best wishes to Bob, Shirley and the family, I know I appreciate them. I also appreciate hearing from all of you, who know about aviation much better than I do.

Again I can only say Thanks
Karen
 
Hey all,

We visited Bob today and his heart rate and breathing where strong. His swelling is still down and the road looks much steadier for him. Shirley is holding up well, I don't know how she is doing it but she is doing great. Her road will begin to get tougher as we all depart. Thank goodness Karen will be down on Friday.

Lisa and I visited the airport where the accident took place and I am now certain it was an accident based on pilot error - as is the NTSB. I'll not bore you with the long version but to say the least Bob is one lucky son of... gun. I do not see how the plane could have come down any better than it did. Most of the energy was absorbed by the first tree that he was not able to clear; his plane then appeared to have angled down clipping smaller trees with his wings and tail section absorbing more energy and then dropping into a semi-dry creek bed with a soft mud bottom. There are picture perfect landings and this is not one of them but if you're going to crash - I can not see any way it could have gone better for him. In my minds eye Bob should not have survived the crash, perhaps he has been saved for a higher purpose.


The only other thing I have is an email from Karen I just received.

Have a great night!

Bruce
========
FYI

This was sent to me from Karen, Kati is her daughter and works for Continental. The email is dated today but I believe the email/conversation took place this past Friday.
-----------------------------------------------------

Bruce,

This message came from Kati today, she was in Houston and had found out that there is a Continental Pilots forum, we can not get into this......She found a captain who got her in and she emailed what she could to me I thank there
is one more, I am simply going through all my emails in order. This is
from the pilot that has had similar injuries and it is a report from today!


----Sorry for leaving email address's exposed tot he public...


Today I visited Bob Milne at Hermann Memorial Hospital and met with his wife Shirley ,his two sons and their spouses. We chatted a bit to get to know one another and then began to discuss what they and Bob may expect in the near and long term.

During our discussions Bob's doctor joined us and gave a frank discussion as to Bob's condition, progress and outlook. Bob was previously diagnosed with 40% burns, but that has been revised to 30%, so that is good. His injuries are very similar to my own some six years ago, but he also has serious deep tissue injuries (3rd degree) to the left side of his scalp, running from his left eyebrow and over his head. That tissue will eventually be removed and replacement tissue grafted in place of it.

Bob's hands and arms have deep tissue burns, along with his face. His face will scar, but that is manageable. His hands and arms require grafting, with the right arm and hand being grafted today. The donor skin was taken from his legs. On Tuesday the left arm and hand will be grafted. Also on Tuesday will be sort of a corner to turn, as that is where the doctors will up his chances to recover if he continues to progress.

He is still on a respirator, but shows signs of trying to breathe on his own. That is good, say the docs. His left lung looks clear, but the right lung shows signs of fluid and infection and is not as functional as the left lung. The right lung, although retaining some fluids (from the lung damage) appears to be getting better. Bob is no longer on 100% O2, as his lung functions and blood oxygen levels are in acceptable ranges. The respirator is now delivering 45% O2, which is really good news in terms of lung function.

Bob will likely remain in an induced coma for another two weeks, depending on his progress. He is by no means out of the woods, even though he is stable and progressing normally. His sons will have to return to active duty in Guam and Iraq in the next two weeks.

Sherry and I have access to Bob's medical status, so we will try to provide you updates as they are pertinent and timely. We may still need the occasional driver for Bob if his wife needs a break, so we will put that out if needed. I researched the MetroBus schedules and printed out their routes and bus numbers so that while Bob's sons are here they can help Bob's wife learn the buses and relieve everyone else the task of a daily drive.

Right now the rest seems to be up to Bob. But as he fights his way through this we will keep you up to speed. Thank all of you for caring about a fallen brother!
 
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God Bless...

I do not know Bob but God bless him and grace for his family in this very hard time.

As a military senior officer that was sent home from the Mid East after a major family tragedy, maybe there is something that could be done to keep his sons here until he is more stable. USAF did it for me.

Prayers and thoughts your way,
 
Robert Milne update 4-15-09

Vans Airforce

My wife and I have returned to Pensacola but will continue to update you all. We were in with Bob yesterday morning (4-14-09) and we were quite pleased to see him resting comfortably and both his heart and breathing was good. The nurse said his is now stable. This is the first time I have see him resting comfortably with out the ventilator heaving his chest up and down etc.

I'm going to work with Karen on reading emails to Bob for the next week and figure out what to do after that. I'm considering recording messages on CD; his boys bought him a CD player for the room and also brought the CD’s he has in his truck for him to listen to. The nurses switch from music to news stations to help keep him up with current affairs.

I plan to post every other day unless news one way or another needs to be sent out. If you would like to be added to my email list just send a request to [email protected].

Thanks - Bruce Milne

Below is a report from one of Bobs nephews on Tuesday,

Hello,

I called the hospital and spoke with the nurse caring for uncle bobby at the time. I got report from him and from what I can ascertain is that, barring any infection, uncle bobby will be able to pull thru this. It will be a long road of healing and recovery. The main part right now is the risk of infection. They are doing silvadine dressing over the non-skin graph areas now to help prevent infection. He has been weaning off the vent, but today, the 13th, the weaning failed according to the nurse. They where doing a dressing change at the same time as the wean trial which I am sure increased is pain, which increased his O2 demand, which is why he failed his wean. But his vent setting are kind of middle of the road but it sounds like there was some successful weaning in the past few days but today was not. This is a common problem with weaning patients. His heart rhythm has stabilized into a normal sinus. Apparently he was doing what is called a-fib which according to the nurse he has a history of a-fib so it just could be from the stress to his body and not any indication of his heart.

As for uncle bobby being able to hear people. They only have him on Ativan and Fentinal for his sedation, he is not in a coma, he is medical sedated. That medication combination is not even considered a medical induced coma. It is just a sedative and a pain medication. So, uncle bobby can hear you. It will all be a fog but he can hear. Also, the nursing might be lifting the sedation a little while family is in the room. The nurse I spoke with said that he has heard of some of the nurses that do that. He does not know if that was done with uncle bobby but it is something that is done. When I did it I always let the family know what I was doing and why. Also, they will have to lighten the sedation during the vent weaning.

Jayson
 
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Update on 4-15-09 Update

Hey all,

I sent out ( posted ) the same update to you all as immediate family, Steens wife Amber emailed me back and told me to call Houston. The word is now Bob is out of the woods unless an uncontrollable infection or uncontrollable phenomena arises. He will have a tracheotomy today, his left hand and arm will receive skin graphs tomorrow and they plan to wake him up on Thursday 4-16-09 or Friday 4-17-09.

Your prayers have been working, I will keep you posted. If there is another venue that would be better for posting updates let me know.

Thanks Again!! Bruce Milne :)
 
Excellent News!!

I have been following this post and have been moved by all the replies. Bob and his family have been and continue to be in my prayers. Glad to hear he is pulling through.
I have a niece who, at 2 years old, fell into a fire pit and received 3rd degree burns to her face and arms and 2nd degree burns to her torso and neck. Its was very difficult those first few days but she pulled through and now she is 100%.
Its going to be a tough rehabilitation process but with family support and all the love its obvious you share as a family, he will have no problem pulling through. Just take a day at a time. You're in our thoughts and prayers.
 
I told ya'll Texans are a tough bunch.

Get well Bobby. There is an RV that needs a little fixin, and lying around in bed ain't gonna get it fixed.
 
New location to check for updates

You can now check on Bob's condition at the URL below. If you would like to post emails to Bob or comment I would be happy to post your words.


http://www.ketchwind.com/aboutbob.htm

I will most likely be copying Van's Air force posts to the webpage's so everyone can read them.

Thanks Again!!:)

Bruce Milne
 
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Hey Bruce,

If you need any more pics of Bob and the plane let me know... I've got plenty of formation pictures.

You can now check on Bob's condition at the URL below. If you would like to post emails to Bob or comment I would be happy to post your words.


http://www.ketchwind.com/aboutbob.htm

I will most likely be copying Van's Air force posts to the webpage's so everyone can read them.

Thanks Again!!:)

Bruce Milne
 
Bob's passing

I just learned about Bob's accident and passing. I've known him for 35 years, since we first met in the Navy Reserves flying A-7s. Last year, Bob called after many years of no contact and we talked about RVs. He was excited about his new RV-8 and we talked about getting together.

Bob's death is a terrible shock. He was an excellent pilot and great person. In years past, we did many things together and I was looking forward to us flying formation again, but now in our RVs. Here are two photos of Bob during our Navy days. That's him in the straight down shot, flying his Corsair II, while I took the photo from my airplane. After many attempts at this photo, he was the only pilot I flew with, who was able to get into a perfect position.

He will be missed.

bobmilne.jpg


a7verticalcroppedweb.jpg
 
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Thanks Dave. It's nice to put a little good history behind what is now a somber, sad story.

You can sure tell you guys were weekend (reserve) warriors. That haircut would have never passed regular Navy. That is a great shot of Bob's Corsair. I did not know the A-7 was a dive bomber!
 
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Very good pics Dave! Yea, Bob was a very good person and getting the call early Sunday morning was a complete shock. He was getting better day by day. He will be missed in this community for sure!
 
Bob Milne Memorial/Celebration - Aug 8th, 2009

Vans Air Force:

We would like to invite you all to attend a memorial/celebration at William's airport in Porter, TX at 11am on August 8, 2009. In case of rain on the 8th it will be held the next day Sunday the 9th at 1pm. Here is the link to the flyer: http://www.ketchwind.com/flyer for bob.jpg

This is considered a fly in and there will be a missing man formation and music provided by Bob's Bluegrass Buddies. The will also be a time to share stories and memories via an open Mic. Please visit www.ketchwind.com/aboutbob.htm for updates.



If anyone has pictures they would like to share please email them to me at [email protected]

Thank you all,

Bruce Milne
 
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VA-203

I'm so sorry to hear about Bob's passing. I hadn't followed the thread lately, because I thought he was well on his way to recovering. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.

I was also surprised to see my old squadron's insignia on the A-7 he was flying. I was in VFA-203 from 1991 - 1995, after they transitioned to F/A-18s.
 
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