Atheist activist who died in plane crash wasn't supposed to be flying at night

[rug]

December 15, 2016, 2:51 PM
By Robert McCoppin
Chicago Tribune

Atheist activist Rob Sherman was flying at night — in apparent violation of his pilot's license — when his plane crashed, according to a federal report.

Sherman was flying Friday night from his home in Poplar Grove to a holiday party at Schaumburg Regional Airport, but he never made it, according to a preliminary report on the crash released Thursday by the National Transportation Safety Board.

He died after his plane crashed in Marengo about 6:20 p.m. Friday, though his body and the wreckage weren't discovered until the next day, the report states. There were no witnesses, but the time of the crash was based on preliminary air traffic control radar data.

A passer-by found the wreckage of Sherman's plane, a Zodiac CH-601XL SLSA, Saturday morning in a farm field in rural Marengo, about 13 miles from where he took off.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-rob-sherman-crash-report-met-20161215-story.html

[guillaumeb]

1. Sherman was a champion of free speech and a champion of the Constitutional

mandate of separation of church and state. His energy, dedication, and vision will be missed.

[AtheistCrusader]

2. I take a dim view of people who violate NVFR.

The rules are in place for a reason. Shame he chose to ignore them.


Takeoffs are optional. Landings are mandatory.

[rug]

3. Night visual flight rules?

[AtheistCrusader]

4. Yep. He wasn't instrument rated.

No IFR, should not have been flying that night.

Could have killed literally anyone or multiple someone's who did not assent to share his risk.

[okasha]

5. If I recall correctly,

JFK Jr.also crashed in conditions for which he wasn't rated.

For once, we agree. Doing things you aren't trained to do with potentially deadly equipment is not a good thing.