The recent tragic aircraft collision in Washington, D.C., immediately made me remember that when I was 16 growing up in West Asheville, there was a very similar accident on July 19, 1967, when 82 people died when Piedmont Airlines Flight 22 hit a Cessna near the Asheville airport. I remember finding out about it from a neighbor and was shocked.
Never will forget that day, and it was the one where I realized that when commercial planes crash, a lot of families are suddenly faced with the death or deaths of loved ones. Little did I know then that, later in life, the U.S. Navy would make me work as an air traffic controller myself.
The recent crash made me think the air traffic controller f***ed up, and I feel their pain. I handled many emergency landings, where planes crashed, and all kinds of problems where I had lives in my hands. I hated that job but was good at it since I was promoted to E-5 in under four years, which is rare for the Navy.
Needless to say, I did not want to do that job anymore, and D.C. brings the PTSD back. I feel very sad about all the people who died, especially the young skaters.
— John Penley
Lake Havasu City, Ariz.
