Zeta Woof

It was only the luck of the draw that prevents me showing you the last thing Ted Stevens ever saw.

That morning at Talkeetna Air Taxi we boarded the DeHavilland Beaver and not the Turbine Otter. They have three Beavers and two Otters, and a couple Cessna 185s. All excellent planes in top condition, even if they are fifty years old.

Airplanes are not maintained in the same manner as cars. Imagine that you took your car to an expert certified mechanic every 6000 miles, gave him a blank check, and told him to inspect and fix everything — everything — down to the map lights. And if everything wasn't fixed, right then and there, you weren't getting the keys back. That's the way planes are maintained.

So don't worry about flying in old planes. Worry about flying with young pilots.