Teacher Tails - Karrer Shorts
Short stories. No annoying ads. No mercenary pitches. Just stories to warm your heart. Vetted published articles/tales/short stories (L.A.Times, Newsweek, Seattle Times, Teacher Magazine, Chicken Soup, Miami Herald, etc.) by Paul H.Karrer about: Kids, Teachers, Parents, Education, Korea, Incarceration, Samoa, Peace Corps, New Zealand, California, Connecticut, Teaching, Dogs, Chess, Multicultural Marriage, Foods-real or imagined and more. Most are light-hearted.
Teacher Tails - Karrer Shorts
John Denver's Plane Crash Death in Monterey Bay
The author describes John Denver's last moments before he crashed into Monterey Bay.
MURDER, MYSTERY, & MAYHEM
“Take Me Home Country Road.”
October 12, 1997. Monterey Bay
It was 5:28 p.m., and a plane was about 150 feet from shore, and 500 feet above the ocean when eyewitnesses heard a popping sound. A second or two later, people watched in horror as the plane plunged straight down into the water and broke apart on impact. Horribly pieces of the pilot were found floating in the debris about 20 minutes later. The body was so badly mutilated that all that could be determined was the victim was a male. The rescue team scooped up what they could find in multiple garbage bags, but what was left weighed only 128 pounds. But that 128 lbs. wasn’t just anybody. It was all that remained of John Denver.
John Denver had rented a home in Monterey, and earlier purchased a "Long-Eze, ( a two-seated fiberglass plane) originally built from a kit only a few years previously. Denver had already flown the plane into Monterey from Santa Maria, and on that particular Sunday afternoon he wanted to test it on a flight down the coast. Denver had practiced three touch and go landings - in which he swooped down to the runway and then pulled back up - before receiving the nod of approval from the Monterey Airport to take the plane on his test spin.
He wore: a baseball hat with "Yuma Rod and Gun Club" on it, green Haggar trousers (size 32/32), a multi color sweater, black jockey shorts (TMI), cowboy boots and dark socks.
The 53-year-old singer's last words were a calm query about whether he had transmitted a four-digit code clearly. "Do you have it now?"
Ultimately, rightly or wrongly the cause of the crash was allegedly that Denver failed to refuel the tank. That, plus a lack of training. It seems that he was distracted from flying while trying to grab a handle controlling fuel flow valve. Experts believe Denver frantically spent the last moments of his life trying to switch from this main tank to the reserve one, perhaps not realizing both were empty.
His remains were cremated, and his funeral was held on Friday, October 17th, at the Faith Presbyterian Church in Aurora, Colorado. Over 2000 people, and John Denver's horse Tonto showed up to the tribute,
Born: December 31, 1943 in Roswell, New Mexico
Died: October 12, 1997 in Monterey, California
