[Fists] Silent Key

[Nancy WZ8C]

I want to share this article about  FISTS #8697 - AC7QG. It is from the
Bonner County Daily Bee newspaper and was sent in by Paul's code buddy, Paul
VE3IKS.

If you'd like to send a note to AC7QG's widow, the address is

Sandy Davis
1371 Rapid Lightning Creek Road
Sandpoint ID 83864-4753

73
Nancy

Local pilot dies in plane crash

By LUCY DUKES
and KEITH KINNAIRD
Staff writers

     SANDPOINT -- Bonner County pilot Paul Davis was killed Sunday when his
plane crashed north of Sandpoint.
     Davis, 55, and his passenger, Dan McNall, were dropping candy on a
party for five Sandpoint High School graduates when his 1998 Aviat Husky
A-1A plummeted to the ground in the Grouse Creek area.
     McNall, 22, was injured and taken to Deaconess Medical Center in
Spokane. He reportedly suffered a broken nose and possible fracture to his
wrist, and was scheduled to be released on Monday.
     Davis and McNall were trying to surprise the group with the afternoon
flight and the candy when the crash happened, said Dan's sister, Jamie
McNall.
     "I was just sitting there...all of the sudden I heard this crash," said
Jamie McNall, who has flown with Davis numerous times.
     Her father, Alan McNall, was cooking at the time, she said. He threw
his spatula and ran to the plane.
     "My dad got to the plane first thing," she said.
     But it was too late for Davis, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
     The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety
Board are investigating the crash. The agencies are still trying to
determine the cause the accident, said Mike Fergus, an FAA spokesman in
Seattle.
     On Monday, NTSB Senior Air Safety Investigator Kurt Anderson was
inspecting the wreckage for clues that could pinpoint what doomed the
flight. An autopsy is also planned to determine if there was a medical
reason why the plane went down.
     Friends say Davis was an experienced pilot who always took the time to
brush up on his flying skills.
     "He's a guy who worked on being a good pilot and always stayed current
(with his license requirements), which is what a lot of pilots don't do,"
said friend and Sandpoint Airport Manager Jorge O'Leary.
     Davis was flying a plane renown for its utility and designed for
takeoffs and landings on short, primitive landing strips in remote areas.
But the single-engine, fixed-winged bush plane is relatively light.
     "There had to have been some fluky weather involved," O'Leary said.
"His airplane is very susceptible to wind shear and wind gusts. It's a light
airplane with a lot of wing area."
     Paul Davis was a lot of things to a lot of people: a firefighter, a
pilot, a veteran, an outdoorsman, an amateur radio operator, a friend and a
husband. He volunteered for Bonner County Search and Rescue, in addition to
Northside Fire District and the Sandpoint Fire Department.
     "Things had to always make sense to him," said Sandpoint Fire Chief
Robert Tyler. "He always had to understand exactly how things worked and why
things worked."
     Tyler also remembers how Davis would send him numerous e-mails that
covered everything from politics to the Bonner County Airport Advisory
Board, where Davis also volunteered.
     "I used to get tons and tons of stuff from him," Tyler said, opening
one of the e-mails.
     Some were pictures, some agendas and some opinions. They're addressed
to "Jefe," because that's what Davis called Tyler.
     Davis was also a highly decorated Marine who served in Vietnam. He was
awarded a number of Purple Hearts and the distinguished Navy Flying Cross,
according to O'Leary.
     O'Leary said Davis shared memories of a harrowing experience in
Vietnam. Davis was aboard a Huey helicopter when it crashed in a river,
killing everybody but him.
     Davis, a financial consultant by trade, could often be found the
grounds of Sandpoint Airport, sometimes flinging tennis balls to his beloved
Australian shepherd, Bravo.
     Davis was also one of the more outspoken members of the airport board.
He sometimes chafed at the way some county officials handled airport
business.
     "It's like mating elephants. Everything's done at a high level; there's
a lot of grunting and groaning and it takes two years for results," he said
in a interview a week before his death.