October 19, 2005

Dear Students, Parents, and Families:

As you know by now, we lost two of our AHS family members this past weekend.  On Saturday, October 15th Kandyce Cowart and Brittany Boatright were scheduled for a Young Eagles flight, sponsored by the EAA.  It was not surprising that these two enthusiastic young ladies signed up for the very first time slot of 9:00 AM.  Both dreamed of becoming pilots and were eagerly awaiting the experience of flying from Boeing Field to Paine Field, along with 78 other freshman students who planned to fly on Saturday. 

Tragically, the Piper Cherokee airplane that transported our dear Brittany and Kandyce did not make the return flight from Paine Field.  At Paine Field, their plane briefly touched the runway, rolled onto the grass, and went airborne again.  It crashed in a lot cleared for residential construction just south of the airfield.  The pilot, Mr. Gene Hokanson, along with Brittany and Kandyce, did not survive the crash.  No one on the ground was injured.

The accident is now under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).  The NTSB is responsible for conducting investigations of all airplane accidents.  We have been told that the investigation may take several months because it is conducted in a very thorough and methodical manner by NTSB experts.   In the meantime, I would gently remind all of us that speculation about what might have caused the accident is just that—speculation.  Let’s allow the experts to do their jobs, and in the meantime let’s put our energies into supporting the families of our girls and the pilot.

I have been in touch with the Cowart and Boatright families every day since the accident.  They are deeply grieved by the loss of their loved ones, and yet they want all of the AHS family to know that Brittany and Kandyce loved Aviation High School—their fellow students, teachers, and their classes.   Both families remarked that their girls even looked forward to Monday mornings when they could rejoin their friends and engage in studies and project work that they loved.  Mrs. Boatright told me today that she recently asked Brittany if she thought she might want to change schools to take other classes and programs.  Brittany’s answer was a resolute, “No way!”  A similar message was given to us by Mrs. Cowart at Sunday evening’s gathering in Burien.  Her words were, in effect, that Kandy would not want anyone at AHS to lose their passion, due to her death, for aviation or the pure joy of flying.  In fact, Mrs. Cowart reminded us that Kandy would expect us to move forward!  Obviously, Mrs. Cowart was doing exactly what Kandy would expect as she delivered this very inspiring and dignified message to us.  Her message deeply touched the hearts of everyone in the room that evening.  And when Mr. and Mrs. Cowart showed up at school on Monday morning to speak to students in Mr. McComb’s first period science class, she was even more inspiring when she encouraged the students to take their Young Eagles flights.  She then added, “And I will be there to see the smiles on your faces when you get off the airplanes.” 

These two grieving, inspiring, and amazing families have forever captured my heart.  Both families want to extend a personal invitation (through this letter) to each and every one of us to attend the memorial services for Kandy and Brittany.  They invite us to share our memories and stories as the lives of their daughters are celebrated.   Part of each service will include an “open microphone” specifically for this purpose. While sharing is not required or even expected, I personally know that it is comforting to the families to hear from friends and acquaintances who knew their loved ones in special ways.  Humor is also good for the soul, and it’s okay to laugh when sharing something memorable about our friends.