BajaNomad
Not logged in [Login - Register]

Go To Bottom
Printable Version  
Author: Subject: The Passing of a Friend
Brandi
Junior Nomad
*




Posts: 30
Registered: 8-29-2003
Member Is Offline


[*] posted on 11-12-2008 at 12:37 PM
The Passing of a Friend


It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that the family of Douglas Bowles has informed me of his passing. Doug died on Sunday, November 9, 2008 as the result of an airplane crash.

Family and friends will be gathering on Friday, November 14 @ 5:00 p.m. to celebrate his life at the Mile High Airport Cafe at the Hesperia Airport, 7070 Summit Valley Road, Hesperia. All are welcome to join.

He will be sorely missed by all who knew him.
View user's profile
Paulina
Ultra Nomad
*****




Posts: 3812
Registered: 8-31-2002
Location: BCN
Member Is Offline


[*] posted on 11-12-2008 at 01:05 PM


Brandi,

I am very sorry to hear of the loss of your good friend. Our thoughts will be with you, his friends and family.

Paulina, Dern y Cody




\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
View user's profile
capt. mike
Elite Nomad
******




Posts: 8085
Registered: 11-26-2002
Location: Bat Cave
Member Is Offline

Mood: Sling time!

[*] posted on 11-12-2008 at 02:26 PM


Spent many times talking with Doug by phone as we liked to check in on baja info a lot.
this is very sad news. He was a very active and enthusiastic baja flyer.

RIP Doug.




formerly Ordained in Rev. Ewing\'s Church by Mail - busted on tax fraud.......
Now joined L. Ron Hoover\'s church of Appliantology
\"Remember there is a big difference between kneeling down and bending over....\"

www.facebook.com/michael.l.goering
View user's profile
Juan del Rio
Senior Nomad
***




Posts: 560
Registered: 6-8-2004
Member Is Offline


[*] posted on 11-12-2008 at 02:28 PM
Rest in Peace Doug...


He really loved Baja for sure. I hope you're up there flying with the Angels.

PDR_0995X.JPG - 27kB
View user's profile Visit user's homepage
DianaT
Select Nomad
*******




Posts: 10020
Registered: 12-17-2004
Member Is Offline


[*] posted on 11-12-2008 at 07:27 PM


So very sorry for the loss of your friend. Our thoughts are with his family.

Diane and John




View user's profile
El Camote
Senior Nomad
***




Posts: 514
Registered: 9-7-2003
Location: Above the clouds
Member Is Offline

Mood: y Blues

[*] posted on 11-12-2008 at 07:40 PM


He was the best entertainment act at Alfy's. The man could spin a yarn like a propeller!

What a great loss.




Knowledge is good. - Emil Faber
View user's profile
David K
Honored Nomad
*********


Avatar


Posts: 65298
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline

Mood: Have Baja Fever

[*] posted on 11-12-2008 at 08:47 PM


Very sad to be sure...

Doug (called 'Doooglas' by locals) was our host many times at Alfonsina's... After Baja Mur and I went to Mision Santa Maria in 1999, we went to Alfonsina's and stayed at Doug's place a few nights... I enjoyed the first and maybe only hot tub at Alfonsina's after our ordeal on the Widowmaker grade.

Doug took us flying over Mision Santa Maria and the canyon below so we could see where we were just days before...

I flew home to Oceanside with Doug from Gonzaga Bay... it was a nice flight, my first in a small plane over Baja.

In 2002, Doug invited my son and I camping nearby to join him for Thanksgiving dinner at Alfonsina's:



A very cool pilot & amigo... Vaya con los angeles, Doooglas!




"So Much Baja, So Little Time..."

See the NEW www.VivaBaja.com for maps, travel articles, links, trip photos, and more!
Baja Missions and History On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/bajamissions/
Camping, off-roading, Viva Baja discussion: https://www.facebook.com/groups/vivabaja


View user's profile Visit user's homepage
The Sculpin
Nomad
**




Posts: 401
Registered: 9-3-2002
Location: Back in the Saddle
Member Is Offline

Mood: Riding into the Sunset, looking for a sunrise.

[*] posted on 11-12-2008 at 10:14 PM


From the North County Times

ENCINITAS: Local man killed in San Bernardino plane crash
By SARAH GORDON - Staff Writer | Wednesday, November 12, 2008 5:08 PM PST ∞

An Encinitas man was among four people killed in a weekend plane crash in the San Bernardino Mountains.

David Rodney Helland, 60, was a passenger aboard a small airplane that crashed into San Gorgonio Mountain as it flew from Baja California to Hesperia on Sunday, the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner's Department said Tuesday.

Helland's daughter, Sarah Santos, 31, of Encinitas, said Wednesday that her father had lived in the Encinitas neighborhood of Olivenhain with his wife, Barbara, for over 30 years.

Originally from El Cajon, Helland graduated with a degree in biology from UC San Diego and ultimately settled into a long career as a computer engineer at SAIC in Sorrento Valley, Santos said.

On Sunday, he was returning from a weekend trip to Gonzaga Bay, a favorite Mexican getaway where he frequently visited an old friend, Santos said.

"I think they had a great time that weekend," Santos said of her father and the others on the plane.

Helland normally drove to the Mexican fishing town about 400 miles away equipped with a GPS navigational system that sent automatic computer updates notifying his wife and two adult daughters of his location, Santos said.

But last weekend, the plane's pilot, 74-year-old Douglas Ralph Bowles of Hesperia, called Helland to offer him the fourth seat in the plane that would also carry Bowles's 28-year old grandson, Joshua Daniel Chlebek of North Hollywood, and his friend, Oludare Ibiyemi Akinwunmi, 29, of Sun Valley.

Santos said her father knew Bowles from the regular trips the pilot made to Gonzaga Bay.

On the return trip, the plane disappeared from radar during a storm over the summit of San Gorgonio shortly before noon, the Sheriff's-Coroner said.

Santos said her family was hoping for the best when they learned the plane was missing, but on Monday all four men aboard the plane were confirmed dead when authorities discovered the wreckage on a west slope of the mountain.

The National Transportation and Safety Board is investigating the accident.

Helland loved spending time with his family, including his three young grandchildren, Santos said. He liked building projects and had just completed a wooden play castle for the children.

"He was such a good father, such a good grandfather," she said.

Contact staff writer Sarah Gordon at (760) 740-3517 or sgordon@nctimes.com




Whoa there, Cowboy - pull back on those reins!
View user's profile
Pompano
Elite Nomad
******




Posts: 8194
Registered: 11-14-2004
Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
Member Is Offline

Mood: Optimistic

[*] posted on 11-13-2008 at 02:49 AM


So sad, first Skeet's friend, now another Baja pilot lost. The death of anyone diminishes us all. My sincere condolences to friends and family.



I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
View user's profile
fdt
Ultra Nomad
*****


Avatar


Posts: 4059
Registered: 9-7-2003
Location: Tijuana, Baja California
Member Is Offline

Mood: Yeah, what if it all goes right

[*] posted on 11-13-2008 at 07:01 AM


I am so sorry about this.



A well informed Baja California traveler is a smart Baja California traveler!
View user's profile Visit user's homepage
CaboKimberly
Banned





Posts: 4
Registered: 7-24-2006
Location: Cabo San Lucas & Tucson, AZ
Member Is Offline

Mood: sunny

[*] posted on 11-13-2008 at 09:54 AM


The accident report will say it was continued VFR flight into IFR conditions. They tried to fly the Banning Pass in a winter storm.
View user's profile
Kell-Baja
Nomad
**




Posts: 360
Registered: 1-18-2003
Location: San Diego
Member Is Offline


[*] posted on 11-13-2008 at 02:55 PM


What a tragic loss. Prayers to the family & friends.
View user's profile Visit user's homepage
capt. mike
Elite Nomad
******




Posts: 8085
Registered: 11-26-2002
Location: Bat Cave
Member Is Offline

Mood: Sling time!

[*] posted on 11-13-2008 at 03:51 PM


any number of things might have happend and i am loathe to speculate since there were 4 fatalities.
WX can certainly be a huge factor as are mechanical and sometimes pilot issues. Even if Doug was current in IFR mode the winds associated with that passing cold front Sun suggested that all light aircraft avoid areas near mountainous terrain. The NWS had issued sigmets which apply to large AC as well as the little guys.
when that happens small planes need to keep clear of all areas affected by the sigmets. Airmets are bad enough and apply generally to only small AC.
i followed that system from my armchair Sun as the AZ Sams were returning from baja same day and by the time they got to southern AZ the WX had gotten very crappy. winds were intense.

i like to fly in the soup every once in a while to keep IFR current but the most frightening times i have had to endure were in clear air close to mountainous terrain with frontal activity about. More than once i've said let's turn back and wait this out.




formerly Ordained in Rev. Ewing\'s Church by Mail - busted on tax fraud.......
Now joined L. Ron Hoover\'s church of Appliantology
\"Remember there is a big difference between kneeling down and bending over....\"

www.facebook.com/michael.l.goering
View user's profile

  Go To Top

 






All Content Copyright 1997- Q87 International; All Rights Reserved.
Powered by XMB; XMB Forum Software © 2001-2014 The XMB Group






"If it were lush and rich, one could understand the pull, but it is fierce and hostile and sullen. The stone mountains pile up to the sky and there is little fresh water. But we know we must go back if we live, and we don't know why." - Steinbeck, Log from the Sea of Cortez

 

"People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care." - Theodore Roosevelt

 

"You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who they think can do nothing for them or to them." - Malcolm Forbes

 

"Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else's hands, but not you." - Jim Rohn

 

"The best way to get the right answer on the internet is not to ask a question; it's to post the wrong answer." - Cunningham's Law







Thank you to Baja Bound Mexico Insurance Services for your long-term support of the BajaNomad.com Forums site.







Emergency Baja Contacts Include:

Desert Hawks; El Rosario-based ambulance transport; Emergency #: (616) 103-0262