My brother Tom died on February 28, 2026. He was flying a friend's plane to the Oroville Airport, where Tom would inspect the aircraft. Two miles from the airport, Tom's radio went silent. Shortly after that, he crashed. No one else was hurt. It is probable that Tom had a medical emergency, and lost consciousness. His wife Georgia explained: "Details show that he likely went unconscious before the crash. He was communicating with a friend by radio. After he announced he was 2 miles from final, it went silent. His friend didn't hear anything from Tom. The plane went straight down and Impact caused instant death. I am comforted by that thought. It's even possible he suffered a massive stroke or heart attack and was dead before Impact. Tom was an excellent pilot, he practiced emergency landings often. If he was in trouble and conscious, he would have said something to his friend."
For Tom, interest in aircraft and flight began early.
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| Tom's gift, second birthday- something that flies! |
Our father hung model airplanes in our garage. The model I remember the most was the Gee Bee. Those models could fly - sort of. They were control-line models made from kits, not radio-controlled models, even though they had internal combustion engines. Dad would take us out to Orange Park or San Bruno Park to fly these planes. We would stand in the middle of a grassy field and hold onto the handle of the plane, spinning around in circles to make the model "fly", while the engine whirred the propeller. Much later, radio-controlled models were used.
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| Some of Tom's collection, decades later |
Spinning around is also what I did with Tom and the youngest 4 siblings. I gave them airplane rides in our back yard, holding onto an arm and a leg, or both arms (NOTE: I have since learned that this is not recommended, as it can pull arms out of sockets). My siblings would line up for these rides. After a few up-and-down-and-around spins and sound effects that I made - something like: "Yeoomm..blblublu-yeoowm blblublu.." I would toss the "airplane" onto a pile of grass. Tom was always the first, getting these rides before he became too heavy for me (I joked with him several years ago that he needed to give me one, now). Sometimes I missed the pile of grass, but my sibs didn't seem to mind.
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| The Aeronca L-3 at the Half Moon Bay airport |
As a side story- Laurie and I were told to fly with our father and his friend in his friend's airplane. I was 8, Laurie was 7. I think the guy's name was Bob. Anyway, Bob's airplane had a starter for the engine, unlike the Aeronca, which had to be hand-propped. Bob wanted to show off, so he did a couple of loop-de-loops. I almost lost my lunch - Laurie and I were pretty green after that. I kept hoping we'd land already, but Bob told us that he was now going to show us something he called "lighter than air"...I could swear that he cut the engine - but that isn't done - is it? Anyway, the plane suddenly and quickly dropped altitude. The engine went silent. Felt like my stomach wound up in my throat! He started the engine again, and of course we were o.k., but it seemed that for me, each flight confirmed the reality that I am a land-lubber. Not so with Tom - he was hooked! He liked being "up in the air". In fact, Tom, Ben and Laurie all learned to fly the Aeronca. Laurie even obtained her student pilot's license when she turned 16 and flew solo shortly after that. Tom and Ben eventually got their pilot's licenses.
Tom not only enjoyed piloting aircraft, he enjoyed working on them, ultimately starting his own business, Table Mountain Aviation in Oroville, CA. Tom was that guy whose car bumper strip said: "I'd rather be flying". He did confess to me that he was not comfortable flying in commercial airlines. Maybe he knew too much? Since then, he has traveled to Europe and other trips, so he may have gotten used to it. But small aircraft were another story. He was at home in the cockpit. Here is a video that Mike shot in 2014 when Tom took him for a ride:
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Tom and his son David at the Half Moon Bay airport, 2014 |
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| Tom, me and David, in front of the old 3-Zero Cafe at the HMB airport. |
We even were lucky enough to watch Eddie Andreini do his stunts overhead from our house(!), many times - when he practiced for an event. He often tipped his wing at us as we photographed his stunts. Tom admired Eddie Andreini, and was impressed that we knew him.
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| A photo I took of Eddie Andreini and Mike at our gallery in 2006. |
It's so cliche' to say that someone "...died doing what they loved", but in Tom's case, that was true. I am convinced that his heart gave out prior to the crash. In essence, Tom left us while he was still in the air. With the exception of being with his wife and family, that was his happy place.
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