Tulsa Aviators React To The Austin Plane Crash

By Chris Wright, The News On 6

TULSA, OK -- Tulsa pilots say they are frustrated by 53-year-old Joseph Andrew Stack's actions in using an airplane in his apparent mission of destruction Thursday, crashing into an Austin federal building.

They hope Thursday's crash doesn't create a black eye for private aviators.

After more than two decades as a commercial pilot, Mark Baugh moved into the private sector several years ago. On Thursday, he was preparing to fly a group of executives back to Houston.

He says news of the intentional crash in Austin caught him off guard.

"Extremely rare," Baugh said of the pilot's actions. "There's got to be some kind of mental problems or psychotic problems to - first of all - want to take their own life and do it in an airplane."

Taking advantage of the ideal weather, the runway at Jones Riverside airport was full of private aircraft.

Bill Christiansen of Christiansen Aviation says while accidents do happen, purposely flying a plane into a building is practically unheard of.

"I guess my reaction is a little bit of startlement because I just, it's highly unusual for this to happen. It doesn't happen," Christiansen said.

Christiansen says his business suffered after 9/11, and rebounded before being affected by the recession. He worries his bottom line could be affected based on how lawmakers respond to the events in Austin.

"To try to overreact just because one individual doing something really bizarre. I would hope at the end of the day that wouldn't happen," he said.

Mark Baugh, who also trains pilots, says those who appear unstable are not given licenses. But if someone is licensed and suicidal, he believes there's little than can be done to stop him.

"It's hard to tell who's crazy and who's not. Some people can put on a pretty good mask and hide it," said Mark Baugh, pilot and teacher.

Bill Christiansen has a personal connection to Thursday's crash. He says he owns two planes that are used at the flight school at Georgetown Airport. That's where Stack took off from.