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Cooley Hurd

(26,877 posts)
Fri Jun 13, 2014, 01:25 PM Jun 2014

Rockefeller son dies after his plane crashes

Source: USA Today

PURCHASE, N.Y — A son of the oldest living member of the Rockefeller family died Friday after the small plane he was piloting crashed into a neighborhood near Westchester County Airport.

Richard Rockefeller, 64, of Falmouth, Maine, ate dinner the night before with his father, David Rockefeller, to celebrate the scion's 99th birthday, said family spokesman Fraser Seitel, who confirmed the death.

"It's a terrible tragedy," Seitel said. "The family is in shock. Richard was a wonderful and cherished member of the family. He was an experienced pilot. He was a medical doctor, and it's horribly sad."

The plane, a Piper Meridian single-engine turbo prop registered to Richard Rockefeller, left the White Plains, N.Y., airport about 8 a.m. ET and was reported down within 10 minutes in a residential area less than 3 miles away in Purchase, about 30 miles north of New York, airport operations administrator Peter Scherrer said. The weather at the time of takeoff was foggy and rainy.

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/06/13/one-dead-plane-crash-westchester-county-airport



Cross gently Richard. You've done your family proud.
23 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Rockefeller son dies after his plane crashes (Original Post) Cooley Hurd Jun 2014 OP
Oh no. How sad. So unfair, but RIP. closeupready Jun 2014 #1
Post removed Post removed Jun 2014 #20
How terribly sad... Rhiannon12866 Jun 2014 #2
Imagine being heir to billions, but becoming a doctor--all the work TwilightGardener Jun 2014 #3
even with all that money, you still need a reason to get out of bed in the morning yurbud Jun 2014 #4
Well said Spouting Horn Jun 2014 #13
That's the OTHER Buffett rule: yurbud Jun 2014 #15
that's why we don't see Buffet "Socialites" around JI7 Jun 2014 #16
Message auto-removed Name removed Jun 2014 #19
Th weather was awful here this morning leftynyc Jun 2014 #5
Flying part 91 of the aviation regs you can legally take off with zero visibility Major Nikon Jun 2014 #8
As the saying goes......... Capt.Rocky300 Jun 2014 #9
The reported visibility at the time of the crash was between 1/2 and 1/4 of a mile Major Nikon Jun 2014 #11
The good thing about flying Part 121 is that it is...... Capt.Rocky300 Jun 2014 #14
VFR on Top PeoViejo Jun 2014 #10
Prayers for the family Iliyah Jun 2014 #6
I have friends who knew him... SiobhanClancy Jun 2014 #7
thanks for sharing that from people who knew him renate Jun 2014 #22
Sad loss for family and friends question everything Jun 2014 #12
i would think the term would apply to both JI7 Jun 2014 #18
Lucky Man sendero Jun 2014 #17
Also a founding member of Doctors without Borders Gormy Cuss Jun 2014 #21
that is well worth a read renate Jun 2014 #23

Response to closeupready (Reply #1)

TwilightGardener

(46,416 posts)
3. Imagine being heir to billions, but becoming a doctor--all the work
Fri Jun 13, 2014, 02:08 PM
Jun 2014

and dedication that would entail, when you don't really need the money. Sounds like a real loss. Rest in peace.

yurbud

(39,405 posts)
4. even with all that money, you still need a reason to get out of bed in the morning
Fri Jun 13, 2014, 02:14 PM
Jun 2014

not everybody is built to party all the time or enslave the world (or both).

Some people have to feel like they are doing something useful with their lives.

Spouting Horn

(338 posts)
13. Well said
Fri Jun 13, 2014, 09:35 PM
Jun 2014

And of course no one really knows how much access he had to their fortune. If I was mega rich I would not bequeath my children enough so they could do nothing.

yurbud

(39,405 posts)
15. That's the OTHER Buffett rule:
Sat Jun 14, 2014, 02:35 AM
Jun 2014

“I want to leave my children enough money that they would feel that they can do anything, but not so much that they can do nothing." Warren Buffett.

JI7

(89,175 posts)
16. that's why we don't see Buffet "Socialites" around
Sat Jun 14, 2014, 05:38 AM
Jun 2014

he will pay for education and health care but otherwise they have to work for it. they are still privileged in that if they want to go to an expensive school it will be fully funded and they can just focus on education without part time jobs or worry about paying it back.

but if they drop out he isn't going to be taking care of them. and certainly not provide a wealthy lifestyle for them.

Response to yurbud (Reply #4)

 

leftynyc

(26,060 posts)
5. Th weather was awful here this morning
Fri Jun 13, 2014, 02:38 PM
Jun 2014

I live around 5 miles from the airport and I'm a bit surprised he was cleared to take off. Ceiling was very low. May he rest in peace.

Major Nikon

(36,814 posts)
8. Flying part 91 of the aviation regs you can legally take off with zero visibility
Fri Jun 13, 2014, 05:56 PM
Jun 2014

Some people do it. I don't. I was stuck in Kansas City on Friday for 3 hours until the visibility came up to 1 mile. Although it's legal to take off in fog, I don't do it because if I have a problem I can't return to the airport I just left. I heard some people departing even when the fog was at its worst.

Major Nikon

(36,814 posts)
11. The reported visibility at the time of the crash was between 1/2 and 1/4 of a mile
Fri Jun 13, 2014, 09:06 PM
Jun 2014

I'm not going to guess what the cause of the accident was, but it would have been tough getting back into the White Plains airport around that time had he needed to return.

Having to wait added 2 hours to my trip last Friday. I was flying between Kansas City and Dallas and had I got out at 6:30 as I planned I would have beat the weather moving in from the west. After waiting until 9:30 I had to divert almost all the way to Little Rock before I got around it. It was very tempting to take off into the soup, but I stick to my own personal standards which are higher than anything the FAA would let me do legally. Interestingly enough there was a professional pilot waiting to fly his boss in the exact same model aircraft as Rockefeller's. Like me he wasn't going to take off with less than 1/4 mile visibility. So it appears as if Rockefeller was bolder than either one of us.

Capt.Rocky300

(1,005 posts)
14. The good thing about flying Part 121 is that it is......
Sat Jun 14, 2014, 12:34 AM
Jun 2014

all spelled out. The mins for takeoff and landing are hard numbers. I wish the Feds would institute tighter limits in Part 91. Sometimes rules can make up for bad judgement and save lives. If they are followed, that is. Take it from this old captain and long ago CFII, you exercised good judgement. Stick with your standards Major.

renate

(13,776 posts)
22. thanks for sharing that from people who knew him
Sat Jun 14, 2014, 07:19 PM
Jun 2014

I was just reading a book of letters of parents to their children, and the original Rockefeller really did seem like a good, generous, and philanthropic person. Apparently that tradition made it through the generations intact. I'm sorry to hear that he's gone, but glad that he must have had a better life than that of many wealthy people who think only of themselves.

question everything

(47,265 posts)
12. Sad loss for family and friends
Fri Jun 13, 2014, 09:16 PM
Jun 2014

*

*

*

but... cannot help it. Doesn't the word scion refer to a descendant, not to a parent?

In the sentence talking about celebrating David Rockefeller the scion's 99th birthday..


JI7

(89,175 posts)
18. i would think the term would apply to both
Sat Jun 14, 2014, 06:02 AM
Jun 2014

since david's father and grandfather made the family famous/wealthy.

sendero

(28,552 posts)
17. Lucky Man
Sat Jun 14, 2014, 05:50 AM
Jun 2014

He had white horses and ladies by the score
All dressed in satin and waiting by the door

Ooh, what a lucky man he was
Ooh, what a lucky man he was

White lace and feathers, they made up his bed
A gold covered mattress on which he was laid

Ooh, what a lucky man he was
Ooh, what a lucky man he was

He went to fight wars for his country and his king
Of his honor and his glory, the people would sing

Ooh, what a lucky man he was
Ooh, what a lucky man he was

A bullet had found him, his blood ran as he cried
No money could save him, so he laid down and died

Ooh, what a lucky man he was
Ooh, what a lucky man he was

renate

(13,776 posts)
23. that is well worth a read
Sat Jun 14, 2014, 07:21 PM
Jun 2014

I'd never heard of him. Now I'm really sad. He sounds like a phenomenal person.

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