I knew Sy Mymudes quite well and we had been doing business together. He brokered printing and I did creative work for his clients. He was good friends with Gaines and they had made this month long trip to Alaska for several years. He told me that Gaines had said this was to be his last one and he was selling his plane. I believe that Gaines was fairly well off and I believe the Mymudes family is certainly entitled to and in need of some compensation to carry on without Sy's income.

As a retired lawyer with over 40 years of experience, I found your commentary regarding a wrongful death claim reprehensible! It's remarks like yours that give attorneys such a bad public image. Your off the top of your head posturing, especially at such an early date, is without any regard for the grieving family or basis in fact Clearly, it was made without any knowledge of the close relationship between the pilot and my late brother-in-law.

Mr. Lobdell...You have my condolences for the loss of your family member, and I'm most sorry that my post offended you. I am a pilot and carry liability insurance. Most of my passengers are close friends or family. If my bad judgment hurt or killed one of my passengers, I'd want their claim to be asserted AND RESOLVED as soon as possible. I have never felt that my 'close relationship' with my passengers insulated me from my duty to get them home in one piece. And I've never believed that my premium payments were a donation to the insurance industry...but instead, a way being sure my responsibility to my passengers is taken care of. MJS