George Tutor; Sad News

[Danny Brotto]

I was asked to post this to the list server. I'm sorry to bring you this sad news.

There was a helicopter accident Thursday at about 10:30 pm near Hagerstown/Smithsburg. The craft went down killing all 4 on board. George Tudor was on board.

There is not alot of additional information about this right now.

Danny Brotto

[mikel]

I only met George twice, and can say that he was a very nice guy.
It is sad to lose a fellow pilot and to those who knew him better it
is a great tragedy.

There are details of the events on the Heraldmail website.
http://www.herald-mail.com/?cmd=display ... ormat=html

To George's family and close friends, I am sorry for your loss.

Sincerely,

Mike Lee

[obryandavid]

I just heard George's name on WTOP radio and said Oh Sh!t, not him. George was a real nice guy. Met him many times on the training hill when I was getting back into flying a few years ago. The world loses another good one.

Regrets,

Dave O

[brianvh]

I knew him well. This is rough.

Out of many events, one sums him up beautifully. My going away party at Richard's (or maybe it was another meeting I attended). Typical up until the wee hours of the morning, bodies draped all over the house. George had gone home before midnight, since he's a daddy. About 7 am the next morning, the door to Richard's house opens, George wades in past the bodies, and starts quietly cleaning up the house for breakfast. Is that unimaginable or what?

A few months after my back injury I showed up for a meeting at Richard's, and a little body comes squirming out to give me a hug. George had sent his daughter to greet me and welcome me back.

I heart goes out for her, and I miss him.

-Brian.

[Lauren Tjaden]

Oh, how terrible. Does anyone have contact info where we can send condolences -- and I assume the club will send flowers or a donation to the charity of his choice? Oh shit.
Lauren

[bigkreek]

I'll miss George, even though he did sell his wing. Thoughts and great prayers to friends and family. I'll miss you.

Rusty

[Dave Proctor]

I was not close to George, but I really enjoyed my infrequent contacts. This really sucks, sorry, but those are the words that keep going through my mind. My thoughts are with George's family, and memories of George. Will those close to the family please post if there is anything we can do to help them through this time.

Dave

[CraginS]

Gut punch.
Damn.
Good guy.
Not supposed to happen like this.
My prayers for his family.

Please let us know what we can do, what arrangements there are.

craig

[hepcat1989]

.

[Kelvin Pierce]

Very sad news indeed! For those of you who may not know George had been working on earning his commercial helicopter pilot license over the last few years. He and I talked several times about his training and he was so excited about flying helicopters. He died doing what he truly loved doing. Even though I didn't know him as well as I wish I had I will certainly miss him.

[Ashley Groves]

Terrible news.
My thought are with his family and the memories of the times I met him at Richards.

[silverwings]

The following is from Rich ( Leigh and Alex ) Hays regarding George and their close relationship:
On the night of Thursday, July 23 at 10:30pm George Tutor and 3 other companions with him died while flying back from Hagerstown in their R44 helicopter. And in that moment...the world lost a very kind, giving, selfless individual and wonderful father. And I lost one of my best friends.

Detail vary but the gist is that they were flying low and hit power lines. Crashed. You probably know the gruesesome details by now. All were killed. I can only hope and pray it was an instant death.

Leigh and I have spent the past two days helping out Suzanne, Georges girlfriend with getting her to the airport and back, etc. She is in meltdown mode. We all are. We picked her up in Shrewsbury and drove out to Frederick airport on Friday morning. All stunned. All in tears. All in disbelief.

We arrived at the Advanced Helicopter. Long faces and tears had by all. The media was beginning to assemble and we politely asked them to give us some space. Reporter Adam May approached me but I could not talk. He was very respectful and backed off. The owner of Advanced finally gave a statement to them but at the time was dealing with....as he put it...not only the death of his employees but of employees he considered friends and family.

George had recently quit his job at BGE Home as an electrician and gotten his dream job working as a flight instructor at Advanced Helicopter. It was a bold move for him but he hated his job at BGE and doing something he loved was worth the risk. He worked there all of one week, having just returned from California and CFI training at the Robertson factory. I had spoken with George the night before on the phone getting details of his trip, etc. never thinking in a million years that that would be the last time I ever spoke with him.

As fate would have it on Thursday, George was working in the office when several of the pilots prepared to leave for Hagerstown to participate in their fund raiser for special needs kids. There was a empty seat available in the helicopter and George...having just completed his new daily tasks....grabbed is headset and jumped into the empty seat to go along for the ride. Who wouldn't?

The fund raiser went well, but bad weather moved in and they had to wait out several storms which raked over the area. Once clear...they took off and headed home. A short distance really. They could have done it with their eyes closed. But for some unknown reason, they were flying low, very low...and hit the powerlines which cross Rt. 70 at South Mountain. Nobody knows how or why. They had just been in conversation with Advanceds' owner and were upbeat about the fund raising event. Moments later they were all dead.

George was family to me and Leigh. He was a constant fixture at our house. I'm not sure why but approx. 10+ years ago George decided to adopt me. And ever since he added more to my life than I can ever say here. He and his beautiful daughter Jessica became a part of our lives and we are richer for it. I'm choking back tears now writing this. It kills me that I doing so.

George loved to fly. I began teaching him to hangglide out at Oregon Ridge. His enthusiasm was infectious. He soon got his first rating and shortly thereafter his Wills Wing Falcon. But his love was the Eagle that showed in my shop as a demo. He watched me fly it. Then he flew it from Stine Hill. Bought it that day.

George never became a "hot" pilot or for that matter a pilot that racked up tons of airtime. But what George did do was help me out a whole hell of a lot. He was always out with me on the training hill, or sitting in on one of my classrooms sessions. My god...he must have heard me do that bit a 100 times! I'm not kidding. Then he'd saunter down with me afterwords to have dinner. That was our usual Friday night. We'd sit around drinking wine, watching tv or a movie. He'd always chow down on one of Leighs' signature dishes and then head home.

And George was always the first to volunteer to help out with the MHGA. When the club was at a crossroads and was in jeapordy of folding, we all voted to keep it going and George stayed on as Vice President....a position he quietly held for years and years. I always could depend upon him for doing stuff for the fly ins and George was always the first to arrive at the meetings. He loved the club. He loved hanggliding and he loved all the guys who made up the band of pilots we know as MHGA and CHGPA.

As the years went on, George became more and more like a family member to me and Leigh. I'd often come home and George had already let himself in, raided the fridge and was napping on the sofa when I walked in the door. Or...if I was out of town, we'd find out later that he'd helped himself to the hot tub and some brews in the mini-fridge downstairs. When confronted, he'd just start giggling and fess up. That was George. At first it bugged me but George wore me down and I just shrugged it off. And then came to expect it. He was family. He was my friend. Over time he was at every Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter dinner at our house. Like I said before, a fixture. Adoption complete.

I don't know if you guys know this or not but George served in Iraq. He was also a Navy Seal. Typical George. Always volunteering and giving of himself. Putting his ass on the line. And a stand up guy. When...as can sometime happen....he got a girl pregnant, and instead of running for the hills, George stood up, became a daddy and had custody of his daughter. Single dad. And a damn good one. He always made sure Jessica had everything, was loving and taught her to be a strong, smart kid. For those of you that have met her...you know what I'm talking about. And thats due to George. Kind, strong and giving. Jess is now 14. I think I first met her when she was three or four. She always called me "Mr. Rich" smiling a toothy smile and would run up and give me a big hug. Always. Still does. And again I'm choking back the tears because my heart aches for her and this situation that has been thrust upon her.

I look around now and see him everywhere. He touched our lives in such a positive way that I'm embarrassed at how much I just took it for granted. I always figured George would be burying me, not the other way around. George would have turned 40 this October. I am numb. This should not be happening. George had finally met a wonderful girl ( Suzanne ) and had gotten his dream job. The man who had given so much of himself to others was finally getting his in return. Life is not fair.

Details of a memorial service are in the works. I will let everyone know as soon as I hear something. Please keep his family and Suzanne's family in your prayers. And never, ever forget this guy. I won't. I can't. The man who quietly came into my life will be with me forever.

Richard ( Leigh and Alex ) Hays

[mcelrah]

Well said, Richard. I know that was hard to write, but it is most eloquent and fitting. It does not diminish our loss (George touched many of us, always positively - we should all strive to live that way), but I echo Kelvin's observation that George died having achieved his dream and on his chosen path to greater achievements. That is another indicator of a life well lived. I remember George helping out at the training hill. On my first high flight at Jack's, he gave me a ride back up the hill to retrieve my car - only I had left my keys in my harness at the bottom - he drove down and back up again without a word of complaint - that was George.
Requiescat in pace. - Hugh

[RedBaron]

A big tragedy and a huge loss. I'm saddened beyond words.

[Lauren Tjaden]

Thanks for sharing, Richard. Thanks for being there. I am so sorry for your loss.

[markc]

I just got back yesterday after a couple of days out of town, and then heard the news
about George. What an awful thing, my thoughts are with his family and friends.

I didn't know George well, but I DO remember many a High Rock day when he
helped a gazillion pilots into the air, with no intention of flying himself. A really
good guy, and a great pilot to have on your wire.

I also remember the High Rock fly-in, when that little dog of his was running around
chasing bottle rockets. Oh man, that was just too hilarious!

Here are a few forum posts which show George as the fun and generous person
that he was:

http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.p ... tor#p10607

http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.p ... tor#p13416

http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.p ... tor#p13418

http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.p ... tor#p16827

http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.p ... tor#p10520

http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.p ... tor#p14602

Life just ain't fair.

MarkC

[kcarra]

Like Mark I remember many times at High Rock when George would just come out to help wire crew. It was always great fun to hang out with him. I can't believe that I won't ever see his cherubic face again.

Karen

[Matthew]

If anyone has pics of George, please contact me at

mcgraham20@hotmail.com

Thanks,

Matthew

[KathyC]

George was a very humble and selfless individual. My heart goes out to all his loved ones.
Kathy

[hepcat1989]

.