Posted on 01/06/2007 6:42:35 AM PST by aculeus
Early last month my son, James Kim, died of hypothermia in a snowy wilderness in Oregon after setting out on foot to seek help for his family, who were stranded in a car.
My son's death was a tragedy that could have been prevented. A wrong turn on a poorly marked wilderness road need not have resulted in the ordeal of James's wife and two daughters, nor his death while trying desperately to find help. I am sharing some of the hard-learned lessons that I took away from my family's trauma in the hope of making it less likely that others will suffer the same fate.
[snip]
Finally, the Federal Aviation Administration classification code for Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR) to limit media presence during a life-or-death search-and-rescue operation should be more strictly enforced. A TFR is used to restrict aircraft operations within designated areas to separate "non-participating" aircraft from those engaged in official activities, including search-and-rescue operations.
Unfortunately for James, aviation authorities acquiesced to media requests to relax restrictions and allowed low-altitude media flights in the area while the aerial search was still underway. This untimely and irrational decision caused many rescue helicopters to abandon their operations for one full afternoon due to dangerous conditions created by media airplanes. It took personal pleas to Washington to get restrictions reinstated. The search, not media interest, should be the top priority.
With his last heroic determination to rescue his family, James proved himself to be a man of action. My son deserves a legacy worthy of that man. As a tribute to him, I am determined to follow his lead and do all I can to prevent another senseless tragedy. ing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Media aside, this family (read: son of Mr. Kim) did not exercise proper care and judgement from the get-go.
First clue should have been the open gate on a forest service road. And if that did not do it, the fact that the road was narrowing on both sides and still gaining elevation. And finally, you don't go into these environments - summer or winter - without a full tank of gas. Day or night.
Sorry for the family. But this was a case of pure arrogance to take his wife and little girls off into the woods to take a short-cut to the beach. Maybe he did not understand his arrogance at the time. But were he alive now he would have realized, and he isn't.
>I also keep a pistol on hand at all times and enough rounds that I could use it for signalling if necessary..for example if I heard a plane/helicopter behind a ridge.<
Have you ever been in a small plane or a helicopter? They are noisy and the 'signalling' would be a total, yes 100% waste of good ammo unless it was night time and you had tracers.
It seems the more people looking the better but I wasn't there. 3 things are to be expected though. 1. People make mistakes. 2. The media get in the way. 3. Government is teritorial and thinks it knows best and like to keep others out. Sad about him.
Exactly correct.
Congress, the media, road markings, SAR, credit card records, etc were not the proximate cause of Mr Kim's death. We seem to be assigning blame to everyone except the correct person.
"...we can do the innuendo, is the head dead yet? It's interesting when people die, we love dirty laundry..."
There's plenty to report, in Sudan, Somalia, Egypt, Iran, Kashmir, Russia, China, Phillipines, Mexico, Venezuela.
But most reporters and editors are too ignorant to understand what's happening in the world around them, and too busy trying to figure out Mt Hood, Rosy+Trump, Nudie pictures on a beach, and other useless titilations.
You're absolutely correct. Personal preparedness. Even on the road from downtown Denver to the airport in winter. Full tank of gas, blankets, food and water...and common sense.
In the article is states that the family(Mom and children) were spotted by a private helicopter.
Well, this thread don't need me flapping my lip.
You've said it all.
I'd like to emphasize one point.
Notice his father makes the same mistake as his son: it's not my fault. It's the media, or the government, or somebody else, but not me.
This guy is a Darwin candidate.
I'm sorry, but the father did nothing to prepare his son to face the cold, heartless world out there. For too long he lived in the Nanny state, and when faced with real danger, he just screwed up.
Sorry.
Your post does not make sense?
I'm sorry for Mr. Kim's loss, but to me this article makes him come across as nothing more than a Katrina refugee with writing skills.
Since James Kim worked for CNN, I find myself wondering which side of this issue he himself would have taken if he were covering the story and it was some other poor bastard lost in the wilderness.
Shouldn't even need to be said, but the media will squawk about "the public's right to know...". I say, let em squawk!
IIRC the Kim family had hired that helicopter.
"This untimely and irrational decision caused many rescue helicopters to abandon their operations for one full afternoon due to dangerous conditions created by media airplanes."
...which aculeus encapsulated in his title as, "[Media planes interfered with search for Kims]"
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What I'm also not saying is media is unneeded!
FOX is great to give info and updates on fires, warnings, school shootings, etc.
But what I am saying is the media should get out of the way when rescue personnel are trying to save someone's life!!!!!---
Do we really need to see someone's body being pulled from a river bed, a mountainside, a car, etc.?
No....that's a form of voyeurism.....and we have become a voyeuristic society!
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