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When PSA Flight 182 collided with a small plane over San Diego in 1978, and dove straight into the ground trailing fire from the wing, the last words on the Cockpit Voice Recorder was a calm, level, “Ma, I love you.”

Great shuttle story.

And I remember PSA, above, like it was yesterday. I think something similar was said with the Mexican airlines into Cerritos Cal.

I remember PSA all to well -- several of my good FRiends were on that airplane, including the CO of my USNR hardware squadron (I was in the augment unit -- we flew their airplanes) who had been a shipmate and good FRiend on my first and second cruises in Kearsarge (CVS-33).

I have read a number of accounts of pilots' last words before they bought the farm -- "I love you mom" is the most prevalent, as I recall, followed closely by "Oh! Shit!"

Mostly, the voices are calm and level. Chuck Yeager's calm, level, under-control radio transmissions has exerted a powerful and long-lasting influence on the pilot "community" that is still pervasive. For some reason, we all want to sound like him, even when we are out of altitude, ideas and airspeed.