Below is a plug for a good read of one of our pilot authors. As Holiday season approaches don’t forget to
shop a good read for yourself or a gift
at our PCN page listing our pilot authors.
http://pcn.homestead.com/Authors.html
From: carol
Date: 9/10/2012 8:15:17 PM
Subject:
book written by NWA pilot Lyle Prouse .. Final Approach: Northwest Airlines
Flight 650 Tragedy and Triumph
...book written by Viet Nam veteran and NWA pilot
Lyle Prouse, author of
Final Approach: Northwest Airlines
Flight 650 Tragedy and Triumph.
The author notes: In front of me as I write this
is a statement that says, “I believe life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how
I react to it” and that has become one of my credos as a result of what
happened to me.
You can visit his website at www.lyleprouse.com
Guest Post: Lyle Prouse Shares His Story
Thursday, August 23, 2012
I’m featuring a guest post by Lyle Prouse,
author of Final Approach: Northwest Airlines Flight 650 Tragedy and Triumph. I
will be reviewing his book tomorrow. But now, he shares a bit of his story and
a few of his inspirational thoughts.
From The Author’s Mouth
I wrote “Final Approach” for my grandkids and
family but had no intention of actually publishing it until a friend read it
and strongly encouraged me to do that. The reaction has been surprising and
I’ve been taken aback by it.
So much was said about this first-of-a-kind
event in which three airline pilots were arrested for flying under the
influence and most of it was inaccurate. Reporters and journalists, TV news
anchors, and late night comics all had their say and put their own personal
twists on things as I sat, watched, listened, and remained mute. I was amazed
at reporters I didn’t know who claimed to know what I was thinking as though
they had access to my innermost thoughts and how the public seemed to accept,
without question, the information they put out.
Clearly, the groundwork for sensationalism
was part of the scenario with an impaired flight crew at 35,000 feet and
passengers in the aircraft cabin. I understood and accepted that and I never
attempted to excuse or minimize what had taken place – nor do I do that in my
book. Throughout the entire manuscript I take very clear and naked
responsibility for the event. Indeed, I’ve done that my entire life, including
my Marine Corps career and my time in Vietnam.
Nothing excuses or mitigates what happened,
not even my alcoholism; and I’ve never hidden behind that.
This event destroyed and shredded me,
reducing me to an emotional shell, and I found myself thinking thoughts I had
never before believed possible – suicide. Hopelessness can never be reduced to
a lower plateau than when suicide becomes seductively attractive and the desire
to escape the pain and shame overwhelmingly outweighs the desire to live.
From that near fatal outcome came a story of
beauty and redemption and one that I claim no personal credit for. I suited up
and showed up, but I can take no credit for anything other than that.
As the story unfolded I experienced the
absolute best of mankind … and the worst of it. We need love the most when we
deserve it the least and I’ve never forgotten that as I devote a lot of my time
to helping those who are suffering as I once was.
In front of me as I write this is a statement
that says, “I believe life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it”
and that has become one of my credos as a result of what happened to me.
I need others in my life and that’s a gift of
humility, something I once viewed more as a character flaw than asset. I
learned about humility through another form of the word – humiliation.
What began as the most devastating experience
in my life, and one that nearly ended my life, has evolved into the greatest
positive thing that could ever have happened to me. In my Native culture we
often speak of ‘Grandfather’ or ‘Creator’ and I use those terms as well as the
God I knew growing up. Whatever He does and however He does it will never be
something I can understand, but I do know that some power somewhere steered the
outcome of this story and I had nothing to do with it.
I went from pilot to pariah, yet in an
astonishing turn of events I ended my career as a 747 captain for the same
airline I’d so horribly shamed and embarrassed; and I never fought or resisted
my termination. I went from prison to Presidential Pardon and even I, who was
there every moment and lived every day of this, cannot possibly understand how
it all occurred.
Blue skies,
Lyle Prouse
About the Author:
Lyle Prouse was born in Wichita, Kansas in
1938. He is part Comanche and grew up in an alcoholic home in a World War II
housing project. He was active in his Native American community. After
graduating from High School in Wichita, Lyle joined the Marines as a private
but made the rare transition from enlisted to officer grade and ultimately
Captain, a jet fighter pilot flying combat missions in Vietnam.
After his discharge from the Corps, Lyle
became an airline captain for Northwest Airlines and flew for nearly 22 years
before the same alcoholism that killed his parents almost destroyed his life.
He was the first commercial pilot ever arrested and sent to prison for flying
drunk.
The blistering media coverage was relentless
as he was fired, stripped of all flying certificates, tried, convicted, and
sent to Federal prison for sixteen months. The trial judge added sanctions on
top of the conviction to guarantee he would never fly again. In spite of all
the seemingly impossible obstacles, Lyle got sober, experienced many
breathtaking miracles, returned to Northwest Airlines and retired as a 747
captain. In January of 2001 he received a full Presidential pardon from then
President Bill Clinton.
Today, Lyle is a husband, father, and
grandfather. He has been sober over twenty-one years and has devoted his life
to helping others overcome alcoholism. He is still flying and has participated
with all the major airlines in their ongoing alcohol programs. He remains
active in Native American sobriety movements.
His latest book is Final Approach: Northwest
Airline Flight 650 Tragedy and Triumph.
You can visit his website at www.lyleprouse.com
About the Book:
This is the story of the first airline pilot
ever arrested and sent to prison for flying under the influence. He was fired
by his airline, stripped of his FAA licenses, tried, convicted, and sent to
Federal prison. This was a first. It had never occurred before.
Lyle Prouse came from a WWII housing project
in Kansas and an alcoholic family where both parents died as a result of
alcoholism. He rose through the ranks of the United States Marine Corps from
private to captain, from an infantryman to a fighter pilot. He made his way to
the pinnacle of commercial aviation, airline captain…then lost it all.
Today he is a recovering alcoholic with
nearly twenty-two years sobriety. This story describes his rise from the ashes
of complete destruction from which he was never to fly again. It is full of
miracles which defy all manner of odds.
In a long and arduous journey, he eventually
regained his FAA licenses. He never fought his termination; he considered it
fair and appropriate.
Miraculously, after nearly four years, the
President/CEO of his airline personally reinstated him to full flight despite
the adverse publicity and embarrassment.
In effect, the President/CEO gambled his own
career by taking such a risk on a convicted felon and publicly acknowledged
alcoholic pilot.
In another stunning event, the judge who
tried, sentenced, and sent him to prison watched his journey and reappeared
eight years after the trial. He became the driving force behind a Presidential
pardon although he’d never supported a petition for pardon in all his years on
the bench.
Lyle retired honorably as a 747 captain for
the airline he’d so horribly embarrassed and disgraced. He lives with his wife
of nearly forty-nine years and has five grandchildren.
He continues to work with all the major
airlines in their alcohol programs. He is also active in his Native American
community, and he provides hope to those struggling with the disease of
alcoholism, no matter who they are or where they are.
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