BILL HINES PILOT DEN Hello Frontier friends, I just got word this morning from Pete Lamkin that Bill Hines is in the hospital. I went to see him this afternoon. Bill had a minor surgery on his nose this past year. They told him that he may have some underlying problems. Then just a month ago he had a stroke. He recovered fairly quickly from that, but then they found reason to do a brain scan. They found a tumor. They did a biopsy this past week. Just three days ago he was put back in the hospital for a blood clot that is causing problems in his right foot. Bill was in good spirits and was able to talk and laugh. He is down, but not out. He is talking about trying to get his medical back already. He starts radiation treatments January 5. He will need 5 per week for a couple months. They do not plan any surgery. I called Sharon to see if she would mind if I put this word out to his friends. She said it that would be fine and that he enjoys cards and visitors. He seemed to enjoy my visit, but did get tired after about 1/2 hour. Who wouldn't listening to me? Anyway he has good mental ability still and only a short term memory loss probably due to some mediation. He seemed to enjoy talking about the far past of FAL and before. If you would care to see him he is at "Medical Center of Aurora South." That is on the west side of Potomac about 4 blocks south of Mississippi. Potomac is just west of I-225 in Aurora. Best route is get off I-225 at Mississippi. Go west to first light (Potomac) and then south about 4 blocks. Bill and Sharon had the impression that he would be released to home this weekend. His home number is (cell) 303-522-2285. -Denny Finke (12/18/03) I just spoke with Sharon & Bill. While the prognosis isn't good, Captain Bill Hines is meeting this challenge with his usual fortitude and great attitude. Bill is still in the hospital. However, he IS expected to get home by tomorrow. Their home phone is 303-690-8536. Sharon indicated calls are welcome. Captain Hines did a marvelous job as Central MEC Safety Chairman. He has been active with the Civil Air Patrol for years. Bill was the first Frontier pilot to greet me in 1967. He gave me the Link check which we all were required to perform. He was always the gentleman and is a superb aviator. Our thoughts and prayers are with Bill & Sharon & family as they fight a tough battle. -Billy Walker (12/20/03) There comes a time, when we must write and/or call the person we’ve been thinking about before it’s too late. Airline people, such as we are, are family. When one of our own...a fellow aviator is down, we have a duty to call. Such is the case of three of our fellow-birdmen; Bill Hines has a brain tumor and has been released from the hospital. He is at home and takes radiation treatments daily. He would love to hear from you. His phone number is; 303-690-8536. Bill lives in Aurora, Colorado. Butch Carr is battling with cancer. There is a website where we can keep in touch as to his progress. Drop him a note if you will, he’d appreciateit. His website is; http://www.caringbridge.org/tx/butchcarr Butch lives in the Houston, Texas area. Don Donaldson suffered a heart attack while taking his FAA physical, last December and has undergone bypass surgery and is out of ICU. His number is; 941-232-5143. Don lives in Palmetto, Florida -FARPA Newsletter, Feb 2004 With regret, I inform you of the passing of Capt. Bill Hines, this morning 17 Feb 04. No funeral service is planned, instead a 'celebration' of his life tentatively planned for March 14th, Sunday at 1400 local time. Cremation is planned and his wishes..for his ashes to be scattered at the Front Range Airport here in Watkins, Colorado. Regretfully, -Ace Avakian (2/18/04) With regrets from Ace. Mine too, as Bill was a highly thought of individual. He was the Central Air Safety Chairman for our pilot group. He was one of the first Frontier pilots I met and even gave me my link check as part of my being hired with Frontier. Blue Skies & Tailwinds... -Billy Walker (2/18/04) In today's (Sunday, March 14, 2004) Denver Post, there is an obituary for a Bill (Wm.) Hines, age 66, that passed away in Feb. from a brain tumor. In the article it tells that he flew for the first Frontier AL and then worked for Continental. It is really a nice article and is very complimentary to his memory. I can copy the obit and send it to you, if you wish. Let me know. -Maurine Cook (MO Osborne's sister) (3/14/04) Hi Maurine, Thanks for letting me know. I went to the online Post site and found it. I'll let the folks at the FL Club know about it. -Jake Lamkins (3/15/04) OBITUARY A memorial service for Col. Bill Hines, whose missions for the Civil Air Patrol included the frantic search for a $9 million warplane that inexplicably crashed near Eagle in 1997, will be today at Front Range Airport Terminal in Watkins. William Frederick Hines was 66 when he died Feb. 17 of a brain tumor. He was born in Salt Lake City, a military child who lived in Panama for a short time. He joined the Civil Air Patrol, an auxiliary branch of the Air Force, as a cadet when he was 17. Hines was still a student at Ohio State University when he received his private and commercial pilot's licenses. By the time he graduated from Ohio State, he had earned his instrument rating and flight-instructor rating. He taught flying at his alma mater. Then he went to Purdue University, where he earned several graduate degrees and continued being a flight instructor. Disappointed that his eyesight fell short of the standard required for Air Force pilots, Hines worked for the Indiana Aeronautics Commission and as an emergency services officer for the Indiana wing of the Civil Air Patrol. In 1964, Frontier Airlines (not connected to the current carrier of that name) hired Hines as a pilot. He continued flying for the new owner when Continental Airlines took over Frontier in 1986. When industry age requirements forced him to retire as a pilot in 1997, Hines continued to teach ground school and safety courses for Continental. Meanwhile, Hines remained active in the Civil Air Patrol, flying planes on search missions that often took place during marginal weather conditions. Among his most celebrated missions was the 1997 search for an A-10 Thunderbolt that crashed in Colorado's Holy Cross Wilderness Area, southwest of Vail. On April 2, 1997, pilot Craig Button veered away from the squadron formation flying from an Arizona Air Force base and crashed into a 13,365-foot peak. Searchers found Button's body 18 days after the crash and spent 72 days retrieving 8 tons of pieces from the 13- ton plane. The air-and-ground search effort involved high-technology spy planes, Black Hawk helicopters, metal detectors, robotic underwater cameras, scuba divers, technical rock climbers and dozens of searchers. Hoping to find the four 500-pound bombs the plane carried, they fruitlessly scanned a 3- mile radius of high-altitude slopes, finally closing the search in September 1997. Later that year, Hines led a search for a chartered white Cessna that vanished with eight federal employees and the pilot, who was taking them from Montrose to Page, Ariz. More than 30 search planes from Colorado, Arizona and Utah focused on the rugged Uncompahgre Plateau west of Montrose. Searchers were worried because the Cessna's flight path forced the pilot to rapidly gain elevation while flying up the plateau. After a prolonged, unsuccessful air search, ground teams using a hand-held global positioning device found the plane in a small clearing, perfectly camouflaged by a fresh layer of snow. None of the nine people on board survived. "What are the lessons learned?" Hines wrote after that in an essay published in the Colorado Wings CAP newsletter. "Ground teams may have their limitations. But they are an important asset in the total search effort." It was a hefty concession for a pilot to make, but characteristic of Hines, who taught students to turn mistakes and defeats to their advantage. "You teach ... that failure is OK, as long as you learn from it," Jamison R. Walsh, one of Hines' many Civil Air Patrol students, wrote to Hines. "The way you encourage and tell people they did a good job makes them want to do it again and do better. I hope that I may one day take another flight lesson from you." Survivors include his wife, Sharon J. Hines of Aurora, and a daughter, Anne Hines of Aurora. -Denver Post (3/14/04) I was so sorry to hear of Bill Hines passing away. I was instrumental in getting Bill to join the Colorado Wing of the Civil Air Patrol. At the time of Bill joining the Colorado Wing, I was the director of operations and he was a great asset to the orginazation. What a true gentleman, he will shorely be missed by the many who knew him. -Lee Bobo (3/30/04) Article from the Oct 1972 FL NEWS: Pilot Cited In Heroic Effort To Save Man’s Life First Officer William Hines has been commended for his heroic efforts at Salt Lake City to attempt to revive Frontier’s senior aircraft cleaner Fred Van Weerd when he suffered a heart attack. Fred died but Bill Hines did everything possible to save him. Bill was still aboard our jet aircraft when it arrived and the cleaning crew came aboard. Fred was working and slumped over one of the seats. Bill Van Minde, one of Fred’s assistants, called for help and Bill rushed to the stricken man. He immediately took control of the situation, directing others to duties including massage and he began administering mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. He did this for more than 15 minutes, but was unsuccessful. Frontier has commended Bill for his prompt, diligent and humanitarian efforts and he has been relieved of all duty for seven days with full pay. Fred Van Weerd was the father of six boys, one just six months old. He was born in the Netherlands in 1938 and had been with Frontier for six years. -Jake Lamkins (8/16/04) WILLIAM F HINES Born 14 Mar 1937 Died 17 Feb 2004 Age 66 At 80013 (Aurora, Arapahoe, CO) SSN issued in Texas -SSDI (10/28/05)