K-State instructor wants Fossett to be remembered for his accomplishments
5:09 p.m. Friday, October 3, 2008
"You feel sad, but at the same time you feel relieved because you finally got some closure on the deal and know what happened," Evan Beckman, K-State Aviation Maintenance Instructor, said.
Beckman says he wants Steve Fossett to be remembered for his accomplishments and not the mystery surrounding his death.
Beckman worked with Fossett on three world flights, including his solo non-stop round-the-world flight in 2005.
"Steve was a really easy guy to work with," Beckman said. "He knew you knew your job and he’d let you do it."
Beckman worked as a liason to make sure the students were doing what Fossett and his team expected.
"That’s probably the greatest thing I enjoyed the most, he trusted you to do the job and we did it," he said.
On March 4, 2005, Fossett landed in Salina, successfully completing the first solo non-stop round-the-world flight.
Being part of that accomplishment gave Beckman a new outlook.
"That’s probably one of the things that inspired me the most," Beckman said. "Now I tend to take on a few more challenges and it really taught me how to have fun again at what I do, be passionate about what you’re doing and have fun doing it."
Beckman didn’t want to speculate on what happened with the plane crash. He just knows Fossett would have wanted everyone to go on.
"You know, you wanna feel sad but at the same time Steve wouldn’t want us feeling that way because he accomplished a lot in his lifetime," Beckman said. "That was what it was about, taking on a challenge and doing it."
Related stories: Fossett takes GlobalFlyer on final flight (5-25-06)
Aviation adventurer missing (9-04-07)
Search teams continue their mission to find aviator Fossett (9-04-07)
Cook County judge declares millionaire adventurer dead (2-15-08)
Fossett's plane wreckage, some remains found (10-02-08)
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