A few people have asked for an update. Sorry for the delay, had my hands full lately.
I was able to get some personal effects out last week. Amazingly, a lot stayed inside. My phone is still on the bottom of Elliott Bay somewhere, but my bag, the RAM mounted stuff, my licenses (whew), those were all there. Most of it was ruined by the saltwater, but I was able to wash out the fabric stuff and eventually the stank came out. Wearing a hoody that was in there right now, actually. Unfortunately, the data recovery place I tried said my laptop is beyond hope -- meaning I lost the entire upper level college course I created and taught. That one stings, as I'm still on faculty. But my students are probably thrilled.
I was able to meet the guys who pulled the plane out, some of the firefighters who responded, the controller who was on frequency, a lot of people in the media, and maybe best of all, the guys in the boat who picked me up halfway to shore. I've been passing out a lot of donuts and beers lately.
This afternoon I was able to see it one last time. The NTSB and FAA investigators have been great and the focus quickly turned to mechanical causes. I need to let them finish their jobs, and don't know what they're okay with me sharing, but the cause was apparent as soon as the cowling came off. The engine failure was unrecoverable.
It was a little emotional saying goodbye. Seeing it torn apart, wings off, decaying... you get attached to a plane at a certain point, you know? It flew me from one corner of the country to the other and got me to 1500 hours. I'm hoping to keep the prop, or maybe I can find someone to cut out the tail number from the empennage, turn it into a wall hanger. Is that a thing that can be done?
Coincidentally, an ATC friend sent me the audio today. I have to wait for an official FOIA request before sharing it here, so check back in 5-7 years. Somehow I managed to sound reasonably competent. What struck me is how fast it all happened. In the moment, it felt much longer. What I'd really like to have is the footage from a strut mounted GoPro that was running. But it was stolen off the recovered plane while sitting on a barge on the Duwamish. I've got signs up all over the place, but...
As for me, I'm doing okay. My face isn't that much worse for the wear. Girls like scars. A few JCers have stepped up in big ways helping me out, which has been incredible. After the media attention died down and the medical stuff eased up, I went back to studying. I'm now swimming in A320 CBTs. But that's a separate post for Member Announcements.
Thanks again for everybody who made kind remarks (and lasted through this longwinded update). The support made a massive difference in the aftermath. I know others have been through far worse. I feel fortunate.