Suicide attack on Austin IRS

[TX-Gunslinger]

Today I was just a little late driving to work (commute is about 7 miles).  I saw a large plume of grey smoke appear near the area that I work in.  As I got a little closer I realized that it was grayer than other fires I've seen before.

I had a lot of stuff on my mind and I can remember that I thought, must be a building burning.  I was so consumed with work issues that I did not think about it again until I parked my truck and got out to walk in the building.  I then noticed several fellows talking to one of my employees and I smelled burning smoke in the air.  

Come to find out, my group manager saw the aircraft hit the IRS bldg (bout 1/4 mile from where I work) and that the fellows were FBI.  He fly's FSX and is always watching the inbound/outbound aircraft.

Very weird day.  What drives a guy who owes only 40,000 dollars to do something like that and torch his house is beyond me.  I think things are so far out of control these days.... that I cannot understand anymore.

Thought of you folks...

S~

Gunny

[TX-Thunderbolt]

Saw that on TV last night and thought of you too.

I just don't get people for the most part, but I know when ANYONE hits their particular breaking point they are capable of anything. I've seen enough of that extreme weird shit to convince myself of that.

Glad you weren't around when it went down.

[TX-Kingsnake]

The IRS screwed him and this is how they did it.

http://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/27/business/how-a-tax-law-helps-insure-a-scarcity-of-programmers.html?pagewanted=1

Not an excuse by any means. From what I gather the tax laws are screwing independent contractors who set themselves up as a corporation where they need 5 employees to be considered corporate. I am a contractor and I do not like the looks of this screwing but since I don't have a corporate charter I don't think I will have quite his troubles, but... I did get my account seized last month and I have no, zero, zip, nada with no way to get out of it. The IRS can literally strangle you to death via starvation. On the other side of things if you incorporate yourself you can pay ZERO taxes to the IRS. This guy sounds like he tried to do that and got hit with a normal tax bracket plus other things related to his ex-wife. as%^&$! Now general aviation is going to get wrapped up in more red tape. As if there aren't enough things to remember in a cross country flight. It isn't like IL2 where you can just fly wherever as a little bird.

Again we see the building damaged by fire. This time it is a little plane and a big fire. Despite this the 9-11 conspiracy dumfuks still can not get it through their heads the damage that the fire does; it was not the impact. So shit Gunny, national tragedy on your way to work. Sorry to hear that and glad to hear you are OK, at least physically. 

[TX-Gunslinger]

Thanks King

You know, after my California divorce in 1990 + resultant bankrupcy + downturn in San Diego defense dollars..  I found myself in about 1992 in D.C. - working a white collar job with no car, no money, $1600 a month child support (non-deductable) and in the new job a 20,000 cut in pay.  I was walking to work for 4 years (no shit).  I ended up with about 20,000 back taxes to IRS - couldn't afford an attorney to readjust my CA child support.  I was angry, depressed and near sucicidal at times.  Ex worked very hard to ensure I couldn't see my kids - collected the money - etc. etc. etc.

I was down at one point over 60,000.  My "white collar" job, only grossed around 47,000.  I was still in a very high tax bracket.  In fact, even now - I pay out over 33% of my income and have for as long as I can remember.  I was miserable and depressed.  I can't remember ever thinking about killing someone.

In any event, I hung on - paid my taxes AND penalties AND child support and got back to solvency two years ago when I bought this house.

This fool was so consumed by rage/self-pity/narcissism that he did this?  Poor little man.  He couldn't stand to sell his wittle airplane so he did this.  You know, the man he killed?  An African American with 20 years military service, 20 years IRS service.  Someone's dad, grandfather and husband.

The last shithead in Austin that pulled a stunt like this was Charles Whitman - and at least it seems he had a brain tumor.  This ass only had anger, because he couldn't part with MONEY.

I'm getting angrier and angrier the more time goes by since this...

S~

Guny

[TX-Gunslinger]

I need to keep writing but I got to the point where my screen bounces up and down (problem with this forum and ROF)...

Don't feel sorry for this guy.  He's much worse than Bin Laden.  He had NO cause.  He had the assets to liquidate to come out of it all - he just valued them over anything human.  This guy has no cause.   His charred house is in the neighborhood where we lived before we bought this house.  I know where it is and have driven by several times. The only thing I can think of is that maybe she told him she'd had enough the night before. He loved his wife?

This morning on my way to work, the traffic was horrific as rubbernecking past the building was in high swing.

For me, I could care less what this does to the FAA.  You want to buy a plane?  Get a clean bill of health from a shrink.  Behind on your taxes - no aircraft flying for you......

Sorry, I'm still recovering from this ..  not scared or rattled ... just PISSED.  They've been giving free counseling at all the area hospitals for anyone who shows up.  I'm starting to see why now. I'm just fed up with it all...  The talk at work is "Well it's good he wasn't pissed off at the Navy"....

You see the national coverage on this where you are - you can imagine the coverage here.  It's non-stop. 


Anyway, hopefully you'll all forgive me - this is just so stupid.... and selfish it's beyond my comprehension. 

S~

Gunny

[TX-Gunslinger]

BTW King - I do understand that you were absolutely not sympathizing with this idiot.....

You just gave me a chance to vent.....  Thanks

S~

Gunny

[TX-Kingsnake]

Not at all Gunny, not in the slightest; you are totally right, spot on. I think it is healthy to share things with your co-workers (the ones that can handle informality in a professional office) like "Well it's good he wasn't pissed off at the Navy".... is a funny comment but not LOL per se, if you did it might be a healthier emotion given the options. I read a concise resolve to your logic which brings me to a level of understanding. Earlier I was thinking, arsehole whiner made enough to be taxed 40k in the first place, more than my gross. Also I'm not far from your predicament but in someways not nearly as bad. My wife was asleep watching the news and muttered that she didn't want me crashing a plane into the IRS. WTF? It hadn't even crossed my mind. Somewhere I am still befuddled that such an event occurs in a relatively low taxed country like the USA. Certainly there is no logic, just a selfish person with an unoriginal idea. Mental illness maybe? Or just an arse with a vendetta? 

[TX-Gunslinger]

Boy was I flaming last night

Yeah, Adam - It just really, in the end makes no sense.  I think all of us here at TX and in our extended sim "family" would be so happy to have an aircraft.  I always hope for Eco that he makes enough $$ one day that he can have his own.

I think about the number of aircraft mishaps which occur in a year, and the people who are killed + property damage.  If we didn't know that this was intentional, it wouldn't be so deeply disturbing.  It would just be another aircraft accident with minimum loss of life.  I'm sure more will come out about this - there is a lot we just don't know right now.

S~

Gunny

[TX-TOAD]

I thought of you too, I nearly called, but I found out rather late, after sleeping through.

WTF?

Is all I got. 

[TX-Kingsnake]

http://www.liveatc.net/forums/atcaviation-audio-clips/austin-plane-crash-take-off-on-kgtu-feed/?action=dlattach;attach=3320

You have to register there for the audio. This is the Tower communications with N2889D on takeoff. Oddly enough you need to listen for Dakota not Cherokee.

[TX-Thunderbolt]

Thanks King

You know, after my California divorce in 1990 + resultant bankrupcy + downturn in San Diego defense dollars..  I found myself in about 1992 in D.C. - working a white collar job with no car, no money, $1600 a month child support (non-deductable) and in the new job a 20,000 cut in pay.  I was walking to work for 4 years (no shit).  I ended up with about 20,000 back taxes to IRS - couldn't afford an attorney to readjust my CA child support.  I was angry, depressed and near sucicidal at times.  Ex worked very hard to ensure I couldn't see my kids - collected the money - etc. etc. etc.



In any event, I hung on - paid my taxes AND penalties AND child support and got back to solvency two years ago when I bought this house.

Dude, almost a mirror image of my life in 1995. Divorce, unmodifiable child support of $1200/month, resultant job change (and a $20,000/yr salary cut), resultant bankruptcy. Took me over 5 years to dig out (though I feel like I still am at times). If it wasn't for meeting my lovely "new and improved" wife, I don't know how I'd have made it. But I hung on, kept on keepin' on and tried to take my lumps and keep doing the right thing. Was able to buy this house I'm now in in 2001. Now the kids are all gone but one (out of five) and despite the shitty economy we're still getting by.

At times I felt victimized too but never thought of crashing my gasoline laden car into the courthouse or anything like that.  

[Voxman]

Gunny,

I immediately thought of you when I saw the story, but once I found out it was IRS, and knowing you're not involved with that branch of Govt. I was relieved. 

If anything, reading your personal account of coming back to solvency, as well as TBs AND since I met TBs family and homelife,  I am immediately impressed and inspired that if I ever have to go through that type of wringing, there's light at the end of the tunnel.

I'll end this on a funny, but beware of Bass players