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One glance at the TV, and I knew. My passion was in jeopardy. My freedom as a pilot in the United States would again be questioned by my friends, family, politicians and anyone else who was ready to jump on the anti-small plane bandwagon. The words, in bold, plastered on the cable news network screens across the world, made me sick: "Small Plane Hits Skyscraper."

Sure enough, the comments and questions around the office started coming in before the NTSB had even arrived on scene. "Gee, Chris, what happened?" "And you think you'd ever get me up in one of those!" "Are you still going flying this weekend?" My gut tightened.

I began acting as my own ambassador to aviation. I explained that the families of those killed - and baseball fans, in this case - must be feeling tremendous loss. I explained that investigators would take some time to sift through each clue and find out what might have gone wrong. I explained that there would be a lot of misinformation at first. And there was.

No, it was not a terror attack. It was most likely an accident. No, Cory Lidle did not have 400-some hours, as was first reported. Not possible given the short time he had been flying. He was much more inexperienced, especially in this very sophisticated airplane. Yes, the Cirrus did have a parachute on it. But no, you can't just deploy it at the last-second to save yourself.

And then just when I was out of answers, the real aviation diplomats stepped-in. First it was pilot and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. In a live press conference, he made it very clear very quickly, in a stern and reassuring voice, that there was nothing wrong with the safety of NYC airspace and that investigators were on the job.

Then there was the tried and tested voice of calm, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association President Phil Boyer. He made the rounds on the major networks using AOPA's spiffy studio in Maryland - built just for this kind of event.

Boyer later took a CBS reporter flying, and in very simple terms, showed non-flying America how strict airspace rules can be - and why the ADIZ even overprotects. Then on the AOPA website, he later lashed-out at the ugly naysayers who found their way in front of the microphone.

And then there was CNN's Miles O'Brien, a pilot and aviation enthusiast. He also took to the cockpit, and demonstrated how careful most pilots are, and how narrow that East River corridor is. Another voice of calm in what could have been media chaos.

By the end of the week, that unsettled feeling was mostly gone. It remains to be seen how this accident will impact our flying. But one thing is for sure: pilots have friends in very high places.

Article by Chris Archer; Send him an email