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Wal-Mart Heir Finds Money Won't Buy Brains
l investigators say Wal-Mart billionaire heir John Walton, killed when his experimental plane crashed in Wyoming, obtained his pilot's license from the cut-rate John Denver Memorial School of Aviation.
"It's really a shame, the guy probably could have bought his own airline or fleet of planes or an army of experienced pilots for the $20 billion he was worth," said Rick Jackson, an investigator with the Federal Aviation Administration.
"But no, one of the richest guys in the world decided to go on the cheap and get his license from that John Denver place, which we've shut down four times in 10 years for all kinds of violations," Jackson said. "I guess you get what you pay for."
The aviation school is named after the late singer and cheesy balladeer John Denver, who died in 1997 when his experimental plane crashed into Monterey Bay in California. The aviation school's offices have been housed in various locations along the Northern California coast, including run-down motels.
The fatal crash was not Denver's first plane accident. In fact, he was once even sued for a run-in with another plane at the same airport where Walton crashed and died.
"Why in the world somebody would want to establish an aviation school to honor a bad pilot is beyond me," Jackson said. "I guess it just shows that money doesn't necessarily buy you brains.
"Don't these guys understand that they're flying and dying in an experimental aircraft?" Jackson said. "What's wrong with buying a ticket and traveling in a 757 or some other commercial airliner? It's not as though they couldn't afford the airfare.
"The first song John Denver wrote that became a hit - at least for Peter, Paul and Mary - was 'Leaving on a Jet Plane'. If he'd have only taken his own advice," Jackson added.
"Hey, they could buy their own Gulfstream or Learjet and let a real pilot fly them around," Jackson said. "Oh, sure they all say it's the thrill of piloting your own plane. But it's not much of a thrill when you're dead."
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