By Samantha Keller ’19, Sports Editor 

“I keep telling my dad flying the Icon A5 low over the water is like flying a fighter jet!” Roy Halladay made this remark in an October 31st tweet, just eight days before this very plane  ended his life at only 40 years old. Only seven months ago, on May 8, 2017, a chillingly similar incident occurred when ICON’s lead test pilot and director of engineering both died in a crash while on board the same ICON A5 model. Following both incidents, the media displays a mixture of grief, heartbreak, and a demand to know how one incident did not prevent the other.

As a two-time Cy-Young Award-winning athlete who was only the 20th pitcher in MLB history to pitch a perfect game, Roy Halladay’s success on the mound was unquestionable. Halladay joined the Toronto Blue Jays in 1998 and stayed with this team for 11 years until he moved on to the Philadelphia Phillies. After 15 years in the MLB, Halladay retired on December 9, 2013. Attracting major league scouts since the age of 14, Roy Halladay had undeniable passion for baseball. Most people don’t know, under all the fame that was attached to being a major league athlete, that Halliday was your typical guy with a passion for flying. According to Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco, “Being a pilot, flying planes, that was his passion. He would talk about it, about refurbishing planes.” [ESPN]

Halladay was flying his plane in Lake Berryessa on the afternoon of November 7 when he suffered a high-energy impact into the water. Often nicknamed a “sports car with wings,” the ICON A5 was built for this low-altitude maneuvering and approved for entry-level pilots like Halladay. Despite these elements, the Transportation Safety Board confirmed that the incident was likely a pilot error. Shortly after the accident, Halladay’s body was recovered in shallow water nearby.

Though the investigation could take over a year for conclusive results, the impact of Halladay’s death has been immediate. On a larger scale, his death takes a heavy toll on Major League Baseball and the players and coaches who worked with Halladay throughout this career. Following the incident, his former team, the Philadelphia Phillies, put out a statement saying, “There are no words to describe the sadness that the entire Phillies family is feeling over the loss of one of the most respected human beings to ever play the game.”[CBS] But beyond these large-scale impacts, on a more personal level, Halladay’s death has had an impact on young athletes as well. When freshman baseball player and fanatic Tom Clancy was asked to comment on Halladay’s death, he responded, “Roy Halladay was a cherished member of the MLB. He accomplished many feats that most pitchers dream of. He will be missed.” In a culture so infused with celebrity fascination, the unexpected loss of any famous individual has an instantaneous impact on millions of people all at once. Roy Halladay’s death proved to be no different.