The three who died were highly experienced, and we may never know why their parachutes failed to open, but maybe there's some small consolation in knowing that they died doing something they loved- something they waited a long time to achieve. For their friends and families, and for the flight crew and the South Pole personnel who worked together to recover the bodies, there will likely be scores of sleepless nights and a very slow, painful return to emotional normalcy. The rest of us were fortunate in the speed with which we passed through various stages of shock, denial, anger, and some sense of understanding or acceptance. By Monday morning the topic of conversation had moved on to current or future events, and everyone got back to work. I've just come inside from the flight deck, where I take my weather observations.
Life goes on, after all.