Tom was my friend. He was 45 yrs old, an A&P for Textron/Cessna Aviation for many years, a farm boy from North Dakota who went to A&P school out of high school. A fairly new pilot who had already earned his instrument and seaplane ratings. He flew his little 140 back and forth across this country probably a dozen times. He was a very proficient and current tailwheel pilot. Many pilots with much more experience have made the same fatal mistake Tom did and unfortunately, many more will do the same.