Dual flights resume for UND students on Thursday

Oct. 20—Flight activity for UND aviation students will resume on Thursday, Oct. 21, but solo flights are not set to happen for another week.

According to an email sent out to flight instructors and students by Dick Schultz, director of flight operations, the aviation department continued its "safety stand down" on Wednesday, following a plane crash on Monday that killed UND student John Hauser. The university grounded all flights on Tuesday. Dual flight training will resume on Thursday, and solo flight training is expected to begin on Wednesday, Oct. 27.

In the email, Schultz cautioned students to make sure the timing was right for them to return to the cockpit.

"Just because UND will resume flight training does not indicate it is the correct time for you as an individual to start flying again," wrote Shultz. "It is up to each individual (to decide) when they feel the time is correct to start training again."

Schultz told students to seek out counseling services if they are having difficulties dealing with the fatal crash.

At a memorial gathering held for Hauser on Tuesday evening, Oct. 19, Robert Kraus, dean of the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences, told the Herald the timeline of resuming solo flights is flexible and may change.

In a Tuesday email to campus administrators, Kraus said students and instructors have the option to cancel their flight without repercussion if they don't feel ready to resume flying.