Some random thoughts and reactions

A Dash 8 aircraft crashed on approach to a Buffalo, NY airport last night. Fatal crashes of this type of aircraft number three before this: Bangkok, New Zealand and a Lufthansa flight into Paris. It is only the second commercial fatal aviation crash in the US in the last eight years. The one before it was in Kentucky several years ago.

The internet is helping to keep reporters honest and glaringly shows them up when they make idiotic pronouncements to fill air time because someone has decided to go wall-to-wall with their coverage. A voluntary website records air to ground radio transmissions and the recordings immediately were posted to the internet, providing some viewers with the first indication that at least the voice on the radio was female. The hours claimed as having been flown by Colgan are in obvious error by the way. I have no idea why nobody checks these things.

There have been SO many stunningly obvious mis-statements of fact that I am disinclined to go into any more of them. To me it highlights the sad state of much of US journalism today. A few minutes into their broadcast, CBS had managed to cut to the 'reaction' of the new Prez to the death of one of the victims aboard. WHO CARES??

Of more than a little interest was the effort that Continental Airlines took to distance themself from their subsidiary. The aircraft has the Continental logo on the tail, the crew wear Continental uniforms and there are Continental magazines in the seatbacks, but their website allegedly (I did not see this) was quick to post a disclaimer. They did issue a press release offering sympathy and support for Colgan airways, which call sign was used by the co-pilot and which is the subsiduary of Continental involved.

In other news, congress has passed a bill numbering over a thousand pages which by their own admission they have not had time to read, and have reneged on their promise to post the bill on the internet, and are now anxious to get out of town.