Shot-Down Malaysian Plane Held 100 AIDS Researchers

Image from source, CBSNews

Wow. Even if the excerpted article doesn't have the number exactly right, that's just astonishing. 100 top AIDS researchers, enroute to a conference on the disease in Australia, perished when the plane was shot down, as yet by unknown assailants. The attack is of course tragic no matter who the people on the plane were. But for such a large group from one field to be wiped out at once? Tragic, and potentially devastating for the progress in finding a cure.

[Excerpt]

Crash claims top AIDS researchers heading to Melbourne

About 100 of the 298 people killed in the Malaysia Airlines crash were heading to Melbourne for a major AIDS conference, conference attendees have been told. Delegates at a pre-conference in Sydney were told on Friday morning that around 100 medical researchers, health workers and activists were on the plane that went down near the Russia-Ukraine border, including former International AIDS Society president Joep Lange. . .

Read more at: SMH.com.au


[Excerpt]

Malaysia plane victims include infants, AIDS researchers
 
Flight attendant Nur Shazana Mohd Salleh was single but hoping to find love soon. Instead, she was one of nearly 300 people who perished when Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down in eastern Ukraine. The airline initially said there were 295 people on board the Boeing 777, 280 passengers and 15 crew members. Early Friday, the airline increased the death toll to 298, saying there were three infants on board. . .

Read more (with video) at: CBS News

What Happens in Vegas: Plane Crashes Near My House. . .I Didn't Notice.

Wow. What you can miss by being cloistered up inside your house on a holiday.  The Other Half and I actually ventured outdoors early this afternoon for a 4-mile walk, so we weren't completely reclusive.  But during our walk, we were stopped by another pedestrian--who we assumed was half nuts--telling us of a helicopter or plane crash a block away.  Suuurrre,we thought.  But he was right!  Seriously, this was a block away, and we didn't notice.

[Excerpt]

People who rushed to scene of plane crash helped save lives



A small plane crashed in a quiet valley neighborhood and burst into flames near Bermuda Road and Silverado Ranch Boulevard. There were four people onboard; one is dead and three are injured. . .

Read more at: KTNV

Sen. Scott Brown Compares Plane Crash to Movement That Got Him Elected

Something tells me that Senator Cosmo is going to be a hoot to have around. He'd been Senator from Massachusetts for all of 90 seconds when he was gaffing about his daughters being "available." Now, he's comparing Andrew Joseph Stack's (the guy who crashed a plane into a building today) motivation to the motivation of the voters who got him elected. I'd call that a gaffe.

[Excerpt]

New GOP Senator Scott Brown links guy crashing plane into IRS office to his election - same anger



Seriously. The new Republican Senator from Massachusetts went on FOX News this evening and was asked about the nut who crashed his plane into an IRS office building, because he hates the government. Here is what Scott Brown said, when asked about this possible act of terrorism. . .

Read more at: AmericaBlog

FedEx Plane Crashes in Tokyo on Live TV

Why is it the most horrible things also tend to be the most fascinating things? Condolances to all involved.

Hoisting the Plane Out of the River

Photo from the source, Kenneth in the (212)

I just think it's amazing that we have the tools to hoist one million pounds of anything out of a river.

[Excerpt]

A River Ran Through It

The Times reports that late Saturday night, "crews at Battery Park City had rigged the plane -- weighing an estimated one million pounds -- and lifted it out of the Hudson. They planned to load it onto a barge for investigators.

Read more at: Kenneth in the (212)

Videos of the US Airways Plane Crash in the Hudson

There are finally videos available of the amazing "ditching" of the US Airways jet into the Hudson River. Take a look. . .

Jet Ditches in Hudson River, Everyone Lives!

Images from source, CNN

Being married to an airline employee, I've always taken the phrase "water landing" to be an oxymoron. That's a crash. Because usually, they don't work very well. But the pilot of a US Airways jet pulled it off, and did so with no deaths and only one person with serious injuries (two broken legs). It's flat-out amazing, and turns a horror story into a good news one.

I'm presently watching The Rachel Maddow Show's coverage of the event, which is fascinating. And--since everybody is for the most part OK--I just have to mention that the expert that Rachel is talking to is Captain Ober. I wonder how many "Turkish prison" jokes he gets?

[Excerpt]

'Miraculous' landing in frigid Hudson

Passengers scrambled to get off a sinking jetliner after it went down Thursday in New York's Hudson River with 155 people on board. The US Airways jet apparently experienced a bird strike while en route to Charlotte. All of the passengers survived. "I think that's miraculous," a passenger told CNN. . .

Read more at: CNN

Michael Connell Suicided? Nutty Theory or Distinct Possibility?

Another light blogging day here at Greenlee Gazette, but since most bloggers take weekends off, I always like to post a few things to keep the page current. Still, with the steep drop-off in readers since the election (down about 85%!!!), there aren't too many checking anyway.

So, as we enter into the holidays, expect a few things everyday, but less than usual.

This one is too good not to share. You heard about the death of Karl Rove's IT guru, Michael Connell, right? He was about to testify on his involvement with Turdblossom's unsavory (very likely illegal) activities, and then died in a plane crash.

Unsurprisingly, some people find this to be a little more than a coincidence. It doesn't take much for political junkies of any stripe to start seeing conspiracy theories, but this one lines up so neatly, even the more sane among us are starting to wonder. Here's a video that lays it out for you, if you are unfamiliar.

Crash Landing at Heathrow Airport

Photo from source, New York Times

Wow. We all hear the warnings on the plane, explaining how the slides work, and where the exits are. If your Other Half is in the industry, you tend to pay attention, if only out of politeness. Most people ignore it. But nobody every thinks that information is going to come in handy. For a fortunate planeload of people, those evacuation procedures had a chance to be tried, without it being a water landing.

[Excerpt]

Crash Landing Temporarily Paralyzes Heathrow

A British Airways passenger jet crash-landed just short of a runway at London’s Heathrow airport on Thursday, plowing on its belly across open grassland before slowing to a halt when it hit the tarmac with parts of its landing gear torn off. . .

Read more at: New York Times

Steve Fossett Still Missing - 6 Other Crashes Found

Photo from source, HuffingtonPost.com

Who knew there were that many missing crashed planes out there? I hope they find this guy alive, he seems like quite the interesting guy. But geez, if it took them this long to find those other six crashes? Not good.

[Excerpt]

Aviator's Disappearance Remains Mystery

MINDEN, Nev. — Pilots brushed off a series of false sightings and scoured Nevada's high desert Saturday as the massive aerial search for Steve Fossett grew more urgent nearly a week after the adventurer's disappearance.

Maj. Cynthia Ryan of the Nevada Civil Air Patrol said the search could continue for weeks. But concerns about the 63-year-old aviator's ability to survive in the harsh landscape were growing, and there were no solid clues about where his plane might have gone down. [snip]

In a stark illustration of the region's remoteness, searchers have discovered six old plane crashes that had not previously been identified since they began the intensive hunt for Fossett on Tuesday. . .

Read the rest at: HuffingtonPost.com