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CD
This was a tragic event for sure. Once flying into LaGuardia we went in for landing (we were in a DC-10. Taking off on that same runway was another DC-10...I can remember I was sitting next to a little old Jewish man, out plane went vertical straight up, but the loud sounds of the engines from both plans made the man cry from pain. I took his hand and noticed a number tattooed on it. I said "God didn't let you live through the horrible concentration camps to die on this plane"...I know there was an investigation on the matter, but at that second we were all so relieved to be alive, we applauded when we finally landed! I think it is every flyers nightmare Corbin. That's one reason I pray on every take off and landing.
posted by
Offy
on August 30, 2006 at 1:56 AM
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HUMAn eRROR IS SOMETHING WE HAVE TO LIVE WITH!
posted by
colbor1
on August 29, 2006 at 6:59 AM
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shamsuddin_jim
GOD IS EVERY MOMENT
posted by
imear2
on August 29, 2006 at 4:11 AM
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We pray for the victums, crew and their families
posted by
Shams-i-Heartsong
on August 29, 2006 at 3:48 AM
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We pray for the victums, crew and their families
posted by
Shams-i-Heartsong
on August 29, 2006 at 3:48 AM
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Corbin this is such tragedy!
posted by
Justi
on August 28, 2006 at 9:39 PM
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Corbin
One more comment..... unfortunately, until we are all floating above the ground with wings attached to our shoulders......we are going to have tragic errors like this happen. Even without greed and all that entering the picture....human error will always be present.....and I am more amazed that we have fewer accidents than we do given the sloppy quality control sacrificed for greed...... and think that if we knew how many close calls are avoided every day by sheer luck and the grace of God, few of us would probably ever step off the ground into a car or plane!!
posted by
Krisles
on August 28, 2006 at 3:39 PM
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Corbin
I was visiting my cousin yesterday, when this came over the news....her husband was up in the sky...pilot for a major airline...she is a former flight attendant. Much of our afternoon was then spent listening to her on her soapbox about what has happened to the airline industry, safety practices etc..... Bottom line...no one in their immediate family will fly on a regional jet...period. She will not step on a plane that does not have a number on it with a 7 in front of it, is one way she said it ( I believe), or Boeing on the side...was another phrase. And this was not just because of the planes themselves, but because of the experience level of the pilots who are usually flying them....she said she wants them to have parachuted out over the ocean, been shot at in Nam, be very grouchy assholes, etc, etc,.......
Having worked auto wreck carnage all my life.....I don't think I'll ever be afraid to fly....given the odds.....but, I did listen to her warnings about the pilots flying many of those regional jets....and the planes they are flying.....
posted by
Krisles
on August 28, 2006 at 3:33 PM
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The crash ended the longest period of safety in modern aviation history....
The last major crash was Nov. 12th, 2001.....250+ killed in New York City crash in to I think Brooklyn....everyone at the time thought it was terror related......
posted by
Corbin_Dallas
on August 28, 2006 at 3:16 PM
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Corbin
I just read about that here in the paper today.
I was wondering what happened. They mentioned taking off on the wrong runway in the paper and I was thinking the same thing as you.......I can't believe the control tower didn't notice that.......someone's A*s needs to get fired! Such a tragedy. 
posted by
BlondeAmbition007
on August 28, 2006 at 12:04 PM
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Corbin,
I read this morning that there was only one man in the tower at the time, who, on top of that, was at the end of his shift!
There is something fundamentally wrong with allowing a tower to operate with only one person on duty!
posted by
Nautikos
on August 28, 2006 at 7:52 AM
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was the whole airport asleep?? Pilots...air traffic controllers...
I can see the lawsuits coming already on this one....
posted by
Rumor
on August 28, 2006 at 7:42 AM
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Wonder what was wrong with the pilots? Blind?
posted by
Whacky
on August 28, 2006 at 12:59 AM
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I saw this too and thought "what a tragedy"
Senseless deaths, all of them. How could these pilots not know what runway they were on?
posted by
Passionflower
on August 27, 2006 at 8:37 PM
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I have discovered recently
Just how dangerous stupidity can be. Another prime example here. It's so sad.
posted by
bel_1965
on August 27, 2006 at 7:13 PM
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It is
crazy and horrifying to think how could they take the wrong runway...HOW??? It is very sad.
posted by
WritersBlok
on August 27, 2006 at 6:54 PM
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Corbin
...speaking as a former student pilot, I know how many things must have gone wrong for this to happen. The tower gives planes VERY explicit instructions about takeoff runways and there are all kinds of redundancy going on - as far as repeating back instructions etc. I can't understand how things went so wrong with this...
posted by
Nanaroo
on August 27, 2006 at 4:12 PM
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Let me rephrase small........
size wise.......They have over a million passengers a year........
posted by
Corbin_Dallas
on August 27, 2006 at 4:07 PM
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It's a small airport.....
two long runways for jets...the small on for small private planes. Only one plane takes off at a time. Only one plane lands at a time......so the tower must have gone for coffee. Why were't the yelling into the mike??
posted by
Corbin_Dallas
on August 27, 2006 at 4:06 PM
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Errors; :(
posted by
A-and-B
on August 27, 2006 at 4:01 PM
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Corbin,
This was a total breakdown here. The pilot used the wrong runway. The tower did not stop him. This was an accident that just should not have occurred.
posted by
sarooster
on August 27, 2006 at 3:30 PM
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Corbin,
obviously the pilot made a mistake, but it seems to me the tower did as well. Shouldn't they have noticed that he was on the wrong runway? Don't they have him on their radar? Shouldn't they have checked to make sure he was where he said he was?
posted by
Nautikos
on August 27, 2006 at 2:58 PM
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I'm afraid to fly, and this kind of news just makes my fear worse.
posted by
shelly_b
on August 27, 2006 at 2:57 PM
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It is very sad and you have to wonder how they made that mistake
Just how "awake" was the crew for that early morning fatal mistake? Yesterday many of the jets that flew into Saratoga Springs airport for the Travers race came from that same airport.
posted by
scoop
on August 27, 2006 at 2:42 PM
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