"He Died Doing What He Loved" Case 3,214

The king of the Darwin Awards was immortalized in a number of videos taken just before he crashed a plane he stole in his insane suicide.





People after the fact are now raising security concerns:

The man — a ground service agent identified as Richard B. Russell, according to a law enforcement official — exposed a troubling reality of airport security in the post-9/11 era. While many visible aspects of commercial flight that affect the routines of passengers have been hardened, parts of the system that are behind the scenes, but just as important to public safety as cockpit doors and screening machines, remain vulnerable.

Mr. Russell took off around 7:30 p.m., according to the authorities. He chatted sometimes calmly and sometimes in a frenzied stream of consciousness with air traffic controllers who tried to guide him to a safe landing, as jets from the Air National Guards of Washington and Oregon flew alongside him, ready to take action. The plane came down in a fiery crash on Ketron Island, about 30 miles from the airport. No one else was believed to be on board, and officials confirmed Mr. Russell was killed.

But he died doing what he loved, don't you know?

CNN Report:

Absolutely Heinous

It indeed was murder. We now know the co-pilot of Germanwings Flight 9525 deliberately crashed the plane when the captain had left the cockpit and then could not get back in.

The murderer was identified as 28-year-old Andreas Gunter Lubitz.

It is stating the obvious that another crew member needs to be in the plane if one of the pilots needs to step out to use the restroom or there are health issues.

More:

The inquiry shows that the crash was intentional, Mr. Robin said, and he was considering changing his investigation from involuntary manslaughter to voluntary manslaughter.

He said there was no indication that it was a terrorist attack, and added that Mr. Lubitz was not known to law enforcement officials. After the news conference, the German interior minister, Thomas de Maizière, told reporters in Berlin that security officials had checked their records after Tuesday’s crash and found no indication that anyone on board had links to terrorism.

Just unreal.

The AirAsia Plane Disappearance

Just so people know, the usual suspects are on CNN giving their usual spiel on something that so far nobody knows what happened. Unfortunately for CNN, there is little doubt this plane, unlike MH370, WILL be found thanks to the relatively shallow water in the Java Sea as opposed to the miles-deep Indian Ocean.

The network won't be able to drag this tragedy out for weeks and weeks like the Malaysian flight.

I hope there are survivors of the AirAsia plane, but the longer the search goes on, the less chance any survivors will be found.

The WSWS notes today that AirAsia, like other Asian airlines, operates at rock-bottom costs. Some background:

AirAsia Indonesia is 48.9 percent owned by its Malaysian parent company, which has grown rapidly since it was bought in 2001 as a bankrupt state enterprise for just 25 US cents by Malaysian businessman Tony Fernandes. It is one of the most ruthlessly operated of the low-cost airlines, with very high productivity rates extracted from its workforce, an aircraft turnaround time of 25 minutes and an aircraft utilisation rate of 13 hours per day—among the highest internationally. The loss of Flight QZ8501 is the first disaster involving an AirAsia aircraft.

All Lives Lost

Not surprising Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 landed in the remote part of the southern Indian Ocean according to the current search, and that everybody onboard died.

There is virtually no land to speak of in that part of the world, so the plane had to have landed in the water.

It's not going to be an easy task recovering any debris, let alone ever be able to pinpoint the exact location of where the plane landed/crashed:

Authorities from Australia, China and France have said that satellite images have indicated objects floating in the search zone. The area is roughly consistent with a southern flight path calculated from “pings” emitted by equipment aboard Flight 370 and picked up by a satellite for more than seven hours after ground controllers lost contact with the plane.

The search for the aircraft’s fuselage and other bulky parts of the jet that probably sank to the bottom of the ocean is likely to be focused within a limited distance from the suspected flight path. But the search for floating debris, which investigators say will offer proof that the jet hit the water, is likely to be increasingly widespread.

They Might As Well Start at Antactica and the West Coast of the US

For all the good the search has done since Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 went down nearly two weeks ago, searchers might as well go the whole route.

"Authorities" are saying "foul play" was responsible despite there being no evidence, but hey, it gives the families of the passengers and crew false hope. It simply can't be a straightforward plane crash caused by some major malfunction and a loss of cabin pressure. No, that can't be entertained at all even though it is the only plausible explanation at this point.

I am going with this logical explanation until there are FACTS that state otherwise and not some dumb speculation.

However, on Sunday, Malaysia's transport minister said key communication equipment that keeps the ground updated about the health of a flying aircraft and its engines was disabled on Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 before the last recorded conversation with the cockpit.

If deliberate action caused the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, who on board may be responsible? WSJ's Linda Freund reports.

"Yes, it was before," Hishammuddin Hussein said at a news conference Sunday in response to a reporter's question about whether the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System, or ACARS, of Flight 370 was disabled before someone said, "All right, good night" from the cockpit.

The ACARS system being disabled before the last voice message from the cockpit backs up thinking by experts that somebody with intricate understanding of the Boeing 777-200 jet and its systems tampered with communication equipment on board. The system apparently could only have been disabled by someone in the cockpit, according to an executive of Rockwell Collins, which bought ARINC, the firm that invented the ACARS system. The executive spoke to The Wall Street Journal on condition of anonymity.

Or it was simply a major mechanical/electrical problem aboard, but we can't have that.

There is an off chance the pilot(s) deliberately crashed the plane as it has happened before in other cases as mentioned in the report, but so far there has been no evidence either pilot was depressed or was in a retaliatory mood.

Air Races

Oh, sure there will be lawsuits filed against a number of outfits and individuals over the Reno National Championship Air Races, and likely the outfits will settle, but the fact is the spectators put themselves at risk for even being there.

That's what any defense would argue; my understanding is the tickets had a disclaimer on them saying to the effect they weren't responsible for any injuries, etc., that people entered the site at their own risk. The publicity, of course, would force the proprietors to settle any case.

link

The death toll has now risen to 11.
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News, Etc.

Modifications were made on the plane which crashed at the Reno National Championship Air Races, which have now killed ten people.

So far five of the victims' names, including the pilot's, have been released.
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Obama, unmasked by all but the stupidest as nothing more than stealth Republican, tries his damnedest to get even more neoliberal hogwash passed in Congress.
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Obituary: Singer Dolores Hope, 102, died this morning. She had been in good health until recent months.

She was an accomplished singer when she had met comedian Bob Hope. They were married February 19, 1934, and stayed together until his death at 100 in 2003. She revived her singing career when she was in her late 80s.

It's quite unusual to find married couples where both of them reached the century mark.

link
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If you're desperate for work, there is always Amazon.com to work for--if you can survive the oppresive working conditions:

Workers said they were forced to endure brutal heat inside the sprawling warehouse and were pushed to work at a pace many could not sustain. Employees were frequently reprimanded regarding their productivity and threatened with termination, workers said. The consequences of not meeting work expectations were regularly on display, as employees lost their jobs and got escorted out of the warehouse. Such sights encouraged some workers to conceal pain and push through injury lest they get fired as well, workers said.

During summer heat waves, Amazon arranged to have paramedics parked in ambulances outside, ready to treat any workers who dehydrated or suffered other forms of heat stress. Those who couldn't quickly cool off and return to work were sent home or taken out in stretchers and wheelchairs and transported to area hospitals. And new applicants were ready to begin work at any time.

An emergency room doctor in June called federal regulators to report an "unsafe environment" after he treated several Amazon warehouse workers for heat-related problems. The doctor's report was echoed by warehouse workers who also complained to regulators, including a security guard who reported seeing pregnant employees suffering in the heat.

Air Races

Some of the victims of Friday's fatal air crash at the Reno National Championship Air Races are being identified, including a Washington man and a man from Arizona.

The second story is particularly tragic:

The news came in a phone call Saturday at 1 a.m., but his brothers had been trying his cellphone for hours, all gathered at their mom’s house, unsure whether to worry or hope.
“Everybody please pray,” the oldest wrote on Facebook. Their brother had been so excited before this trip.

Michael Wogan, 22, was among the nine people killed when the pilot of a 1940s-model P-51 Mustang crashed into the crowd Friday at the Reno National Championship Air Races. His father, Bill Wogan, was with his son, and lost his right eye, some of the fingers on his right hand, suffered over 100 fractures to his face, and was in critical condition at a Reno hospital.

He was the third of four sons, and the number three meant a lot to this Phoenix area family: three wheelchairs, three big vans, three of the brothers with congenital muscular dystrophy. With those kinds of numbers, brothers are what you need.

Just terrible.

In the end, the insurance companies are going to call the shots as to whether this event, the ONLY one of its kind in the world, will be allowed to continue.

Air Races

The pilot and the plane involved in the horrible accident at the National Championship Air Races in Reno were the oldest participants in the event.

Some of the initial reports had ageist tones to them, but it is clear Jimmy Leeward was a highly experienced pilot and has been credited for being able to steer his plane in an instant to avoid the grandstands, thus saving hundreds of lives.  The air races are one of the two biggest events in Reno, with the other being Hot August Nights.  Reno has many major events during the summer beginning with the Reno Rodeo, so the cancellation of the air races is a major blow to the already economically depressed area.  However, this was the only  course of action despite Leeward's family insisting the event go on.

A clip of  Leeward and his plane from a couple of days ago can be seen here.

There have been other fatalities over the years, but none of these had ever involved spectators.

I believe the air races will continue, but more safety measures will probably be put in.  However, something like this was unavoidable, just like car crashes are unavoidable in the Indy 500.

Update:  At least nine have died as a result of injuries in the crash including pilot Leeward.

News, Etc.

Teachers in Tacoma, Washington, have made a gutsy move and continue to strike despite a judge's order to return to work.

More

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Obama continues his assault on health care.
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Rahm Emanuel is an idiot and a bigot.  "Obesity" isn't a matter of eating too much or exercising too little--most of it is genetic or is a result of an underlying disease such as hypothryoidism, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, or diabetes.

"Dieting" is a failure because it goes against nature and doesn't address possible other causes for weight gain and fluid retention.

Singling out people to penalize them is discriminatory and ignorant.  Washoe County School District had one of those stupid "wellness" programs in there.  I doubt they saved any kind of money; they just simply fired people when they used FMLA.
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In all of the years I lived in Reno, I never had any desire to go to its signature event, the National Air Races.  I always went to the balloon races, but not the air races.

There was a horrible tragedy there this afternoon:



A spokesman describes the scene as a "mass casualty situation."  link

At least 3 are dead, including the 80-year-old pilot, with at least 75 injured, and of those, 25 are critical.

Marshall Carter was working on some fuel tanks nearby said he saw the plane pull up, "and it looked like he had major mechanical malfunction, like the controls failed."

Carter said the plane was about 100 feet off the ground and was rolling over at that point. It appeared he purposely pulled back on the stick so the plane went into the ground, instead of the stands, saving hundreds of lives.

Greg Erny, 57, who was sitting in the VIP section, said the plane disintegrated as its pieces flew into the crowd.

"It was the most sickening thing I've ever seen just watching the plane, there was no plane left," he said.

Michael Haughton, the president and CEO of the National Championship Air Races, said the rest of the event is canceled.

Leeward was 74, not 80 as earlier reported.  The latest report says 54 were injured.

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News

A plane crash in Cuba kills all 68 aboard.

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After his filthy anti-Hillary Clinton rant of a couple of years ago, I seldom bother with Keith Olbermann. I suspended him from my "must see" list.

It appears MSNBC wasn't happy with him having donated to three Democratic candidates, and so now he is being suspended without pay "indefinitely."

That'll be a boon to Rachel Maddow and Ed Schultz.

News

How this many people survived a plane breaking in half while landing is amazing.

Only one person died in the crash, while 130 survived.
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Tom DeLay gets away with it.

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News--Ted Stevens Plane Crash

Tragedy in Alaska, where five people have died in a plane crash. Among the passengers is former senator Ted Stevens and former NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe.

Stevens had previously been in a plane crash, this one in 1978 where he was one of two survivors. His wife died in that crash.

Some reports have it Stevens was among those killed.

Update: Stevens died in the crash, but O'Keefe and his teenage son were among the four survivors.

This is interesting from the New York Times:

His stature in Alaska seemed to have remained virtually intact despite the scandal. Mr. Stevens survived another plane crash on Dec. 4, 1978, that killed five of seven people on board, including his first wife, Ann. He was traveling on a Lear jet that crashed when landing at Anchorage International Airport, which was renamed Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in honor of the senator in 2000.

Before that 1978 crash, Mr. Stevens reportedly spoke of a premonition that he would die in a plane crash, a fate that is not unknown to many in Alaska who travel the vast state in small planes. He was a key supporter of legislation intended to help relatives of those killed in air crashes, according to Hans Ephraimson-Abt, a spokesman for the Air Crash Victims Family Group. A proposal to establish an office of family assistance inside the National Transportation Safety Board, to keep grieving relatives apprised of the progress of an investigation and to help them claim remains and personal effects, had languished in the Senate in the 1990s.

“He was the ranking member of the Commerce Committee,” Mr. Ephraimson-Abt said. “He and Senator Larry Pressler and Senator Alphonse D’Amato convened, at our suggestion, a last-minute hearing” on the proposal. “Without his activity, this act would never have gone into effect.”

All of the passengers have been identified.
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Miscellaneous

At least one child has survived the Airbus crash from Yemen yesterday. There were 153 on board.

Miscellaneous News

Unemployment likely topped 9 percent in May.

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An Air France carrying 216 passengers and 12 crew is feared lost:

The plane took off from Galeão Airport in Rio de Janeiro at 7:30 p.m. local time, and its last verbal communication with air traffic control was at 10:33 p.m., when the pilots said they would enter Senegal air space within 50 minutes, according to a statement from the Aeronautica, the body in charge of Brazilian air space. At that time, the flight was flying normally, travelling at 520 miles per hour at 35,000 feet.

About a half-hour later, at 2 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time, the plane encountered an electrical storm with “very heavy turbulence,” an Air France spokeswoman, Brigitte Barrand, said. The last communication from the plane was 14 minutes later — an automatically sent message informing air traffic control of electrical-system malfunction, Air France officials said in Paris.

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Miscellaneous

A small plane has crashed into a Butte, Montana, cemetery of all places just a little while ago.

Seventeen people are reported dead.

Details:

The plane may have been carrying several young children who may have been heading for a ski vacation.

Butte-Silver Bow County Coroner Lee Labreche has been called out. It is unknown if anyone on the ground was injured.

The plane was en route to Butte from Oroville, Calif., officials said. It is a Pilatus PC12 leased from Eagle Leasing of California.

An eyewitness to the crash told The Montana Standard the plane was doing steep angle turns and then went into nose dive.

Continental Flight 3407 Crash

The death toll from last night's crash near Buffalo, New York, is now 50. Surprisingly, two other people who were in the house where the plane crashed survived with minor injuries and were released from the hospital. One person in the house was killed.

There were many Buffalo residents who died in the crash.

There is some video at the second link.

Miscellaneous Stuff [Updated]

A UNR K-9 police officer accused of abusing a police dog has denied the charges.
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I now expect a sequel to Frost/Nixon, called Ronnie/Nixon. Nixon was right, of course, and Reagan's health was already declining by 1987.
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Thank God that stupid idea of legalizing prostitution in Vegas is going nowhere this legislative session.
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Update: As everybody knows, a fatal commuter plane crash happened this evening near Buffalo, New York, when Continental Flight 3407 crashed into a home, killing all 48 in the plane and the person inside the house.

It was the deadliest U.S. plane crash since the Lexington, Kentucky, crash in 2006, which also killed 49.
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Miscellaneous News

It's a good thing Rumi's caretaker was sane enough to try and retrieve him.

The cat is okay after spending days down a 30-foot shaft.
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Thinking about the near-disaster of the Qantas Flight 30 of yesterday, I have been reading about air disasters of the past. I came across the one of the famous 1956 midair collision at the Grand Canyon of TWA Flight 2 and United Airlines Flight 718, which helped bring about major changes in airline safety.

Since the area is remote, much of the wreckage, especially of the United Airlines plane, still remain.
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