Off the Radar: Dash 8 Plummets from Buffalo Sky
Last Friday, an air commuter chartered by Continental Airlines disappeared from radar and radio communication without a single distress call and crashed, nose first, into a home in Buffalo, New York. The plane burst into flames on impact and claimed 50 lives, that of 45 passengers, four crew members, and one inhabitant of the home from which the plane's tail protruded 50 feet above ground resembling something out of Donnie Darko.
Late-night talk show host, David Letterman, called last month's "Miracle on the Hudson" a sign of good things to come in 2009, but one must wonder what this air crash, the deadliest since 2001, means for us. Speaking of which, perhaps the most tragic figure involved in Friday's accident is Beverly Eckert who was widowed over seven years ago when her husband, Sean Rooney, perished from the 98th floor of the World Trade Center's south tower. She was on her way to Buffalo to present a scholarship established in her husband's name. She has testified on the 9/11 Commission numerous times on a range of issues including compensation for families of victims of the 2001 terrorist attacks, national defense against terrrorism, and treatment of suspected terrorists imprisoned at Guantanamo. For this, President Obama calls her "an inspiration".
The second airplane accident in less than a month has many raising questions about airlines' abilities to deal effectively with nature (geese, icing, etc.) as well as aviation safety standards in the U.S. The Dash 8 is a model that has been grounded by Scandanavian Airlines System for prior safety violations.
Late-night talk show host, David Letterman, called last month's "Miracle on the Hudson" a sign of good things to come in 2009, but one must wonder what this air crash, the deadliest since 2001, means for us. Speaking of which, perhaps the most tragic figure involved in Friday's accident is Beverly Eckert who was widowed over seven years ago when her husband, Sean Rooney, perished from the 98th floor of the World Trade Center's south tower. She was on her way to Buffalo to present a scholarship established in her husband's name. She has testified on the 9/11 Commission numerous times on a range of issues including compensation for families of victims of the 2001 terrorist attacks, national defense against terrrorism, and treatment of suspected terrorists imprisoned at Guantanamo. For this, President Obama calls her "an inspiration".
The second airplane accident in less than a month has many raising questions about airlines' abilities to deal effectively with nature (geese, icing, etc.) as well as aviation safety standards in the U.S. The Dash 8 is a model that has been grounded by Scandanavian Airlines System for prior safety violations.