Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Latest Pictures from Hurricane Katrina
The aftermath continues to look worse for the people in the Gulf States, especially those hardest hit in New Orleans and the surrounding area. A current slideshow of pictures on the destruction. You might consider making a contribution to the American Red Cross for the staggering number of victims in this disaster -- we just did and will try to send more again shortly.
Saturday, August 06, 2005
Tunisair plane lands in sea off Sicily- officials
My comments below (then you'll know why I found this article interesting enough to post...)
Aug. 6, 2005
ROME (Reuters) - A Tunisair aircraft with 35 passengers on board made an emergency landing in the sea off Sicily on Saturday, Italian emergency services said.
Two passengers were seen on the wings of the plane, an ATR 42, after it had landed on the water, police and fire brigade officials said. The officials added that a rescue attempt was getting under way.
The charter plane was flying from Bari, Italy, to Djerba, Tunisia, police said.
ATR aircraft are made by Avions de Transport Regional, based in France, and can carry up to 50 passengers.
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I still remember taking a TunisAir flight in the late 60's with my friend, Matt, as part of our trip across Europe and North Africa. Matt and I were still woozy from getting several last-minute immunization shots in Marseilles literally hours before boarding our flight. It was a crowded little plane, filled mostly with Tunisian laborers on a Friday afternoon on their way home to their families for the weekend. Early on in the flight, the "flight attendant" handed out customs and immigration paperwork to all the passengers. Matt and I quickly filled out our forms. Suddenly it seemed as though half the passengers on the plane instantly realized that we could read and write so we each ended up with a small pile of passports and forms to fill out. (After filling out several forms, we came to the amusing realization that if we were to jump up and yell, "Mohammed!" over half the plane would turn around in their seats.) Anyway, I digress. Back to the flight...
The flight was pretty uneventful until we got across the Mediterranean and prepared for landing in Tunis. The plane dropped out of the sky quickly as the airport came up in view. As we flew in over the water, the pilot banked quickly to turn the plane for landing. Matt and I looked out our window and freaked out as we saw the tip of the wing practically skimming the surface of the water! I swear we left permanent imprints on the armrests! (And stains on the seats!) The only thing we could think was that TunisAir must have hired every Yahoo Vietnam vet pilot they could get their hands on for cheap and then bought the oldest planes they could find to start their airline. Our knees were still shaking as we stepped off that plane on to the tarmac minutes later, with new appreciation of why so many North African planes went down in the desert and the sea every year...
Aug. 6, 2005
ROME (Reuters) - A Tunisair aircraft with 35 passengers on board made an emergency landing in the sea off Sicily on Saturday, Italian emergency services said.
Two passengers were seen on the wings of the plane, an ATR 42, after it had landed on the water, police and fire brigade officials said. The officials added that a rescue attempt was getting under way.
The charter plane was flying from Bari, Italy, to Djerba, Tunisia, police said.
ATR aircraft are made by Avions de Transport Regional, based in France, and can carry up to 50 passengers.
--------------------------------------
I still remember taking a TunisAir flight in the late 60's with my friend, Matt, as part of our trip across Europe and North Africa. Matt and I were still woozy from getting several last-minute immunization shots in Marseilles literally hours before boarding our flight. It was a crowded little plane, filled mostly with Tunisian laborers on a Friday afternoon on their way home to their families for the weekend. Early on in the flight, the "flight attendant" handed out customs and immigration paperwork to all the passengers. Matt and I quickly filled out our forms. Suddenly it seemed as though half the passengers on the plane instantly realized that we could read and write so we each ended up with a small pile of passports and forms to fill out. (After filling out several forms, we came to the amusing realization that if we were to jump up and yell, "Mohammed!" over half the plane would turn around in their seats.) Anyway, I digress. Back to the flight...
The flight was pretty uneventful until we got across the Mediterranean and prepared for landing in Tunis. The plane dropped out of the sky quickly as the airport came up in view. As we flew in over the water, the pilot banked quickly to turn the plane for landing. Matt and I looked out our window and freaked out as we saw the tip of the wing practically skimming the surface of the water! I swear we left permanent imprints on the armrests! (And stains on the seats!) The only thing we could think was that TunisAir must have hired every Yahoo Vietnam vet pilot they could get their hands on for cheap and then bought the oldest planes they could find to start their airline. Our knees were still shaking as we stepped off that plane on to the tarmac minutes later, with new appreciation of why so many North African planes went down in the desert and the sea every year...
