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11/22/09
For the record this is main street Goma:
[www.camelworld.com]
and this is the volcano the lava came from (taken from the lip, looking down about 1500m)
[www.camelworld.com]
11/22/09
11/22/09
They make it sound like he landed in hot molten lava, when really it was a giant pile of rocks at the end of the runway.
11/22/09
11/22/09
you can see it here:
[maps.google.com]
Also, if you zoom out, you'll see that the runway was much longer before. The "zoomed out" pic was taken some years before the volcano erupted.
11/22/09
11/22/09
11/22/09
11/22/09
"...A 2002 volcanic eruption sent lava oozing onto Goma's runway, truncating it from more than 2 miles (3 kilometers) to less than a mile (1.5 kilometers). Authorities have not removed all of the lava rock..."
They basically smacked into some rocks that were on the runway, not a lava field.
These rocks got there due to a lava eruption, but they are no longer lava, just rocks on the runway.
I get that hype drives the readers up which in turn increases add revenue, but if I want things to be taken out of proportion to such an extent then I can read The Onion.
Please, please maintain quality writing at Gizmodo.
11/22/09
11/22/09
See also this - [gizmodo.com] - which holds up a competition entry (not even the winner) as something that's actually going to happen. Plus, NB the half-arsed non-retraction.
11/22/09
Congo has experienced more fatal plane crashes than any other African country since 1945, according to the Aviation Safety Network.
However, flying remains one of the more dependable ways to cross the vast country. The country, which is bigger than Western Europe, has only 300 miles (500 kilometers) of paved roads.
11/22/09
That's a great headline and all, but according to the story, that lava originally flowed across the runway... in 2002. It's not like the pilot went, "Okay, we'll just put her down on OH GOD LIQUID HOT MAGMA." It's more like he overshot the runway and smacked the plane into a bunch of rocks.
11/22/09
11/22/09
Co-Pilot:" Well in flight school they taught me to pick an open place and just let my training kick in.... just go with the flow"
Captain: "I ALWAYS wondered why they told us that!"
11/22/09
So its no big deal. Captain Sullenberger still wins. WOO HOO!
11/22/09
11/22/09
Click for full version.
11/19/09