We’re back in business! Do we hear you say, it’s about time? Yes, we agree – but it’s good to have a break every now and then. Mind you, our twitter feed continued to be maintained throughout the holidays covering some massive stories such as the crazy ice-age conditions in North America or odd ones like the one of the escaping Dachshund from Newark/New Jersey.
This week we’re covering two stories that caught our attention (yes, we’re starting at a slow pace as that’s what you do after a big break ;-)). Both are from the U.S. but they are quite different in regards to their topics:
Unless you live under a rock, you surely would have heard of the first story this week as it was in all the news. We’re talking about Southwest flight 4013 that mistakenly landed at the wrong airport. ABC News wrote that the Boeing 737-700 took off at Chicago’s Midway International Airport () and was supposed to land at Branson Airport (BKG) instead it landed at the much smaller M. Graham Clark Downtown Airport (Taney County Airport; PLK). In an article today, CNN wrote that the pilots say that Branson Airport was correctly programmed into their on-board computer, but that they “mistakenly identified” another airport as Branson when they saw its bright lights, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. Southwest Airlines suspended both pilots following the incident, pending the outcome of the investigation, which is continuing. This incident followed the one from November last year when a modified Boeing 747 landed at a wrong airport in Kansas – we wrote about it.
Then our second story is of an entirely different nature: When Colorado legalized recreational marijuana at the start of the year, it doesn’t mean you are allowed to bring the pot on the plane with you. The British Daily Mail wrote that now, in a show of mercy, the Colorado Springs Airport (COS) has installed amnesty boxes where passengers who accidentally bring pot into the airport can surrender it without facing fines of up to $2500 or even possible jail time if caught with the controlled substance. While recreational marijuana was made legal in Colorado it is completely banned in all areas of the airport due to federal aviation regulations which make it illegal to operate a civil aircraft with the knowledge that marijuana is on board.
That’s all for this first week back in 2014 – safe travels!
[Photo from Wikipedia (MamaGeek) – some rights reserved]