Hurray for Air Traffic Controllers

JetBlue has scare at Logan Airport: MyFoxBOSTON.com

Fast Thinking Boston Air Traffic Controller
Saves Hundreds of Lives on Two JetBlue Planes

I love competence.

"JetBlue hold. JetBlue 1264 hold right there. JetBlue 1264 Hold! Hold!"

JetBlue 1264 at Boston's Logan Airport with 91 passengers plus crew was taxing to the gate the night before Thanksgiving (back in November, 2010.) It should have gone left but instead went right.

Fail.

The ground controller spotted the error and had I264 stop literally seconds before it would have entered an active runway, with another JetBlue aircraft speeding in from the right on its take-off roll at well over 100 miles-per-hour, faster and faster.

JetBlue 1264 stopped three to five seconds from a two-aircraft fireball with hundreds of lives up in flames. (Watch the video -- judge for yourself.)

The ATC had been on the job 32 years. Experience, competence, counts.

Well done, sir. Well done.

FOX25 in Boston has more.

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Taking His Ball and Going Home

McCain has hurt feelings over the bumbled interview yesterday that is all over the corporate media and blogosphere. And so, like the experienced, level headed, potential leader of the free world-- when the going gets tough, the tough run and hide.

Yesterday, Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds appeared on CNN for an interview with Campbell Brown. Brown was tough on Bounds, refusing to let him spout typical campaign talking points. She repeatedly pressed him on Palin¹s foreign policy experience and qualifications, asking him to name one decision that she made as commander-in-chief of the Alaskan National Guard. Bounds was unable to do so.

Today, CNN's Wolf Blitzer revealed that because of that tough interview, the McCain campaign has canceled the senator's appearance on Larry King Live tonight:

The McCain campaign said it believed that exchange was over the line and as a result the interview scheduled for Larry King Live with Sen. McCain was pulled. CNN does not believe that Campbell's interview was over the line. We are committed to fair coverage of both sides of this historic election.

Well I don't think we can give CNN that much credit. But this was indeed a great shot across the bow. And it looks like dangerously-flawed McSame can't handle it.

Update:
Campell Brown's email addresses so you can send her a note of support:

campbell.brown@cnn.com
campbell.brown@turner.com

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