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Sic Semper Tyrannis

Thursday, December 18, 2008

It's been a bad day for landings

A bad couple of days, actually.

Small plane makes crash landing on golf course

A cargo plane that apparently ran out of fuel and was forced to make a hard landing about a half mile from the runway of the Dane County Regional Airport on Tuesday night had been attempting to fly from Appleton to Milwaukee, an airport spokeswoman said.
No word on whether the closest foursome was able to play through. Yes, I had to go there.

Story says the plane was a Cessna 402. I could look it up to find out how big that is, I guess, but it's more fun to imagine a C-130. The story does say "cargo plane."

Anyway, from the "it could always be worse" file:

LONDON (AP) -- A British pilot said he ran into an unusual hazard while making an emergency landing - a cow. Rob Wotton said he was trying to land his World War II-era Tiger Moth after the engine stalled just after takeoff southwest of London on Sept. 14. He was about to touch down in a field when the animal wandered into his way.
"Wandered into his way." Cows are quick like that.

Video of the event on YouTube shows the brown-and-white cow being knocked to the ground by the plane's lower left wing. The two-seater was damaged but landed safely.
Click here and take your pick for the video - there's one that asks whether the whole thing is faked.

An accident report said the cow was "apparently uninjured."
Cows are tough. Except around the ribs. Mmmm. Ribs.

Wotton said he might paint a cow on the plane to mark the event.
I like the way this guy thinks.

He says: "I have to say it is the first cow I have ever hit in 22 years' flying."
Funny thing is, it would be weirder for him to say it wasn't the first.