Overreaction

My little CNN news headline email notifier had something about “developing story” the Capitol building being evacuated because of an inbound aircraft. They weren’t providing any information other than people franticly evacuating the area. (Pelosi being lifted out of her shoes?)

I took a rare lunch out of the office at the pasta place across the street. I placed my order, and went to find the bathroom. The door was locked with someone inside. After a few minutes, I heard the cell phone connect beeps followed by “Hey, Joe, how’s it going?” I didn’t stick around to wait for the rest of the conversation: “Yeah, I’m doing well. I’m just finishing taking a dump. (flush)” Add this to the list of places cell phones ought not to be used.

When I got back, the anticlimatic punchline was an image of the tail of a Cessna 152 on the right and, at the bottom, the (presumably) pilot kissing the concrete runway with the help of an officer’s knee in his back.

I’m glad everyone is safe, but the overreaction just reinforces my feelings that all of the intuitively stupid stuff we’ve been subjected to — shoe removal at airport, concrete bunkers in the paring garage, missile defense at the Capitol — is for naught.

For my 99% non-aviation readers, a Cessna 152 is one of the smallest airplanes one can rent.

It’s typically used as a trainer because it’s small, slow, docile and, as far as anything with wings goes, cheap. When fully fueled, it’s barely adequate for carrying the instructor and student pilot. Inside, the seats are more like bumps in the floor with backrests. The panel is a throwback to the 1960s style of design and sophistication… As Douglas Adams might say, it’s Mostly Harmless. Let’s compare this to some cars:

Vehicle	Cessna 152	Mini Cooper	Subaru Impreza	Toyota Prius	Hummer H2
Weight	1,670*	2900	3110	2950	6700
Horsepower	110	115	165	110	325
Fuel Capacity	26	13.2	15.9	11.9	32
MPG	12	24	22	51	8
Recommended by Consumer Reports	N	N	Y	Y	N

* 1,141 pounds empty. Add two people (2 x 175 pounds), plus the weight of fuel (26 gallons x 6 pounds/gallon), 20 pounds of gear, and you have enough remaining payload for a half-dozen water balloons.

WTF? The radar is so bad they can’t tell it’s smaller than a Mini? Or maybe they missed the VFR transponder signal (1200)? Were the Blackhawk copters called in because the F16s couldn’t fly that slow? Were the pilots seriously thinking of navigating that airspace without a GPS or talking to ATC?

Sigh. Instead of focusing on why there was such an overreaction and a colossal failure of the communication system, the
media instead wants to further prove the pilots were airheads. Well, duh. However, for the record, I can sympathize with having problems getting the surly fuel pump to comply. (Typically, the line boy is too focused on flirting with the person behind the counter.)

I never, ever want to be in the news when they use my full name.
The only good thing to come out of this is I won’t have to read about Michael Jackson, Terry Shiavo, or the Pope for at least another few hours. (No, really, I don’t need to know any more about these.)