A tug driver at La Guardia got an expensive lesson in physics on Thursday but lived to tell the tale. The unidentified driver ended up trapped under the American Airlines Boeing 737 he was towing. The tug was crushed and there is damage to the belly of the aircraft, but the driver was freed unharmed. Video shows the tug pulling the 90,000-pound airplane at a good clip on a taxiway when the driver makes a sudden sharp right turn toward the gate area. That’s when things got interesting.
Just a well thought out and well written piece, Paul. Thank you. GA flying and related activities will certainly be back - as always, the exact shape of the future remains to be seen. Until then, stay well!
I think that sadly it is already too late for Oshkosh. Events of that size are only going to be safe when there is a negligible risk of transmission. Other than the loony tunes fringe, there is no one saying that is likely by July
As for GA in general it is critical that we all operate in a responsible manner. This is not the time for “hey watch this “ you tube videos or any grand standing
Better not be a “new” normal. The cure has definitely been worse than the illness.
There is a former NY Times reporter, Alex Berenson, has penned an article that questions the dire virus models. In Columbus, Ohio there were people protesting the statewide lockdown. The Kansas state legislature has voted to override that governor’s executive order shutting down churches in that state. In both LA and New York the respective mayors are complaining about people not following the stay at home order. In some local stores I have been in I noticed maybe 30-40% of customers wearing masks in the stores, even though Governor DeWine in Ohio has recommended it.
The CDC has instructed doctors to list persons who died from other illnesses to list them as Coronavirus fatalities if that person was tested as infected even if the virus has not been determined as the cause of that death. Heck of a way for authorities to maintain any credibility on this.
The longer these lockdowns drag on, the harder it will be for authorities to get people to go along. I will use a mask supplied by my company when engaged in my duties as captain until entering the cockpit when it will be removed as per company policy. I refuse to wear one otherwise as I think it will have no benefit. Even Senator Cruz from Texas has complained about some of the overzealous enforcement that has been reported. Constitutional issues have been raised and I am sure will result in more lawsuits.
We have done to ourselves what the 9/11 terrorists could only dream of. It is time now to reopen the economy and if certain regions really need more time then limit to those regions some measures. But those regions measures have to be done in accordance to the constitution, otherwise there will be nothing left to return to normal.
I don’t think this virus is reading the constitution…
Personally I don’t listen to the political pundits, I listen to the scientists.
They seem to be pretty united on what the threat is and what measures are needed to avoid a huge wave of unnecessary deaths.
Captain Matt, you might want to change the channel every once in a while to get the true story. Governor Kelly of Kansas did not issue an executive order “shutting down churches in that state”. She did issue an executive order restricting church gatherings to 10 people or less while we’re fighting the virus, an entirely reasonable preventative action in view of our limited curative resources. It’s analogous to prohibiting smoking during refueling in order to protect the public even for those who believe in the right to smoke while refueling. Religious gatherings around the world bear much responsibility for the spread of this virus. Kansas is a microcosm of the world in that it does have a lunatic fringe which disregards science. A legislative panel of that fringe was able today to put a pause on the governor’s action. And by the way, Kansas is not under lockdown. The governor has has asked that we stay home but has emphasized that we are not under house arrest. Whether or not the cure is worse than the illness is in the eye of the ill beholder, not in the eyes of those fortunate enough to have remained healthy.
All the people that thinks that drastic changes will take place in the economy and the world as we know it are a bit stuck in their own minds. Things will get to normal very quickly what the pin heads think not withstanding. We all have our routines and we automatically get back into them providing an outside force is not stopping you. Very similar to Newton’s second law of motion. The scare mongers will tell it will take years, no it will not. It will take about as long as what you want to make itself available. For example Luigi Pizza will have his clients line up the first day they notice the sign on the door saying Open. Having all these Doctors of control telling who opens and when is the only reason the economy will not get back to normal right away.
I want my 100 dollar Catfish sandwich and the first day they open up the restaurant at Gulfport I am headed there and right back to normal.
Stating the obvious, aviation is connected to many other industries. People fly for business, visiting family and vacation. If the lock down continues beyond 30-APR, I wonder how many hotels will still be in business. Will people have any place to reside if they do travel? When I was in FL 2 weeks ago for business, the hotel closed the top floors and laid off 98% of their staff. They had no restaurant or maid service. There were maybe 15 rooms occupied.
Using the current IHME forecast model, the current projected deaths would be 0.0256% of the US population. Every death is terrible but that is a pretty small number. The unemployment rate is 10% and likely to climb much high when people can get through the system logjam. For travel related businesses, what will the unemployment rate be? 40% - 50% or higher? In aviation we measure the risk / reward all the time. We love to fly but we know that there is risk. There is risk to being exposed to the virus and risk to how an individual responds. All of these are unknowns. By the way, what the scientists say is that there is only one way to stop the virus. That is herd immunity either by exposure or an immunization.
Personally, if Oshkosh goes on but it’s a requirement to wear a mask and/or get your temperature checked before being allowed in, then I definitely won’t be going. I’d actually prefer they just cancel it now, instead of holding out hope to still go forward with it. I think enough people are not going to go regardless of what happens between now and then that it won’t be worth the effort to put on a lackluster, lightly-attended show. Which is a real shame, because I was particularly looking forward to going this year
I think that the “dooms day” prophets are neglecting/ignoring American ingenuity. We as a society possess too much creativity, focus and industrial willpower to let this linger on. It appears that all of the catastrophic forecasts are falling short, with the death rate and new case rate not anywhere near initial projections. This is being overplayed by segments of the media and political opposition to achieve a desired political objective. As a prior political figure stated: “A crisis is a terrible thing to waste”.
Yes but for two points: This virus is new and not acting like other corona viruses in a number of ways. Scientists are learning about it all the time. For example, whether it is killed or loses potency in sunshine.
Initial research from hot countries like Singapore and Australia said no – but new research says maybe. And in South Africa, they cleared the decks for an Italy style explosion and nothing has happened – yet. They are in a sunny autumn there.
The other is the credibility of scientists in such outbreaks. I was working in a rural area of the UK when the Mad Cow outbreak occurred. Again it was new, scientists were only just beginning to realize the way rouge proteins could make people sick. The loudest and most shrill scientists predicted 100,000 dead by 2005 whether beef bans were put in place or not. At the moment there are around 170 suspected dead from the human form of the protein, possibly transmitted by eating infected beef. But there are thousands, if not tens of thousands of farmers, butchers, abattoirs and others who lost they livihoods. Some are still in poverty as a result. Have the scientists said sorry? No, they have retired from their safe salaried government jobs into a comfortable old age, without a word of regret. Now the loudest and most shrill shouting for masks and no running on the streets remind me of them. Especially as the virus is 129nm and in order to allow humans to breath, the mesh of a mask has to be at least 300nm, and even then you really have to suck.
So my guess is after the worst is over, it will once again be rude not to shake hands and kiss cheeks where I live.
Hydroxychloroquine - Would you take it if you were REALLY sick & maybe on your death bed?
From what I see, it seems to depend what political party you support. True?
What say you?
Bob I’m not sure that whether or not folks would take the medication is based upon political leanings. What is true is that predominantly one political party is actively promoting this medication. That doesn’t mean the population will automatically take the medication based on political affiliation or advice. I have taken every anti malarial prophylactic known to man including chloroquine and even straight quinine (age giveaway), but always under physician guidance and prescription. Whether or not I would take the above medication for Cov 19 would depend upon many circumstances, not the least of which would be the best educated opinion of my primary doc who knows my health history including blood profile based on regular blood draws, followed by a second opinion. Politics would have 0% influence on me in this case, just as politics does not determine which abnormal checklists we run once we have diagnosed malfunctions while airborne.
“This is said to be a year to 18 months away. I’m not a pessimist, but an optimist with experience and I’m going to bet on the sooner rather than the later.”
I share your overall optimism, but there are some parts of vaccine research that can’t be hurried. A large part of vaccine research is biological, and you can’t hurry Mother Nature. It’s like growing corn - no matter how many farmers you throw at the problem, it still takes months for corn to grow from seed to plate.
Some parts can certainly be sped up - the data analysis and paperwork, for example. But growing the samples, testing on live subjects, checking for side effects, finding out how much (or how little) of the vaccine is needed to provide results, testing the immune response, etc. are processes that simply can’t be sped up.
PS - let’s not forget the anti-vaxxers that will protest that the sped-up process means the vaccine is unsafe/makes you sick(er)/causes autism in adults, etc. As we’ve learned from recent measles outbreaks, all it takes is a couple of fruitcakes not getting the vaccine to ruin it for everyone else.
