New Jersey pilot in hot water over dropped toilet paper stunt

by Scott Carmichael on

A New Jersey pilot has found himself on the receiving end of a license review by the FAA after he flew his small plane over the neighborhood, dropping rolls of toilet paper to the ground.

Pilot Warren Sanders took off in his Cessna 172S, did a few circles, then dropped the rolls near the athletic field of the local school.

His antics may appear to be part of the ultimate tp’ing revenge, but he was actually just using the plane to practice dropping streamers for an upcoming football game.

Sadly, the FAA and a local municipal judge couldn’t see the fun in the actions, and charged Sanders with the fourth-degree crime of knowingly and purposely flying over a densely populated area and dropping objects, specifically toilet paper, in violation of state statute.

The FAA does not allow pilots to drop anything from a plane unless reasonable precautions were made – but in this case, kids were playing on a nearby field, and could have been hit by the killer toilet paper projectiles. Or, perhaps just covered in streams of toilet paper slowly descending from the skies, depending on how accurate Sanders managed to drop them.

The final penalties range from a simple warning letter to suspension of his license – personally, I hope they just hand him a letter. This man isn’t a terrorist, he’s just a sports fan who made a bit of an error in judgment.

[Photo from Flickr/TerryJohnston]

Veterans blocked from Wolfgang Puck restaurant in Dallas

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Okay, it has to be hard to turn a nonagenarian away from a restaurant, right? How about one who’s a decorated World War II hero who spent two years in a POW camp and five of his buddies? Well, this is what happened at the up-market Five Sixty restaurant, a Wolfgang Puck property in Dallas.

Their transgression: failing to meet the dress code.

The vets were holding their annual reunion; they were survivors of the “Black Thursday,” a 1943 German bombing mission. If bending the rules is ever warranted, these are the guys who have earned it. Yet, clad in baseball caps, shorts and POW t-shirts, they weren’t able to strike the necessary pose to get in.

According to USA Today:

“I figure if I spent two years in a POW camp, I could have handled the privilege of sitting in that fancy restaurant a few minutes,” said 93-year-old Jay Coberly, a member of the Second Schweinfurt Memorial Association and a bombardier with the decorated 8th Army Air Force, known as the Mighty 8th. “We’ve been all over the country, and we’ve never had this kind of problem. Dallas must be a first-class town.”

The restaurant has, unsurprisingly, taken action, sending the vets two bottles of Scotch, a written apology and an invitation come back to Five Sixty. The group isn’t going to take the offer, though, reports USA Today: “We were humiliated once,” she said, “so I don’t think they have any interest in stepping back in there.”

[photo by respres via Flickr]

Delta to flight attendants: come back!

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Delta’s looking for 1,000 flight attendants, some of whom will be furloughed workers recalled for international assignments. Some will be new hires. But, it’s going to take some time get them in the door: they’ll be working the aisles by the middle of 2011. In particular, the airline is looking for flight attendants fluent in Japanese and Mandarin, which narrows the field a bit.

Delta already has 20,000 flight attendant, and they are currently in the process of deciding whether to be represented by the Association of Flight Attendants union.

The hiring at Delta follows a similar move by American Airlines, which is recalling close to 800 flight attendants who were furloughed and pilots to help accommodate network expansion internationally.

So, those baggage fees are paying off for a few people!

[photo by Augapfel via Flickr]

Travel+Leisure names the world’s scariest bridges

by Scott Carmichael on

Anyone reading this article that suffers from Gephyrophobia may want to find something else to read. And yes – Gephyrophobia is a real phobia, defined as an abnormal and persistent fear of crossing bridges.

Travel+Leisure compiled a list of the scariest bridges in the world – adding locations from some unexpected locations. Eight of the bridge structures are in North America – and includes the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan – which earned a spot on the list because of the extremely high winds crossing the strait.

Of course, some of the bridges in the lineup really deserve a spot – like the Capilano Suspension Bridge in Canada, where pedestrians cross a 120 year old bridge that is suspended 230 feet over the valley.

Others in the list are just downright freaky, like the monkey bridges in Vietnam or the Hussaini Hanging Bridge in Pakistan – one does not have to suffer from fear of bridges to be scared of the mere thought of crossing these.

At least when you have finished walking those bridges, you’ll be at the other side – unlike the famous El Caminito Del Rey in Spain where you pass over bridges, narrow walkways and parts that have completely crumbled into the deep gorge, forcing you to hold on to the rock wall.

For the entire list of world’s scariest bridges, head on over to Travel+Leisure, just don’t say I didn’t warn you about how scary some of these structures are!

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Airport contraband featured in Lever House Art Exhibition

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Go to Manhattan‘s Lever House, and you may see that lighter – or hand grenade – that was taken from you a JFK airport. Through the end of the year, the free exhibition will consist of photographs taken by Taryn Simon of items seized from passengers and mail packages coming into the United States. She spent five days clicking away at more than 1,000 items.

The exhibition, called “Contraband,” includes everything you’d expect to find at JFK: Cuban cigars, pirated DVDs, bongs and hand grenades. Also, there were animal parts and heroin. You’ll have to decide for yourself what’s strangest, but here are MSNBC’s thoughts:

So what’s the strangest thing in Simon’s new “Contraband” show? Hard to say, but the horse sausage and cow manure tooth powder have to be up at the top of the list.

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[photo by 16 Miles of String via Flickr]