Boeing 737 makes duck soup with ducks and lands safely

by Jamie Rhein on

Not all planes that hit flocks of birds end up making crash landings. When a Boeing 737 flew through a flock of ducks near Fairbanks, Alaska on Thursday, it did make an emergency landing to make sure that there wasn’t any major damage to the aircraft other than the crack in the outer windshield. The only other damage was a dent in the engine cowling.

The description of the ducks bouncing off the jet reminded me a bit of the pheasants (and the black bird , and the chipmunk AND raccoon) that bounced off our car last summer when we drove along the Enchanted Highway in North Dakota on our Great American Road trip. Quite alarming and unusual. We’ve been on this road before with never a problem.

It’s not that unusual for planes to hit birds in Alaska. According to the article in the Anchorage Daily News most of the time, the birds just bounce off the airplane and nothing happens. In our case, one of the pheasants was stuck in the grill of our car, something my husband discovered when we stopped to get gas.

In the case of a plane going through flocks of ducks, I wonder if anyone on board has ever yelled, “Duck!”

*Thanks to Gadling reader, Matt for the heads up on this story.

World Ice Championships: Blocks of Ice No More

by Jamie Rhein on

Wow! Amazing! Fabulous! Totally Awesome! You pick the descriptors. From February 27 to March 25 during the World Ice Championships in Fairbanks, Alaska the best of the best ice-sculptures are made–some you can walk through.

Professional ice-sculptors participate in single block or multiple ice-block competitions and spectators get to watch as the artists carve away at the ice until the art they envision appears. I remember somewhere that Michelangelo would picture in his mind what his masterpiece looked like when it was still uncarved inside the marble. With his carving tools he would help what already existed come out. Or perhaps, I’m making this up. Somehow, though, that idea stuck in my head. Regardless, at the end of the World Ice Championships, beauty is set free from ice blocks that all started out looking the same. Of course, this beauty eventually melts and drips away. Until then, there is plenty of viewing time once the pieces are complete.

While the competitions have set times where you can see the artists at work, there are other activities for all ages to enjoy. Here is the list and schedule of events. Amateur ice-carvers can also try for prizes. The sculputure in the photo carved by Steve Brice, Aaron Costic, Heather Brown and Joan Brice is “Time for Tea.” It was a 3rd place winner in the Realistic catagory. Each of last year’s sculpture is featured with photographs of the various stages of its creation on the World Championships website .