Lives saved from missed connection on flight to Buffalo

by Jamie Rhein on

Imagine this scenario. You’re feeling aggravated because your flight has been delayed. Because of this delay, you’ve missed your connection on another flight. The hours have ticked by while you’re wondering when you might get to your destination.

Then you find out that the plane you would have been on if your flight had not been delayed had crashed into a house and everyone on board had died.

That’s the case of three people who would have been on Flight 3407 that crashed near Buffalo, New York if their flight out of New Orleans had not been delayed for five hours. The three–Dave Beckeny, Paul Dwaragowski and a business associate, were heading to Buffalo but missed the Newark connection. As one of them said, knowing what could have happened if they had been on time is “weird.”

Yesterday when Tom, and then I wrote about the crash, we didn’t know about these three until Heather sent this Nutty News post my way. Again, here is a reminder that so much about arriving or not arriving at destinations seems random. Still most of us get where we’re heading — never knowing what might have happened if we had walked out of the house ten minutes earlier or headed home sooner than expected. Regardless of whether a flight is delayed or leaves on time, enjoy where you are. That moment is yours.

Carbon Monoxide hazard: Take the detector on vacation

by Jamie Rhein on

This is the time of year when carbon monoxide poisoning stories begin to circulate. I heard one story yesterday on the Today Show that caught my traveler’s ear. A family who was recently vacationing in Aspen died from carbon monoxide poisoning while slumbering. (See article.)

The family was staying in an upscale vacation rental where such tragedies are least expected. At the end of the segment, the suggestion was made that perhaps it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take a carbon monoxide detector with you when you go on vacation. They are light, not particularly expensive and could save lives. Just remember to change the batteries or this safety feature is useless.

In this post at Traveling Mamas, Mountain Mama offers more details about the Aspen tradgedy and suggests that people make sure working carbon monoxide detectors are installed in vacation rentals and hotels before making a booking.

It has never occurred to me to check on such details. I can think of a few dodgy establishments where I’ve taken the bedspread off the bed and cleaned the water glasses before using them to stay healthy. This is just one more safety feature to add to the list.

Here’s a link to the Today show segment about carbon monoxide safety.

When Bad Stuff Happens, Is It Better To Be At Home?

by Brett Atkinson on

Most people can remember where they were when events of major importance happened like 9/11 or the Columbia space shuttle tragedy. When such events occur, the best place to be is usually at home surrounded by friends and family.

August 31 is the tenth anniversary of the death of Princess Diana. In August 1997 I was travelling alone in Eastern Turkey and got to a cheap hotel in Erzurum after a long bus trip from the Black Sea coast.

The lobby of the Ornek Hotel was filled with locals watching TV, but the grainy images and Turkish commentary didn’t really make clear what had happened. I managed to work out from the guy at reception that “Prince Charles’ girlfriend” had died, but given Charles and Di’s marriage was already over this still didn’t tell me anything definitive.

Gradually snippets on TV, (remember this was before the days of widespread Internet), told the full story, and a few days later I was in another cheap hotel in Sanliurfa near the Syrian border watching Elton John sing his reworked “English Rose” at Diana’s funeral.

Now I’m not a big fan of Elton, and definitely not a royalist, but I was sitting in my spartan accommodation with tears streaming down my face. The combination of being away from home, and having no-one to share the event in my own language I guess.

For American readers, what was it like if you were out of the States on September 11, 2001?

Thanks to bush to push on Flickr for the pic of Erzurum.