Word: takeoffs
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...Pentagon's F-35 jet fighter landed vertically for the first time - like a helicopter - as it was vaunted to do. But at just about the same time, its price tag was climbing in the other direction. A Swiss Army knife of the skies, it's designed for vertical takeoff and landing to please the Marines and their smaller ships, while more conventional versions are slated to satisfy the demands of the Air Force and Navy. All of a sudden, however, the F-35 is in big trouble. On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told Congress that its recent cost...
...well mix ice dancing with speedskating and call it a day. Cross-country racing requires extreme endurance, while ski jumping requires insanity. "It is kind of stupid," says Finland's Janne Ryynaenen of the odd combination. Ryynaenen nailed the longest leap of the day, 138.5 m from the takeoff, during the ski-jumping portion of the Nordic combined team event. "It makes no sense," he adds. (See why women aren't allowed to ski jump in the Olympics...
...mean, seriously. The other day I was sitting on an airplane, watching the usual slice of America attempt to squeeze derrières far too large into seats far too small. In the age of the seat belt extender, this is hardly an unusual sight. But just before takeoff, there was a rotund man rolling a wheelie suitcase down the aisle in way-too-tight pants. What was he wearing? You guessed it—sheaths of spandexy “denim” someone told him counted as jeans...
According to passengers arriving from Amsterdam, where Nigerian "undie bomber" Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab sneaked through security, a new, second checkpoint at the gate included a magnetometer, body searches and checks of all carry-on luggage, pushing takeoff an hour past its scheduled time. "I've never seen it like this," said Agne Kveslyte, a Lithuanian student. "They were opening up really tiny items I had, even my wallet." Once on the plane, passengers were not allowed to congregate near the lavatories or pass between different sections of the plane. (See the top 10 news stories...
...Libya, which was then under U.N. sanctions. During one of the shipments, the pilot of an aircraft noticed problems with the plane's electrical systems. Damnjanovic insisted that the flight go ahead anyway, the U.N. report alleges, and offered the crew $2,000 extra apiece. Fifteen minutes after takeoff, the plane crashed near Belgrade and killed everyone on board, the report says. "[The pilot and crew], they are victims of circumstance. They are often paid extra money to accept a flight, often using planes that they know are not entirely safe. But they are so desperate for the money that...