Reason #256 for why I never leave the house without my Garmin InReach Mini: things always go wrong at the most inconvenient times. You know, like when you're mid-air in a small aircraft that decides it's finished flying for the day.
When Matt Lehtinen’s single-engine Cirrus crashed into the asshole end of Quebec's vast wilderness, he was packed and ready for the worst, with a satellite communications device, first aid kit and a few essential survival sundries. Having made it out of the hard landing that left his aircraft a write-off, he immediate fired off an SOS and started a fire. As if starting a survival fire and keeping an eye out for search and rescue personnel weren't enough to do, while he waited to be retrieved, Lehtinen also took the time to make a vlog of his ordeal. It's a great idea: if you get out in one piece, you've got a testament to the fact that staying calm and being properly equipped for an emergency situation can save your life. Alternatively, if he was eaten by a bear while waiting for a SAR flight to pop by, at least folks would know what happened to him. Read the rest
In Longjing, China, more than 40 people were reportedly injured at the Yulong Shuiyun Water Amusement Park when an electronics failure at their "tsunami pool" generated unexpectedly massive waves. Read the rest
Here's what happens when a tank T-bones a car at speed. SPOILER: it is what you likely expect to happen. Read the rest
"Hey! Heeeey! HEY! Oh my God."
UPDATE: Charges and a lawsuit were filed against Marlin Lee Larsen, the skipper of the speeding boat. Larsen claimed it was "fake news".
Mr Larsen’s son-in-law, who also was on the boat, told investigators that he had warned his father-in-law to pay attention, that he sometimes saw him using his mobile phone while driving the boat and he had been off-and-on his phone the morning of the crash, according to the sheriff’s report. ... Mr Larsen told The Oregonian the accusation that he was using his phone at the time of the crash was “fake news.” He pleaded not guilty to charges of reckless endangerment and assault and said the lawsuit was unnecessary because no one was seriously hurt.
The charges were dropped upon Larsen's death at 75. Read the rest
To say that this video depicts "video game physics IRL," as I have in this headline, is quite stupid. At least in the sense that the world should not be taken to resemble its simulation, even in jest, lest our grasp on reality be further undermined. And yet they so clearly need to work on the collision detection before this goes gold. Read the rest
This unidentified fellow barely missed being crushed by bricks and rubble falling off a building on London's Stoke Newington High Street. According to the BBC, the collapse was likely caused by high winds in the region.
Read the rest
Running on a treadmill is my number one aerobic activity, and I've taken off my sweatshirt many times while treading. Never again after watching this! Read the rest
This is an amazing case of being in the right place at the right time. An 11-year-old boy runs to pick up a kite that had just been dropped from a third floor balcony after it had gotten stuck up there. As the boy bends down to pick up the kite, the boy who had freed the kite falls off the balcony, only to have his fall broken by his friend's crouching body. Neither boy was hurt. It was all caught on a CCTV camera.
Via LiveLeak Read the rest
On Sunday in Pusad, Maharashtra, India, an 11-year-old boy climbed to the third floor of a building to retrieve a stuck kite. He tossed the kite down but then slipped. Fortunately, his buddy was in the right place at the right time.
Read the rest
Pedro Volta, an escape artist from northern Spain, was paying tribute to Houdini at an international magic festival near Madrid by trying to get out of a water tank while wearing a strait jacket. In the video, it's not clear at first that he is struggling, but he later told reporters that he had trouble with a buckle to release his arms. "I made an effort and managed to release the buckle but the energy and oxygen used in doing so was too much."
It wasn't until he lost consciousness and his body went limp that onlookers realized he was in serious trouble and people rushed to rescue him. Once they lifted him out he quickly regained consciousness.
Via Metro Read the rest
A packed stretch limo blew a stop sign and crashed in upstate New York on Sunday, killing all 18 people in the car and 2 pedestrians. It's the worst U.S. road accident in a decade, reports the AP.
The 2001 Ford Excursion limousine was traveling southwest on Route 30 in Schoharie, about 170 miles north of New York City, when it failed to stop at 2 p.m. Saturday at a T-junction with state Route 30A, State Police First Deputy Superintendent Christopher Fiore said at a news conference in Latham, New York.
It went across the road and hit an unoccupied SUV parked at the Apple Barrel Country Store, killing the limousine driver, the 17 passengers, and two people outside the vehicle.
The crash “sounded like an explosion,” said Linda Riley, of nearby Schenectady, who was on a shopping trip with her sisters. She had been in another car parked at the store, saw a body on the ground and heard people start screaming.
Authorities "didn't comment on the limo’s speed, or whether the limo occupants were wearing seat belts." The answers will be fast and no, but it's also true that many stretch limos are chopshop deathtraps that cannot be made safe at any speed or at any cost.
ABC News:
The company which operated the vehicle, Prestige Limousine, has had vehicles inspected five times in the past five years and had four vehicles taken out of service, according to Department of Transportation records. The company had not had any crashes over the last two years, records show.
Read the rest
Can you explain what happened in this accident caught on video surveillance in Atlanta? WSB-TV explains:
a driver in northwest Atlanta drive off Marietta Street and speed through a parking lot before crashing onto the roof of a chiropractic office.
A second video shows the car falling off the roof and onto a driveway below. ... Chappelear also told Channel 2's Justin Wilfon that [driver Stanley] Clarke’s foot became stuck between the gas and brake pedals, causing him to lose control.
Mr Clarke was unharmed. Read the rest
Watch below as a stumbling man falls on the train tracks at Sydney's Berala station. Fortunately, a passer-by acted quickly. Very quickly. From 9News:
Sydney Trains boss Howard Collins, a former driver, told 9NEWS that incidents like those “stop the hearts” of train operators who are unable to avoid a collision.
“You might say a few expletives under your breath, you’re waiting for that impact,” he said.
The driver in the incident did activate the vehicle’s emergency brakes when the man came into vision however, at full speed, a train takes about a kilometre to come to a complete stop.
Read the rest
A 5-year-old boy knocked over a sculpture at the Tomahawk Ridge Community Center in Overland Park, Kansas. A few days later, Overland Park's insurance company hit the boy's parents with a $132,000 bill. From ABC News:
City officials say the piece was not “permanently attached” but it was secured to the pedestal with clips and that it was “a not an interactive piece.”
“We’ve had other pieces there [and] we’ve not had problems,” said city spokesman Sean Reilly. “We’ve not had this situation… we’ve not had kids climb on our pieces.”
But (the child's mom Sarah) Goodman argued the sculpture should have been better secured. She also disputes the city’s claim that her child wasn’t being supervised. Goodman said she and her husband were out of frame of the surveillance camera, saying their goodbyes during a wedding reception that they were leaving, when the incident occurred.
Read the rest
A huge crane at a construction site in St. Petersburg, Florida came crashing down towards workers today. You can see them running for their lives as the crane smashes into the ground, just missing a man. Luckily no one was hurt.
Via AP Read the rest
Spotting a semi truck with its container raised, a car driver noted its impending doom and began filming. And following it rather too closely. Read the rest
There are countless videos of accidents and near-misses on YouTube, but this one's fractional difference between life and death makes it particularly alarming. (The very high-quality footage helps.)
Remarks from the rider:
Gloves, jacket, helmet. I wasnt wearing my riding jeans and shoes though because I was just going up the road. Just had on regular jeans and boots.
Everyone was ok, no one needed an ambulance thankfully. That guy was just an idiot, wasnt paying attention. One of the first things he asked was "was the light green or red?"... probably texting but he had two passengers in the car as well, so not sure how they were all completely oblivious.
Read the rest
