In theory, we are all equal. In practice, not so much. Last week, the search for millionaire aviator Steve Fossett, who disappeared a month ago in Nevada, was suspended again after what the Civil Air Patrol described as one of the largest efforts to locate a missing plane in modern history. ... According to The Associated Press, the search encompassed a 20,000-square-mile area, involving Civil Air Patrol pilots from Nevada and seven other states, the Nevada National Guard, the Air Force Rescue and Coordination Center, the state Department of Public Safety and ground crews organized by local authorities. Experts in radar analysis from the Federal Aviation Administration, Air Force, Navy, National Transportation Safety Board and the Civil Air Patrol also were involved, using high-tech methods to try to determine Fossett's flight path. A sonar-equipped boat was used to search a lake to determine whether Fossett's plane crashed there.
After the first two weeks, organizers estimated the effort cost about $600,000. Would every missing pilot get a search of this magnitude? Of course not. ...
We hope the Fossett family steps forward and pays for the unprecedented search. Otherwise, what does the Civil Air Patrol say to the family of Average Joe Pilot when his plane goes down, and the search is suspended after two days?
This editorial appeared in a recent edition of The Herald in Everett, Wash.
Poster Comment:
DAMN RIGHT!