Magnetic forces and airplanes: One theory on the Wellstone crash
Though I'm no conspiracy theorist, I, like most folks, can't seem to quit wondering about the Wellstone plane crash. Last night, I was visiting my mother, who's enjoying a brief stay at North Memorial hospital this week, and KSTP-TV runs a story indicating the latest from the crash investigation: No mechanical failure, time to look at icing.
Melissa, one of my mom's nurses, chimes in and says: "I knew the pilot, he worked here as a nurse. He worked the night before the accident." Sure enough, the Star Tribune reports today that Capt. Richard Conry was indeed working his second job that night.
We chat a bit about how creepy it is to know someone involved in such a high-profile accident, and just how creepy the crash is in general, and I start thinking about a conversation I had on election night with Ed McGaa, who ran as the Green Party candidate for Senator earlier this year.
I was at the Radisson South in Bloomington, covering the Republican election night HQ. (None of the stuff ended up in the paper or the Web site here at City Pages, but I just read through some of it today, and I may periodically drop in some portions here as they remain timely.) Why McGaa was hanging with the Republicans may be a good question, but I will say that McGaa is not a stupid man, and he appeared to be on some sort of date, and the Grand Old Party was making quite good on its name that night. At the very least, everybody loves a winner.
Anyway, here's a bit of what I wrote from that night:
McGaa was a fighter pilot in Vietnam, and he’s troubled by the cause of the plane crash. “Military pilots have hundreds of hours of training, and you have to be highly skilled to get into that area at all—the Iron Range and Hibbing. Every near crash gets reported and scrutinized there, so everybody knows what they’re headed into. Let’s deal with the crash itself: Going into that area and being that far off the approach, well, that’s got to be pilot error. Unless something happened in the cockpit. There are huge magnetic forces up there that can mess with the compass that every pilot knows about. Maybe compass error due to magnetic forces.”
So there's one pilot's opinion. Is this just completely whacked out? I have no idea, because I have very limited knowledge of such things, but I haven't really heard this one thrown around much. Is there a reason for that, or could McGaa be on to something?
Finer Point
If you read the letter from Laura Sether posted yesterday (see below) in response to the blog from 12/11, you might notice a certain condescension from her regarding how we alt weeklies cover the news. I did, anyway, but maybe I'm just sensitive.
Sether's first point seems to be that since I'm not hanging around the mayor's office everyday taking press releases and making them into news items, I can't possibly know what's going on around City Hall. Obviously I take exception to this on many levels, but I'll point out one thing that I also pointed out to Sether on the phone: I get the mayor's schedule every week. Wanna know what's on there this week? Two items:
Monday, December 16, 5 p.m. City Council deliberation and final cosideration of 2003 budget.
Friday, December 20, 12:30 p.m., Mayor Rybak will visit Mercado Central, 1515 E. Lake St., to highlight out-of-the-ordinary holiday shopping in Minneapolis.
I couldn't make the Monday meeting (see North Memorial reference above), but normally I would have gone. However, through the miracle of cable television, videotape and a Minneapolis Issues posting from Sether, I understand the council approved the budget unanimously. A big accomplishment for Rybak, who had some cutting to do as the city faces economic turmoil.
Judgment call, but I won't be going to the Friday event on the mayor's schedule. I hope I don't skip it at my own peril and miss a big story.
One more point on the Sether letter, then I promise to shut up about it: Anytime Rybak meets with Minneapolis Police Chief Robert Olson, members of the Minnesota Gang Strike Force, law enforcement officers, regular old citizens, gang members themselves, or just about anyone regarding anti-gang initiatives, I'll gladly be there. Just tell me where and when.
Shout-Out
A big one to "Tony," who commented on the last blog to let me know that the link I provided for Sether's letter was a dud. I apologize to Sether for fixing it a full day later, but mad props to Tony, who not only discovered it, but took the time to find the right link and post it. Tony, I don't know how you found the right link, but thanks. Still getting used to the software here.
Lastly, the comments section will not be available on this or any other CP blogs for a while, until we get a software update. Too bad, since this blog has miraculously generated a handful of responses. In the meantime, feel free to e-mail me at granderson@citypages.com to bitch, moan and enlighten.
4:57:22 PM 
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