Journamilism

"Young lady, in this house we respect the laws of thermodynamics!"

Not to make light of what may quickly turn out to be a tragedy--one suspects there will be at least some casualties from the US Air flight that just went into the Hudson, but reading this story, this rather notable howler leapt off the screen at me:

Temperatures at the time of the crash in the city were just about 20 degrees, with the water temperature likely much colder.

Last I checked, water still freezes around 32 degrees. Of course, I'd much rather walk around in 0-degree air than take a shower in 50-degree water; that's our old friend specific heat at work.

Nitpicking? Sure, but it's stuff like this that makes people like me think that J-schools ought to require a lot fewer classes on ethics and more on science and math.

Edit:
Bravo to the flight crew of US1549! The latest reports are saying no casualties, with pictures showing the airplane upright with passengers standing on the wings--I swear it looked like some had their carry-on bags. Drudge has slugged it "Miracle on the Hudson" but a lot more than luck was at work.

Ask a few pilots what really scares them, and total power loss on takeoff over an urban area is going to be near the top of the list. The clock is ticking fast and you have to make a decision where to go down and ride it through. An off-field landing is a big deal in a little plane like mine, but a picture-perfect ditching of an airliner in the Hudson next to the Intrepid Air-Space Museum is going to go up there with the story of United 232 and Capt. Al Haynes.