Make believe at the Huffington Post?

Ingrid Newkirk posted this at The Huff Post yesterday.

On March 7, 2004, I was on board a flight to Norfolk, Virginia which attempted to land when all other aircraft had fled the area due to a hurricane watch and severe crosswinds during a black thunderstorm we could see below us. We ran into wind sheer during each of two failed landing attempts -- one at an air force base nearby -- and were, in the pilot's words, "blown out to sea." Cockpit recordings I obtained later show that the pilot entered the wind sheer warning area despite lightning strikes "everywhere," had no required backup plan and by the time of our third attempted landing, hadn't enough fuel to go further.

No one, including the crew, thought we would live, but we were "lucky." Luck shouldn't play a role. However, Federal Aviation Administration complaints fell on deaf ears and Northwest Airlines simply assured us all that its pilots were well trained and that safety was their number one concern.

A few things are bugging me.

1- Hurricanes don't happen in March. Hurricane Season is June 1- November 30.

2- Cockpit recordings obtained? Doesn't the NTSB only issue transcripts now and only when there is an investigation. FAA will issue tower recordings on request.

3- There is no mention of an incident at Hampton Roads Pilot Online news involving Northwest

4- I spoke to someone at the NTSB. They recall no such incident, there is no incident at Norfolk airport in the NTSB database for Norfolk VA that remotely matches this.

The wrong date, cockpit recordings. This all smells bogus to me. Ms. Huffington are you posting fiction these days? I think this needs investigating.

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