A Brief History On April 28, 1988, while in flight a jet airliner had its roof suddenly and violently blown off, taking a hapless flight attendant with it. Amazingly, the airliner landed safely with no other fatalities. Sometimes bad things happen to aircraft, and some of those times bizarre or amazing things, even cracked things, happen. Sure, having a nuclear bomber unintentionally drop its nuclear bombs or crash while carrying nukes is cracked, but it happened so many times those incidents do not qualify here. Here are 10 instances when aircraft incidents are unusual enough to be considered bizarre. Digging…
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A Brief History On April 28, 1988, Aloha Airlines flight 243 was on the way to Honolulu from Hilo when a huge portion of the upper part of the fuselage blew off the airplane. Digging Deeper The 19 year old Boeing 737, named Queen Liliuokalani was one of the most common jet liners in the world. Flying at about 24,000 feet 23 minutes into the flight, the ceiling above the passengers just aft of the entrance door suddenly and explosively ripped off, leaving an open sun roof about one quarter the length of the airplane! Flight attendant Clarabelle Lansing, age…
A Brief History On April 28, 1192, the Hashshashin (Assassins) assassinated Conrad of Montferrat (Conrad I), King of Jerusalem, in Tyre, just two days after his title to the throne was confirmed by election. The incident was one of many bizarre and violent episodes to occur during the Crusades. These wars rank among the longest religious conflicts in human history. This article presents a timeline of some of the most bizarre incidents to occur in the roughly two hundred years long conflict between Christians and Muslims for control of the Holy Land. Digging Deeper In late April 637, Jerusalem was…
A Brief History On April 27, 1945, Italian Dictator Benito Mussolini was captured by Italian partisans and shot the next day, his body hung up in public and pelted with stones, spat upon, and generally scorned, an inglorious end to a strutting peacock of an egomaniac. Many other leaders of countries have met humiliating and gory ends, sometimes deserved and sometimes not. Here are 10 examples of how far the mighty can fall when bloodthirsty enemies can get a hold of them. Digging Deeper 10. Harold Holt, Prime Minister of Australia (1967). Holt disappeared while swimming in the ocean and…
A Brief History On April 27, 1945, World War II was almost over, a disaster for the Italian people who had been led into it by their pompous and egotistical dictator. Digging Deeper Benito Mussolini, or Il Duce (The Duke) as he was called, disguised himself as a German soldier and traveled with 15 of his henchmen, including his mistress, trying desperately to get to Switzerland. The plan was to go to Spain after getting to neutral Switzerland where he would be safe from the Allies and his own people. Of course, he never made it, for he was arrested…