Scareplane 2009

If you need more evidence of the dearth of critical thinking in the cable news arena, just look at today's frantic reporting of the Continental Airlines incident in which a pilot died of (apparent) natural causes in flight.

Judging from the excited and urgent tones emitted by the 'reporters', and the endless shots of a cloudy runway in Newark waiting expectantly for the afflicted plane to land, you'd be forgiven for thinking there was a gaping hole in the cockpit with, instead of a functioning pilot, a windblown dental hygienist from Scranton (recruited hastily from seat 39c) at the controls.

Of course, the reality was less exciting.  There were two other qualified pilots on board and they took over immediately.  The plane was never in any danger at any time.  

But you would never know from the breathless reporting ...

Perhaps those 'reporters' were associating this incident in their minds with Continental's much more worrisome misrouting of two minors flying alone.  Now, if you are a parent, that's scary.