76-year-old Republican Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma landed his Cessna plane on a closed runway at Cameron County Airport in Texas last October despite people telling the crazy old man in the hurtling death machine he was not allowed to land there. According to FAA documents, Inhofe “‘sky hopped’ over the six vehicles and personnel working on the runway, and then landed.” There was apparently a big yellow “X” on the runway just in case any senile senators in the sky forgot they had been told it was closed, but that didn’t concern Inhofe. According to a Vietnam vet at the scene, “I can assure you I have never seen such a reckless disregard for human life in my life.” Yep, sounds like a Republican senator.
“He sky hopped over us,” said Boyd. “He was determined to land on that runway come hell or high water evidently.” He added, “I’m still shaking…I was in the middle of the runway, I headed for high country.” [...]
In a recorded conversation with Lee Williams, an FAA quality assurance specialist, airport manager Marshall Reece tore into Inhofe’s piloting. “I’ve got over 50 years flying, three tours of Vietnam,” Reece said, “and I can assure you I have never seen such a reckless disregard for human life in my life.” He then added, “Something needs to be done. This guy is famous for these violations.”
Nothing much happened. Old man Inhofe agreed to “complete a program of remedial training,” and that was that. So you should probably keep an eye on the sky at all times, because James Inhofe is still up there and could come hurtling in to kill you at any second. (Maybe disguise your house like an operating runway and he won’t try to land on you?)
Anyway, Republican senators should stick to the bathrooms at airports. What kind of crazy repressed-gay death-wish feelings compelled Inhofe to try to fly one of the planes? [Smoking Gun]
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I'll chip in on fuel if he wants to do some flying over Wasilla.
Sweet. I'm in!
Thanks! Now we just need someone to buy popcorn and beer.
"I can see James Inhofe on my roo– AAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!"
And now for some fancy pageant flyin'.
Is this a Wiley Post reenactment flight?
Could be. They're both Oklahomans.
Not good enough. We want her to go skydiving. I'll pack the chute!
FAA: You're everyone's problem. That's because every time you go up in the air, you're unsafe. I don't like you because you're dangerous.
James "Maverick" Inhofe: That's right! FAA… man. I am dangerous.
Note to Inhofe: Highway to the Danger Zone is just a song, not a way of life.
then the FAA does the teeth-glint thing that to this day no one knows the meaning of
Pretty sure that's a barely-repressed gay thing. Like everything else in that movie.
You had better get ready to pay Kenny Loggins some royalties…
To be fair he was flying with his right turn blinker on the whole time.
Looks like Inhofe picked the wrong day to quit sniffing glue.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeI5ke0BENw
moar like "Oops, I Crapped My Plane"
No wonder we lost Viet Nam?!
"sky hopped" is that some Senator / Rent-boy Mile High club terminology?
Ask Larry Craig, he has airport experience.
Sounds suspiciously like "walking on sunshine" or other Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds metaphor.
…and I'm starting to feel good!
Inhofe is challenging McCain for the Senate’s World’s Worst Pilot Award.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtX-Uv7YmpQ
You know, when this happened to my grandfather, we had to take his plane away.
This a metaphor for Republicans' treatment of American's poor and middle class that boils down to two words: Fuck 'em.
Just without the giant yellow X's???
Oh fine, if you poor/middle class types (i.e., peasants) want a giant yellow X, we'll give you one. Whiners. Now try to show a little gratitude.
to be even more fair: that's what they say to the rich: Yee haw, FUCK THEM!!! (however they wish.)
In his defence–killing people with legislation can be a fucking slow process.
He's 76 years old–He's not gonna be around to help us forever, people!
Is this the same senator who got his weener stuck in the cap of a BIC pen?
Too funny! Almost choked on a Wheat Thin.
Did McCain teach him how to crash… er… ummm… fly?
It was an emergency, he had to make the Early Bird dinner.
Forget the big X, just spread some fetuses around the runway, Republicans are really into their protection.
Or corporations!
Inhofe will now try to cut FAA funding from next years budget.
Then he probably parked the plane in a handicap space.
And meanwhile the guy who made a fictional harmless youtube goes to prison, etc.
Who was that?
See the wonkette feed at right.
And the poor shlub who hacked Lou Sarah's email. "wasilla."
X = "land here", right? And those people waving their arms–what a warm welcome!
X marks the spot.
He's like Mr. Magoo if Mr. Magoo was an uncaring soulless asshole.
Most 76-year-olds can't drive without nearly killing people; why is anyone letting them fly planes?
Knowing he is a Repugnant Senator and he may crash into an unpopulated area… it's worth the risk.
Hey, took care of that fucker Ted Stevens (well, he was an ex-senator, and he wasn't flying, but hey!)
But then, Wellstone.
& Mel Carnahan.
Air traffic control is a hoax. Just like global warming.
Reagan will come back on a winged, golden stallion and take care of them there air traffic guys and gals.
Solution? Abolish the FAA.
But no human fetuses were actually ever in danger, right? So who cares if ole blind senile Inhofe nearly decapitated a bunch of measly wage earners.
I bet God is his co-pilot… And that Gbagbo yammering in the back seat isn't helping James' concentration either…
"Sonny, your silly rules don't apply to me. I am a Senator. I say, I am a Republican Senator."
Friend of mine who worked on the local ferry dock was having a hard time telling some bigshot in a Cadillac that he couldn't cut to the head of the line, no way, no how, no exceptions but emergency vehicles. The other people were here first. That's just how it works.
"Dammit, kid you cannot say no to me, I'm a US Senator."
His reply? A polite smile and "How very nice for you!" And he walked away.
That was almost 30 years ago. Nowadays he'd probably get sent to Guantanmo.
Snark off.
Shit like this…needs appropriate consequences. Really.
consequences, like jail time and other real punishments, are for the little people and suckers
He's the Bill Janklow of the sky.
But gravity is only a theory.
Not so. Gravity is a law. A law force through Congress by liberal bullies, and which will soon be repealed so that people can float around this great country like they did in the 1950s.
he should let his best friend Laurent Gbagbo drive that plane
Hey, supporting a legitimately elected president over a brutal dictator is anti-American, if the elected president is Muslim and the dictator Christian.
All I can say is that this news makes my day. I'm ever so strangely happy to hear this particular senator is reckless while flying aircraft. Fingers crossing now.
That's why Ronnie was right to fire those air traffic controllers. Freedom!
Stunt flying — it's another thing Senator Inhofe has in common with Otto Skorzeny.
Man, is that guy's life a novel waiting to be written, or a film waiting to be Spielberged. Fascinating stuff!
The Robert Novak of the skies, if you will.
Is he the secret father of that crazy bitch that mowed her SUV into a crowd of people outside a nightclub up in Long Island or NYC a few years back?
“I’ve got over 50 years flying, three tours of Vietnam,” Reece said, “and I can assure you I have never seen such a reckless disregard for human life in my life.” He then added, “Something needs to be done. This guy is famous for these violations.”
if it were Vietnam, he'd get fragged.
South Texas airport!!!! Was he on a drug run from Messico?
clearly, we need more tax cuts.
Everyone knows yellow is just a warning… and even red doesn't apply to Senators.
And he probably though it was the Tulsa airport.
“I’ve got over 50 years flying, three tours of Vietnam,” Reece said, “and I can assure you I have never seen such a reckless disregard for human life in my life.”
"And three of those tours were with John McCain!" Reece added.
With risk analysis like that, I'm glad he's the Senator in charge of assessing the threat of global warming.
See, if you just got rid of the FAA and Air Traffic Control, no one would complain about fancy flying like this.
C'mon you snarky people, this was an emergency landing!
I mean he needed to take a crap and his Depends were already operating in the red zone — at over 200% of their rated capacity.
Coming in on a wing and a prayer.
Maybe, but at least none of them are gay.
What can we do to make sure runway repair guys are equipped with handguns at all times?
just vote republican. they won't have unions or health insurance or safety regs, but they'll be armed to the teeth.
"I have never seen such a reckless disregard for human life in my life.”
Maybe you ought to check out some of the legislation li'l Jimmy has supported over the years.
the victim's quote above is eerily like the famous & bogus statement from Inhofe claiming "global warming is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people."
I believe he must have been chasing illegal immigrants or trying to stop an abortion.
That is how Paul Ryan came up with his tax the poor budget–he just sky-hopped all over those fuckers.
"Well, see, it umm, this is what happened: I was on a mission to carpet bomb Sharia-controlled areas of Texas, when I was suddenly attacked by a muslin with a box cutter, and lost control of the plane but did manage to subdue the jihadist who ejected himself so was never found, see. At no time during the flight was I watching porn.
Why does the MSM hate our freedoms? Get Peter King on the phone STAT, ya little punk staffer."
/snark off
We the people have decided that basically everyone who isn't totally blind or similarly challenged gets to drive. We don't ask that they have the spacial relationships and athleticism to catch something over their shoulder while at a dead run. Fine. (note that fine is meant in the sense of what Mrs. weejee means when I ask if everything is okay, and clearly weejee is in deep shit)
But say at 65 or 70 then every time you renew your license you retake the driving test. Same for flying or similar activities. That would be fair. Much as we would like otherwise, life is profoundly not fair. There are those who are pulling 70 that I know who can still ski the black diamond runs up in the mountains and there is a large number (most ?) can't/won't ski the black diamond or double blacks when they are/were 20.
If you can still do it, and prove you can do it, keep on keepin' on. But at some age, 60-70, this post 60er doesn't think it would be unfair for the govt to ask that we prove we still got it.
/snark on
Inhofe is clearly a 2010 version of the baka bomb. banzai
Weej, as a 63-yo, I'm with you on the driving test, although I'm slightly concerned about folks getting chicken-shitted. Do you remember what your last in-car driving test was like? A bit anal about legal detail, and oblivious to, you know, actual safe driving practices?
I don't happen to know, at this instant, what the normalized accident rate is by age, but I do remember my dad. He never lost his license, but he was also not stupid. Between about age 75 and his death at 79, he drove less and less. Having ridden with him in that period, he was still a better driver than somebody talking on a cell phone.
Sorry. That was just reminiscence. Driving test would be good, as long as they're not biased towards getting old farts with hats off the road. Shooting Jim Inhofe would also be good.
Shave with you there. Back in the day while in college the driving license examiner position was heavy to patronage & having solid D'rat connections I got a job as one part time. There were folk at 65, menz mostly, who were totally unfit to drive and often their spouses or other significant others who would thank us for taking their keys. Typically those guys were heavy to the road map noses that are indicative of years of closing the Dew Drop Inn 5-6 nights a week. The oldest guy I passed was 93 and he was absolutely rock solid. Back then Illinoise would also allow restricted licenses for the ruralz to allow them to go from their house to town & no where else and they would get tested on that specific route, but they still had to stay in their lane and stop at stop signs – that sorta thing. I was in three accidents doing that job. I've been in one while I was driving and that was while I was stopped for a traffic light.
There is a reason airlines make pilots retire at a certain age…and that states require yearly testing of people over the age of 65.
Let the eagle soar.
It's his Don't Ask, Don't Tell technique of landing.
Lighten up, folks. He was only observing the motto of his employer EXXON. "No rules for special people.®"
Keep flying Jim! Don't let those librul sunsabitches ground you! Land where it feels right whether or not those prissy bastards approve. Interstate highways, WalMart parking lots, golf courses, hell, even sheer granite peaks at full throttle, own that fucking Cessna! No IFR training, flying in thunderstorms, good lord man, live on the edge and show these young arrogant pissers how a real pilot flies!
Please. Please. Keep doing that. Avoid other people, though.
They can make stunt flying a new Big 12 sport.
If they had known that he was from Oklahoma, the Texans would have probably shot him out of the sky. Especially during football season.
An old friend of mine used to practice high altitude, nighttime, "dead-stick" landings–he'd purposely kill the engine and land at a dark airstrip at 7500 ft elevation. Repeatedly. When he finally crashed and removed himself from the genepool, it was assumed he was practicing, until the FAA determined that he was actually out of fuel. All that practice, and at the moment of truth, he failed. At least nobody else was injured, and we can only hope that's the case when ol' Jimmy Mountain goes down in a ball of flames.
Yeah, kind of makes you wonder how smart these small plane pilots are when the number one cause of crashes is "running out of gas"?
What's the Seinfeld joke…if John Travolta can fly a plane, how hard can it be?
Well, it's not like he ran a large insurance company he ran into the ground. Besides Quaker Life. Well, ok, he did. After he had the company supply him with a plane. Just a coincidence though.
What's the big deal? Republicans never ever have to obey a law–much less a regulation–wherever they may be. Way to hold up the side, Jimmy!
Needs moar Stuka.
I know, I know. Everyone is asking, "Hey! Stupid news from the Dust Bowl. What's DBB think about this?"
Or at least I assume that's what you're all saying, since I didn't bother with the comments. The thing is, this is old news. It was covered last October in OK, but we were assured by the newz people it was no big deal. So there you go.
Inhofe needs remedial training but not just in flying…
The republican flight school is highly regarded. John McCain and Inhofe being graduates. You cannot get a pilot's license unless you're reckless, have a disregard for human life and are partially blind.
Fuckin' A
Senators are above the rules of everything.
What a turd.
I always like to point out that Inhofe graduated from Tulsa Central HS in 1953, during the height of the Korean Police Action. Later, he served two years in the Army from 1957-58 ('bout the same as Elvis), well after the Korean conflict was over. What a stroke of luck. BTW, he got his BA from the University of Tulsa in 1973, so I don't think the 53-57 period was all academics.
Ignoring a closed runway is just par for the course for this asshole. He's provided many examples that show that the "reality" in his head is not the same reality that the rest of us live in.
The real mystery is why the fuck do Oklahomans keep voting for him?
That is the most flattering picture of the guy I've ever seen. It reminds me of the stock/file photo for former Detroit councilwoman and congresswoman Barbara-Rose Collins that she used that by the time she lost her council race in 2009 had to have been 20 years old and 50 lbs lighter.
Why don't the climate scientists have one of those "programs of remedial training”?
I suppose trying to slide your foot into the co-pilot's side of the cockpit simply doesn't set the right mood.
I finally created an account just so I can say how much I loathe this douchenozzle. Millions of people will die in future generations because this senile suit warmer was getting his knob polished by big oil for a decade or so.
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