Bush/Obama Montage

The Metro, the seemingly worldwide publication, has never been on my good side, probably because their pulpy, discarded free handouts litter the T in Boston.  But I caught this today on the Mexico City site while surfing for articles on Mouriño.  It might be worth a moment’s amusement… though it may already be “old news” because it’s probably littering the floors and escalators of Kendall/MIT station as I write this!

The Metro Bush/Obama montage: (temporary) link to today’s edition or slower, permanent(?) link to .pdf

 

México, D.F.

Mexico City media coverage of Mouriño/the crash

I am continuing to follow the news on the crash on Tuesday that killed Mouriño.  While I don’t expect an answer to the crash for quite a while, possibly many weeks, I find both the investigation and the continuing public reaction to be of great interest.  

The initial reaction of the public is that the crash was the result of sabotage.  In my conversations yesterday with a number of people, they expressed the belief that Learjets are very sound and completely safe.  And, of course, relative to travel by car, they are.  However, the idea that anything is infallible or, ahem, unsinkable would only leave room in an explanation for sabotage.  Part of my intention with yesterday’s post was to point out that aircraft or their pilots can and do fail.

So where do things stand?  First, the investigation has been placed under the auspices of the Federal Government (PGR), as opposed to the military or other/local agencies.  Second, they have recovered the black boxes, which are being examined by experts from the U.S.  A particular quote in this second article stood out to me:

“Cualquier hipótesis puede ser eventualmente válida y a medida que la investigación va avanzando y que se va reuniendo más evidencia se van descartando hipótesis”

Loosely translated as: “We’re looking at every possibility and continuing to collect evidence.” (If I read this correctly!)

— Gilberto López Meyer, Director of ASA (Aeropuertos y Servicios Auxiliares), regarding the possibility that wake turbulence could be the cause.  (Also: although I think that vortices might be to blame, the pilot’s union disagrees.)

I think this statement and article are important for several reasons; first, they indicate that the investigation is being undertaken in a methodical, rational manner; second, that by bringing in outside experts, the officials not only help to ensure that a proper (i.e. correct) conclusion is reached, but they also make lend credence to the investigation.  Whatever confidence the public here has in Mexico, it seems to me that they don’t have such confidence in the government!

The media, as well, seems to be picking up on the possibility that the crash was, indeed, an accident.  Articles from El Universal are above; here are some from other papers:

• Milled, El Metro (worth it just for the Obama/Bush montage) and La Crónica de Hoy (front page) reports that “indications point to an accident” and cover the radar returns and ATC conversation I posted yesterday.  (Note, also, the article on the importance of Latino voters in the US election*)
• Leading headlines discuss the U.S. investigation of the black boxes: El Sol de México, La Crónica de Hoy, La Jornada
• Neutral leading headlines on the memorial services: Milenio, Periódico AM, La Reforma (requires subscription… grrrrr!), EX Online, La Prensa, La Jornada, Uno Más Uno

So we’ll see where things go from here.

 

México, D.F.