Cold-Hard-Fact #1

What goes up must come down and sometimes it's a bumpy landing.

I took this photo from my porch about a week ago. Not terrific photography, I know. The light was spare and it was in the -30's at the time, so I didn't spend a lot of time trying to get a better shot.

It always amazes me when I see airplanes this enormous on our tiny, unpaved air strip. I had heard, a few days before, that a plane was blown off the runway while landing, but I hadn't realized when I took this photo that this was the plane.

When I got to work the next day, I asked about it and was told that the airplane I'd photographed was a cargo plane that was hit by a 40 mph crosswind just before touchdown. Remember that really windy day I mentioned a while back? That was the day.

As the pilot attempted to land, the right wing dipped suddenly causing the wheels to edge off the air strip onto softer, unpacked snow several feet below. And that drove the prop on the far-right engine into the ground. Ouch!

My photos were taken several days after the accident, days after tireless crews worked with machinery on-hand to haul the aircraft back onto the air strip for assessment and repair. As I understand it, they used bulldozers to pull the plane and a front-end loader to move/remove the damaged engine.

A big thank you to Mel, our plant manager, for donating the following photos from the airport.

Several vehicles were being used as light sources while the work was going on. I am astounded that they were able to do all of this under such challenging conditions.

Notice the engine sitting on the ground!

Being off the road system, this village depends on air transport for just about everything. This particular aircraft was carrying building materials and possibly furniture. It could just as easily have been carrying fuel, a completely different scenario. Thankfully, no one was injured in the accident. In fact, I don't think the cargo was seriously damaged either.

It seems we were blessed with an uneventful ending to what could have been a tragic tale.

My hope is that we never take that for granted.

Cool Rays

According to the Weather Underground sticker on the sidebar, we enjoyed three hours and fifteen minutes of sunlight today. That doesn't include ambient light, of course. On the Weather Underground website, they also report that the sun's time above the horizon is currently increasing at a rate of 14 minutes and 53 seconds per day. That increase does vary some from day to day....strange, but true.

Also, I would say those numbers are close, but not exact, for Atqasuk. Weather Underground reports our weather conditions and moon/sunlight using Barrow airport information which isn't always accurate down here (55 miles southwest of Barrow).

I like to get my weather info from NOAA (see weather link in sidebar) because those readings are taken hourly with instruments that are actually at our airport. Their numbers always jibe with my home thermometer and I like that! But I haven't found any sunlight information from that source, so I've kept the Weather Underground sticker on the sidebar. And it's pretty close.

The point of all this is...
We're gaining sunlight quickly! It won't be long before sunglasses are standard gear and aluminum foil graces windows all over town.

As the next photo illustrates, a little sunlight brings out the frisky in everyone...even, maybe especially, at twenty below.

Solar Sighting...How Exciting!

Our first day of sun was January 21st, but my classroom is on the north side of the school and I missed it! I heard about it, though. Kids were buzzing. Adults were humming. I must have been asked more than twenty times, "Kimberlee, did you see the sun?"

The second day, I was determined to catch a glimpse and I wasn't disappointed. This time of year, the sun stays low in the sky, splashing clouds with buttery gold, blazing a tangerine trail from southeast to southwest. It's not much of a trek at this point and it's over before you know it, but that doesn't seem to diminish the impact...and may even serve to heighten it.

Even unsightly telephone poles take on a regal appearance against a gilded backdrop such as this. At least it seems that way to me, but I'll admit that my perception may be a tad skewed.

What is it they say?

Absence makes the heart grow fonder?

I think, in this case, the old adage rings true.