Talk:Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771

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2006 comments[edit]

Merge is a no-brainer -- the content in both articles is nigh identical. Now somebody just has to do it... --Jaysweet 21:53, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I will do it. Jlittlet 20:08, 14 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Good job. The only detail I see that you missed was that Burke was "the worst African-American mass murderer in US history." I'm iffy on how relevant that is... interesting trivia, but it doesn't have a cite and one could argue that it doesn't really matter. What do you think? --Jaysweet 20:19, 14 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I actually meant to put that in, but it got lost in the shuffle...I think you're right though-- it should be fact checked. I will try to do so, and then put it in.Jlittlet 22:34, 14 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]


The information appears to be correct, although I see the David Burke page was called racist some time last year. I believe, for what it's worth, that African-American mass murderers are so rare that his race is worth mentioning here.Jlittlet 00:11, 15 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Invented dramatic details?[edit]

" Burke left his seat and headed to the lavatory, dropping the note on Thomson's lap. "

There's no evidence for this, though it adds to the drama of the scene. Should it be in the article?

I agree that this is speculative at best and should be dropped. While there is no doubt that Burke wrote the note, we can not know if he gave it to Mr Thompson. Gnmtndogs 06:30, 19 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The problem with this decision is that it's a quote from one of the sources, this one. It sounds fabricated, but it's not the fault of Wikipedia's writers. -Ashley Pomeroy (talk) 20:43, 31 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I saw this on the Mayday episode. I believe they said that in the CVR, you could hear the bathroom door being shut. But I'm not sure. About the note being actually handed over to Mr. Thompson, it would be, in my opinion, very unlikely he wouldn't have done it... Sim(ã)o(n) (talk) 19:10, 27 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]

WikiProject class rating[edit]

This article was automatically assessed because at least one WikiProject had rated the article as start, and the rating on other projects was brought up to start class. BetacommandBot 03:58, 9 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Raymond F. Thomson[edit]

Did Burke's supervisor, who seemed to be the subject of his anger, also die in the crash? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.10.46.8 (talk) 14:19, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I was wondering the same thing...... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.109.151.50 (talk) 19:06, 6 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

At the risk of saying "me too", this is the first thing I thought of as I read the article. Burke's actions were presumably motivated by his desire to kill Thomson; the article mentions that Thomson regularly took the flight, but doesn't explain (a) whether he was on this particular flight or (b) whether Thomson was one of the pilots or cabin crew. -Ashley Pomeroy (talk) 20:41, 31 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]
In fact the National Transport Safety Board source makes it clear that he was on the flight. Burke did a bad thing, but damn he was badass. I'll mention it in the article. -Ashley Pomeroy (talk) 20:44, 31 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Passengers[edit]

Should not the "Passengers" area list all passengers? Not just individuals with titles? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.52.104.252 (talkcontribs) 00:47, 12 June 2009

The latest idea is that only passengers who are notable should be listed with the measure of notability that they have a wikipedia aticle. MilborneOne (talk) 17:08, 12 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
To this end I have removed the list of passengers as none have a related article. MilborneOne (talk) 17:24, 12 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Mayday[edit]

I am a Commissionaire for the Commissionaires-Southern Alberta and work in security at Calgary International. I saw Mayday in regards to this flight and as a black American, found this interesting. I also hold a US and Canadian private pilots license. After 9/11 a lot of security measures have been put in place, yet to completely enforce them as TSA, Homeland Security and Transport Canada would love to have followed, they can bring all projects at each and every airport to a screaming halt. I will not go into detail, but I was allowed to bypass security and went, within reason, just about anyplace. This was never, ever taken lightly. Due to medical issues, I have been reassigned, but the moment I was informed of this, all of my airport security credentials were taken away. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Awparran (talkcontribs) 17:18, 11 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Crash sight[edit]

Does anyone know if there are high quality pictures of the crash site right after the crash and as it appears today? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bzcoolness (talkcontribs) 23:29, 17 May 2012 (UTC)[reply]

No there are not. I have copies of the reports. The pictures are of debri in a field. They are very poor quality. Tryingforintegrity42 (talk) 17:17, 7 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]


Maybe someone can explain how an airplane traveling 770 mph can leave only a 2-foot deep, 4-foot wide crater.

This may be the most poorly written article on Wikipedia[edit]

A television program is immediately injected as a source, for no apparent reason. There couldn't be any good reason.

"The most plausible theory as to what happened was deduced from the pattern and audible volume of the shots on the CVR. According to the Mayday episode, it is likely that Burke first shot Thomson twice."

That's pitiful, and it doesn't get better. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.133.109.153 (talk) 00:44, 7 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Portrait of Burke - Should be removed?[edit]

Why is there a memorial portrait of the killer? Why does his face deserve memorial recognition? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.92.160.58 (talk) 18:48, 7 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Meh, it gives us something to direct our hate at. JQ (talk) 21:34, 7 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

External links modified[edit]

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Including Altitude in Meters[edit]

Why is the altitude in meters also included in the text? This isn’t an article specific question, but all aviation articles in general. The international language of flight is English with speed measured in Knots, distance in nautical miles and altitude in feet. Besides being the common standard, the term “cruising at 30,000ft” creates a certain image in your mind, even if you are educated in the Metric System. Isn’t it a bit superfluous? I’m sure this discussion has already been hashed out, but not certain of the rationale behind including it in the article rather than a link to a conversion table. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.235.68.109 (talk) 17:46, 11 February 2020 (UTC)[reply]

By whom-discussion[edit]

The article states "Although it is popularly believed that the complete phrase spoken..." I'm guessing that the source for this "popular" belief is Richard Bretzing, the FBI special agent who makes this claim in the Mayday episode "I'm The Problem". The problem here though, is that he is not mentioned in the article as the source of this "popular" belief. Thus, without attribution, I've attached a by whom template asking for specificity.  Spintendo  05:48, 5 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]