Wednesday, April 02, 2014

Where Is That Missing Plane?


That missing Malaysian 777 is still missing. I must admit, what came to my mind soon after it was reported missing, was the similarities with the fictional comic book adventure, Flight 714, one of the series of escapades with Tintin, Snowy, Captain Haddock, Professor Calculus et al.


Of all Tintin's adventures, this one is the most eery, most modern, and least satisfactory, because the central mystery -- have aliens been visiting the Earth for thousands of years? -- is left unresolved. 

Flight 714 begins as a normal flight in a similarly tropical part of the world as Malaysian Airlines flight 370, but things go awry as the crew have been bribed to kidnap the passengers and fly them to a remote island... Above, the moment when the aircraft diverts course. 

I said 'modern' because where previous Tintin adventures are clearly dated to the early- to mid-20th century by the styling and appearance of aircraft and automobiles, the missing airplane in Flight 714 has swing-wing capabilities, can fly at supersonic speeds, and is comparable to contemporary private jets in the sophistication of its design...