Reading the daily police blotter

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Hackensack in the 1890s, around the time The Bergen Evening Record was founded in River City.

Page 1 of The Record today carries an update of the fiery plane crash that killed five, but I've already lost interest in what caused the accident on Tuesday. 


And I see nothing about the hubris or machismo that drove Jeffrey F. Buckalew, a 45-year-old investment banker from Manhattan, to fly his own plane and sacrifice the lives of his wife, children, a family dog and a colleague, himself the father of three.


In fact, today's story conflicts with a witness quoted in Wednesday's scatter-shot account that a wing broke off and the plane "went down like a rock" -- words that formed the basis of the banger headline on that day's front page.


Now, the consensus of witnesses is that the plane "spiraled out of control" and exploded when it hit Route 287.


The plane truth


Buckalew's multimillion dollar turbo-prop apparently was brought down by ice build-up. The plane was based at Teterboro, meaning long-suffering Hackensack homeowners will have one less noisy aircraft to worry about.


Readers looking at Pages A-4 and A-5 today can be forgiven if they think they have a copy of The Star-Ledger, which contributed four stories on those pages.


The photo on A-7 -- two female sailors kissing -- gives new meaning to the old salt's boast of having "a woman in every port."


On A-19, a wire-service story reports North Korean madman Kim Jong Il died in bed -- not while working -- but doesn't say whether a young woman was involved.


Crimes against readers


The front of head Assigment Editor Deirdre Sykes' Local section looks like a police blotter come to life -- every story involves police or court news or an indictment.


Seven more police or court stories appear on L-2 and L-3, and more police news is on L-5 and L-6.


Too bad they don't lock up Sykes and interim Editor Douglas Clancy and throw away the key for crimes against readers looking for local news in the Woodland Park daily.

See previous post, 

Ex-editor says he's landed on his feet

Why do wealthy fly their own planes?

Image via Wikipedia
The small plane that crashed Tuesday on Route 287 was based at Teterboro Airport.

The Record's coverage of the fiery plane crash that killed five leaves a lot of unanswered questions, including why some wealthy men insist on piloting their own planes instead of flying first class with highly trained commercial crews.


Readers hoping for some insight into the mind-set of investment banker Jeffrey F. Buckalew, 45, and other small-plane pilots encounter two Page 1 stories filled with a lot of extraneous detail about the executive's charitable giving, his devotion to his children and how fast his plane could fly. 


The main story discusses the potential of icing as well as smoke "billowing" from a wing of the single-engine aircraft. 


This bizarre line appears on the continuation page (A-10): "Witnesses described a plane so unbridled they initially thought it was part of a stunt show."


Other unanswered questions: 


Was Buckalew and his Manhattan firm, Greenhill & Co., involved in the country's financial meltdown? 


Why would Buckalew risk his death and the deaths of his family and a colleague who was married and had three children by exposing them to the vagaries of weather, mechanical failure or faulty maintenance?


Road hog


If readers thought the line about the plane being "unbridled" and "part of a stunt show" was unusual, what do they think of the Road Warrior column reviewing unrelated incidents of malfunctioning planes landing safely on highways (L-1)?


Road Warrior John Cichowski ran out of ideas for his commuting column years ago, so when he heard Buckalew's plane crashed on Route 287, he flew into action, knowing he could wring a piece out of the tragedy, using the excuse that the deaths occurred on a "road" or "highway."


I wonder how relatives of the Buckalew family feel about the column headline, which says "highways have saved pilots," but suggesting the investment banker had run out of "luck."


Cichowski even offers advice to small-plane pilots on what to do when their engines stop while they are in the air. Of course, there's no indication the engine of Buckalew's plane stopped before the crash.


The column is a low point in a series of irrelevant and nonsensical Road Warrior pieces in recent years, but head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes doesn't seem to care one way or the other.


Hackensack news


On L-6 today, Hackensack reporter Stephanie Akin catches up to her weekly competition, reporting concern over the city's mounting legal bills.


She reports "the city and its insurers paid a total of $3.8 million in legal fees this year and in 2010, according to city documents obtained" by residents.


But one of the headlines states: "Hackensack officials defend $7.6M as cheaper than settling."


I couldn't find the "$7.6 million" figure anywhere in Akin's story.


How to ruin spinach


For the fastest way to ruin 5 pounds of fresh spinach, see the recipe on F-2 of Better Living today.


Food Editor Susan Leigh Sherrill continues to promote free celebrity cookbooks rather than modify the recipes to make them healthier for readers.


Santa Claus controversy


On A-20, two letters to the editor say a Dec. 18 article on the Better Living front, "The Santa mystique," could have been read by children who believe in him and should not have been displayed so prominently or been published in the first place.


One of the writers is Rene Mack, a freelancer who once reviewed restaurants for The Record.