# Things you almost but didn't quite witness **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 24, 2013, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-almost-but-didnt-quite-witness/659193 "2013-05-24T03:36:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![bink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/439d5e/32.png) [@bink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bink)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-almost-but-didnt-quite-witness/659193/21 "2013-05-24T23:22:19Z")
I heard, but didn’t see the impact of [a plane/helicopter crash](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Hudson_River_mid-air_collision) over the Hudson river. I heard the sound and turned around to see the pieces falling out of the sky. I was pretty close to where the guy landed the 747 in the Hudson, too, but there was a big building between me and the site so all I could see was the blinkenlights of the rescue boats that night. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-almost-but-didnt-quite-witness/659193/22 "2013-05-24T23:57:31Z")
I looked away just before the [Smokey Bear hot air balloon](http://geoinfo.nmt.edu/staff/scholle/graphics/Smokey.jpg) got caught on a [670 ft. radio tower](http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/photos/4/8/5/0687584.jpg) in October 2004. A close friend’s boss owned a balloon and entered the [Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta](http://www.themeetingmagazines.com/index/Portals/1/2007_06_CIT/Destinations/Albuquerque/balloons-492.jpg) every year. The friend asked if I wanted to work on the chase crew and I said yes. We got there before dawn and I helped lay out the envelope and hold it open while they filled it with air. Then they turned on the burner, heated the air and took off. We jumped in the back of a pick-up truck and followed. We had stopped to determine the best route to take and some of us were watching the other balloons. We saw the Smokey Bear balloon about a quarter mile away, descending towards a fairly tight landing area. The pilot decided not to land there and fired up the burner to gain altitude. I watched him clear the trees and power lines at the edge of the clearing and thought he was safe so I turned away. Unfortunately he didn’t clear the radio antenna about a half a mile south of there. I looked back and saw him hung up on the tower and yelled “Oh my god, Smokey Bear hit the antenna!” Everyone turned and watched as he rapidly deflated. We had to go after our balloon so we drove away. The pilot and his two passengers, a 10 yr. old boy and a 14 yr. old boy, had to climb down the ladder inside the tower until they reached rescuers who were on their way up. They are visible in the second photo; the pilot is just climbing out of the basket. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2013, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-almost-but-didnt-quite-witness/659193/23 "2013-05-25T00:24:08Z")
Probably dozens of dopers fit this one [![](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cypress_structure.jpeg) ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cypress_structure.jpeg) I was on that freeway 4 hours earlier. In case you cant see it, there were 2 raised layers of freeway that pancaked together. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2013, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-almost-but-didnt-quite-witness/659193/24 "2013-05-25T00:47:16Z")
I worked a half mile from the Pentagon on 9/11 but our windows faced the river. > [@Joey\_P](#): > > I seem to have an interesting habit of not witnessing car accidents, but showing up about 10 seconds afterwards and basically being ‘first on the scene’ so to speak. I guess it’s good since I tend to be pretty cool under pressure and if you couple that with missing all the excitement, I’m usually the one who (on several occasions) goes and turns off the cars while I’m on the phone with 911 and tries to figure out what the hell is going on. I was waiting for a Metrobus one night and had a car accident happen right in front of me. Another Metrobus was blocking my view; hearing the crash then seeing various car parts and debris fly under and around the bus was rather surreal. Had the presence of mind to pull out my phone to call 911 but it was busy and they already had the report when I finally got through. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2013, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-almost-but-didnt-quite-witness/659193/25 "2013-05-25T02:11:26Z")
I was on JAL flight 471 in June, 1972 the last time it successfully completed its flight Tokyo to London. The next flight crashed in India, killing nearly everyone on board. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2013, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-almost-but-didnt-quite-witness/659193/26 "2013-05-25T02:50:21Z")
In Seattle, in the 80’s, watching some aerial acrobats doing stunts from the top of a four or five story building in Pioneer Square. As we were walking back to work, we heard screams. One of them had fallen. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2013, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-almost-but-didnt-quite-witness/659193/27 "2013-05-25T04:43:11Z")
> [@bink](#): > > I was pretty close to where the guy landed the 747 in the Hudson, … Nitpick: Airbus A320, not Boeing 747. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2013, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-almost-but-didnt-quite-witness/659193/28 "2013-05-25T05:10:08Z")
When they were filming a Mall scene for Kindergarten Cop I was close enough to be asked if I was one of the extras. Good thing I said no, because everything even down to the extras looked pretty coordinated. I saw Arnie’s stunt double, and my recollection was that his face “looked more like Pee Wee Herman”. We didn’t stay around to see the actual shot. That takes way longer than you may think to shoot. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-almost-but-didnt-quite-witness/659193.md?page=1)