How Far Away is Death?
How far away is death? From close calls to tragic accidents, these incidents are equally shocking as insightful.
Tune in every Thursday to see the newest edition, or scroll down to browse previous topics.
Deadly tomatoes
June 05, 2025
Check your tomatoes if they’re from the states that have had an FDA recall due to the presence of salmonella.
A USA Today article iis warning that the FDA has imposed a recall of specific tomatoes from Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina: “Williams Farms Repack LLC announced the recall on May 2, according to the Food and Drug Administration. The Lodge, South Carolina-based produce wholesaler said the affected tomatoes were packaged and sold to wholesalers and distributors in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina between April 23-28.
“On April 29, Williams Farms Repack was notified by Southeast Tomato Distributors that the tomatoes supplied from H&C Farms may be contaminated with Salmonella, according to the FDA.
“The recalled tomatoes vary in size and have either Williams Farms Repack or H&C Farms labels on them.”
The article also details that “Salmonella can ’cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems,’ according to the Food and Drug Administration.”
Content credit: USA Today, “Tomatoes shipped to 3 states recalled for possible salmonella contamination: See where,” Jonathan Limehouse, May 3, 2025.
Doggo hero
May 29, 2025
A small dog begins to have an epileptic seizure and his much larger companion springs into action as a doggo hero. The bigger guy hops into rescue mode to save the smaller puppy. Pretty inspiring to see the life-saving action from another species.
A Pet MD article, “Can Dogs Empathize with Other Dogs’ Emotions?” actually helps you understand how dogs empathize.
Content credit: Pet Med, “Can Dogs Empathize With Other Dogs’ Emotions?” by Jennifer Coates.
Who knew a razor could be so deadly!
May 22, 2025
Did you know you can bleed to death from a shaving cut? Say your razor’s dull, or you went across when you should have shaved down. Maybe you skipped across an ingrown hair or a slightly raised mole.
So, whether you try witch hazel on cotton or pressing an ice cube for several seconds to the cut area, do it with clean hands. Or, apply Neosporin which will close the wound, disinfect it, and spur healing.
Good luck and next time don’t go so hard with the razor.
All of a sudden, your day is wrecked
May 15, 2025
If you’ve ever had your car, truck, or bike hit, or you’ve hit someone, it dawns on you that nothing’s going to go the way you planned that day because you have to take care of your wrecked vehicle — and, unfortunately, sometimes yourself and others.
Usually, if the accident doesn’t involve personal injury, you try to recover from the shock of being in an accident and get out to survey the damage done to your wrecked car/truck/golf cart/motorcycle.
What to do with your wrecked vehicle depends on the amount of damage.
For example, when my daughter’s sedan was T-boned, she was able to get out and walk around, surveying the damage, pretty much concluding it was undriveable. A bit later, she’d get the news that her car was totaled. The other vehicle, a large SUV, hit her with such force that the inside of her car was littered with glass, also all over inside her clothing. (Not to mention the broken tie rod, etc., as she learned later.) To add to the drama, the other driver tried backing up and driving away but onlookers blocked his getaway.
How do I know? I was two cars behind her when this happened. So, anything can and does happen as we try to get to where we need to go.
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The risk of rescue
May 08, 2025
When first responders head toward an accident, they cannot know all the risk involved in the rescue until they’ve arrived on the scene. And things can spiral downhill from there.
Kidney stone
May 01, 2025
A kidney stone that resulted in the amputation of all four limbs.
Kentuckian Cindy Mullins is a wife, mother of two children, and has been a nurse for 17 years. Yet nothing could prepare her for the kidney stone that resulted in the amputation of all her limbs.
Nurse Mullins thought she was going in for removal of a kidney stone, but 9News and CNN report, “In what doctors have described as a ‘perfect storm’ over a kidney stone, Mullins has been left a quadruple amputee after a harrowing series of surgeries.
“Her kidney stone caused an infection, and it became septic. She was rushed to hospital in Stanford, Connecticut, but when doctors realised the seriousness of Mullins’ condition she was quickly flown to the UK.”
Content source/credit: 9News/CNN: “Kentucky woman went in for kidney surgery but woke up a quadruple amputee,” January 2, 2024.
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747 disappears in thick fog
April 24, 2025
YouTube aviation station Cargospotter caught on video the 747 disappearing into a cover of thick clouds after departure at Liege Airport.
About the incident, the YouTube planespotter, Cargospotter, comments that “this Boeing 747 of Challenge Cargo disappeared in thick clouds right after taking off from runway 24L at Liege Airport. The weather was quite bad that day and I only visited the airport to film the amazing looking B747-400 Freighter of SF Airlines which is also a part of this video.”
Watch the YouTube video to see what happened in this near-miss plane incident.
What were the two aircraft involved in the near-miss plane incident?
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Seaplane tour downed
April 17, 2025
What began as a seaplane tour over the Great Barrier Reef ended up as a wreck amid trees and brush.
A Cessna Caravan seaplane tour was navigating a scenic charter over the Great Barrier Reef. The aircraft clipped trees and impacted dense scrubland while attempting a go-around after an aborted water landing, according to details in a final ATSB (Australian Transport Safety Bureau) investigation report.
The aircraft was carrying 10 passengers as the pilot attempted a landing at Whitsunday Island’s Chance Bay when it bounced three times on the water after the pilot reported holding off the landing in order to fly through an observed wind gust.
Seaplane tour downed on go-around after aborted water landing
After the second bounce, with the aircraft nearing the beach . . .
The pilot increased engine power and initiated a go-around. A more pronounced third bounce, which occurred almost immediately after the second, resulted in the aircraft rebounding about 30 to 50 feet above the water.
While increasing power, the pilot perceived that the engine torque was indicating red, suggesting an engine over-torque for the selected propeller configuration. Noticing that the climb performance was less than expected with the flaps at the 30 degree setting, the pilot stopped increasing power and reduced the flap to 20 degrees.
As it climbed straight ahead toward a saddle, the aircraft’s climb performance was still below the pilot’s expectations. Assessing that the aircraft would not clear the surrounding rising terrain, the pilot turned right. However, during the turn, the aircraft clipped trees before coming to rest in dense scrub about 150 meters from the eastern end of the main beach, near the top of a ridge.
The pilot promptly advised the passengers to exit and move away from the aircraft. Some of the passengers suffered minor injuries in the accident, but all were able to leave the aircraft quickly. There was no post-impact fire, but the aircraft was substantially damaged.
What the ATSB investigation found
The ATSB found that the aircraft was flown beyond the aircraft landing area’s northern boundary before the first bounce off the water. This, combined with the delay in initiating a go-around, reduced the options and margins available for a safe outcome.
The engine operating limitations contained in the float operations pilot-operating handbook supplement were also not consistent with other publications and may have influenced the power level applied by the pilot during the go‑around.
What’s been done as a result
The float manufacturer-published pilot operating handbook supplement was amended with respect to engine operating limits. The operator advised they have taken action to enhance or update existing procedures as well as checklists for their float plane operations.
Safety message
Charter seaplane operations present unique challenges, particularly in relation to the water landing environment. Variable sea conditions and the possibility of sharing the landing area with marine vessels and people mean that every landing has the potential to be markedly different.
A go-around is a normal procedure and a safe option whenever landing conditions are not satisfactory. However, it is important to consider aircraft performance and local conditions when planning an escape route, including conducting “mental rehearsals” of standard procedures. In addition, making an early decision to conduct a go-around significantly reduces the associated risk.
This accident report is ATSB investigation number AO-2016-007, Collision with terrain involving Cessna 208 Caravan, VH-WTY, 11 km north-east of Hamilton Island Airport, Queensland on 28 January 2016.
Read the full ATSB report.
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