[USMA:33820] RE: Air France Plane Mishap in Toronto

[Carleton MacDonald]

Wolf Blitzer on CNN repeated “meters”, and so did the graphics – until the end of the broadcast when suddenly he said “yards”.  Wonder if some producer got to him.   Carleton   From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Phil Chernack Sent: Wednesday, August 03, 2005 09:38 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:33813] Air France Plane Mishap in Toronto   As I am sure you all know by now, an Air France Airbus 340 skidded off the runway at Toronto’s Pierson International Airport yesterday afternoon.  Fortunately, everybody was able to escape with only minor injuries.  As I was watching the press conference from Toronto on my local CBS channel (WCBS in New York), the official being asked about it said that the plane “skidded 200 meters off the runway.”  The news anchor, recapping what was said, also repeated 200 meters.   Later in the evening, I went to the website for WCBS (www.wcbstv.com) and the article stated 200 yards.  My local newspaper stated the same thing, 200 yards.  Another news program this morning at least said, “more than 600 feet” which is a little more accurate.  My point is that right from the source we heard 200 meters and it was changed to 200 yards with no statement of what was actually said.  It is a clear case of the media changing measurements due to their belief that we either don’t understand metric or don’t want to.  Frustrating indeed!   Phil