News Comments

“Passenger lands plane after pilot falls ill” this titles caught my eye on CNN.com. However, I thought the lead that followed was much less interesting than this title. The leads lets the reader know that the plane was small and only had the pilot and passenger on board. I think this lead was meant to build some drama and cause the reader to continue in the story, which is does, but it also causes confusion. I don’t know what a “Cessena plane” is and I think that most people don’t. The lead is also misleading. At the end of the article we find out that the passenger has flown and aircraft before, just not this specific type. This takes away a lot of the drama that was originally in this piece about the miracle landing.

I thought this article was interesting. I read the whole thing wanting to know what happened but by the end I was given less than I had expected. The incident was not as exciting or treacherous as it seemed when I pictured a passenger landing a large plane full of other people. I think the roll of the pilot is also confusing, which is not the fault of the author. I want to know what happened to the pilot to lead to his death. If he was that sick, why was he flying the plane in the first place? This is an interesting story, that unfortunately just doesn’t have all the facts that it needs.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/09/world/europe/uk-passenger-lands-plane/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

Comments

  1. You’re right, Sam. The drama doesn’t quite hold up. That’s why I caution
    students about promising too much in the lead (and in the headline).
    Don’t try to add drama to a situation. Let it speak for itself.