A Time to Kill

Dec. 13, 2006
So, you just finished getting the last of your troublesome "hangar queens" out the door, and you and your fellow mechanics want to celebrate. What do you do? Why, you sacrifice a camel on the airport tarmac of course.  At least that's what a group ot Turkish aircraft technicians did. They were so happy to be rid of the last of a batch of troublesome aircraft that they sacrificed a camel. You see, Turks have traditionally sacrificed animals as an offering to God when their wishes come true. These mechanics killed the camel right on the tarmac of Instanbul's Ataturk International Airport. Well as you can imagine, the press had a field day with the story. They were all over the story like vultures on road kill. Images of a mechanic standing on the tarmac and holding up a piece of bloody camel meat was on the front page of several Turkish newspapers. The images angered transportation authorities and led to the firing of the senior mechanic on duty that day. I guess his termination was appropriate. After all, he broke the law. You see, in Turkey, you are only allowed to slaughter (ahem, sacrifice) animals in designated facilities. Apparently the tarmac of Turkey's busiest airport isn't on the list of designated facilities. To read the full story, click here . Gee, I'm almost finished writing my latest blog. Afterwards, I think I'll celebrate by killing something -- a beer! Â