"I Noticed This Tiny Thing On Google Maps. When I Zoomed In… Well, Nothing Could Prepare Me."
November 2, 2013
A friend told me to go to a certain latitude and longitude on Google Maps. When I noticed it seemed to be in the middle of an African desert, I thought he was just sending nonsense. But when I zoomed in, my mind was blown. I noticed a tiny icon that looked like an airplane.
So I did some more research and discovered there’s an incredibly tragic and beautiful story behind it. Here it is, from start to finish.
UTA Flight 772 was a scheduled flight operating from Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo to Paris CDG airport in France.
This is the flight path. UTA Flight 772 was a scheduled flight operating from Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo to Paris CDG airport in France. The flight never made it. All on board perished.
Eighteen years later, families of the victims gathered at the crash site to build a memorial.
~snip~
The memorial was created by Les Familles de l’Attentat du DC-10 d’UTA, an association of the victims’ families along with the help of local inhabitants.
~snip~
The memorial is anchored by the starboard wing of the aircraft which was trucked to the site from 10 miles away. Workers had to dig up the wing and empty it of sand.
~snip~
The completed memorial.
~snip~
The memorial can be seen from Google Earth and Google Maps.
~snip~
Six Libyans were ultimately convicted of this terrorist attack. They used a suitcase bomb to blow up the plane, which resulted in 155 passengers and 15 crew members meeting their demise.
~snip~
Wow! Very tragic, yet touching story. Many more photos here: http://www.viralnova.com/i-noticed-this-tiny-thing-on-google-maps-and-when-i-zoomed-in-well-nothing-could-prepare-me/
= new reply since forum marked as read
But because these people were loved, we will never forget them.
only surpassed by its successor, the MD-11?
OK. 
Your complete numbers...do share.
"In the 1980s, Libyan-French discord centered on the situation in Chad. As mentioned, the two countries found themselves supporting opposite sides in the Chadian Civil War. In late 1987, there were 1,300 French troops in Chad, primarily defending the Chadian capital N'DJamena from attack, including an air attack using Tupolev Tu-22 strategic bombers; France also gave $90 million in military aid to Chad that year.".[2] However, French policy did not permit its forces to cross the sixteenth parallel. Thus, direct clashes with Libyan soldiers seemed unlikely. However, Libyan diplomats still accused France of having "direct responsibility" in the escalation of the war, and the Libyan news agency JANA called the raid a "combined Franco-American military action" and charged that Washington and Paris were "behind the aggression against Libya."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France%E2%80%93Libya_relations
ps welcome to DU
check out Apple Maps (if you have an iPhone or Mavericks you can search for "16.864722, 11.953611"
