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.
Sinking of SS Edmund Fitzgerald
November 12, 2026
This week in history, we remember the loss of 29 lives aboard the SS Edmund Fitzgerald. The 729-foot freighter was the largest ship on the Great Lakes in 1975, bound from Superior, Wisconsin, to Zug Island, Michigan, carrying more than 26,000 tons of iron ore pellets.
While on Lake Superior on November 10, 1975, the bulk freighter encountered a hurricane-force storm with waves greater than 30 feet high. Shortly after, the Edmund Fitzgerald vanished from radar without any sign. The NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) and the U.S. Coast Guard conducted investigations but there is no clear agreement on what happened. The two agencies found the freighter’s cargo extensively flooded, leading to a total loss of buoyancy.
The wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald brought game-changing reform to the shipping regulations of the Great Lakes—depth finders, lawsuits for survivors, increased inspections, and more.
Like a snake in the grass
November 05, 2026
From the Times of India, we have this unnerving story about a father and son discovering a poisonous snake after a day of outdoor chores.
“A plump eastern diamondback rattlesnake turned a day of lawn work into a moment a Florida family will not forget. Paul Tremblay and his son Brandon stepped outside their Gulf Cove home in Charlotte County and found the venomous snake right in front of them.
“Their decision to call emergency officials rather than handle the animal offers a useful lesson for every Florida homeowner.
“Paul told WINK News they were ‘genuinely shocked,’ adding that it is simply not something you expect to see. The family also recorded the encounter and shared the footage with the outlet. Brandon told WINK News that snakes typically don’t bother him much, but seeing this one was definitely a little scary. Their reactions will feel familiar to anyone who has ever met a wild animal unexpectedly. The eastern diamondback is North America’s largest rattlesnake species, and its venomous bite makes keeping a safe distance essential during unexpected encounters.
“Ranger Rob Howell, a naturalist and environmental educator at Pink Shell Resort, told WINK News that the eastern diamondback is one of Florida’s five venomous snakes, yet it is not looking for confrontations with people. He explained that the snake would bite only if it believed you were its food or a threat, so his advice is simple: give it space and leave it alone. Howell also told WINK News that development is contributing to more frequent sightings, and that changing weather can send these snakes searching for shelter from the cold. The Cool Down notes that Southwest Florida sits within the species’ native range and that encounters like this happen more often than many people realise. Stay aware, keep your distance, and know whom to call before you need to.
“Paul and Brandon Tremblay chose not to confront the rattlesnake themselves. Instead, they phoned the county sheriff’s emergency line, and officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission removed the animal about 30 minutes later, according to WINK News, as relayed by The Cool Down. The family said the snake was captured safely in roughly half an hour, a fast resolution to what could have been a stressful situation. For readers who live in rattlesnake country, the lesson is straightforward: rather than approaching a venomous animal, make the call and let trained officers take over. Brandon Tremblay told WINK News that the rattlesnake was a beautiful animal and a great part of the local ecosystem, showing that relief and respect can go hand in hand.”
Bison rams truck
October 29, 2026
A driver making his way through the early morning in Yellowstone National Park stopped his pickup truck, trying to avoid a collision with a bison directly in front of his vehicle.
The bison was not to be deterred however as he charged the Ford Ranger, knocking the truck back more than 18 inches, denting bumper, hood, and breaking a side light.
Kyle Weber, the driver, had been working as a mechanic in Yellowstone, driving from Canyon Village toward Fishing Bridge, when he happened upon the bison standing in the road. He said he gave the animal plenty of room and time to walk away but that didn’t happen.
Experienced pilot perishes in crash
October 22, 2026
The pilot, Ronald R. Reik, was a community leader who had done fundraising for plane crash victims. Reik died while flying a fixed-wing Piper with five passengers back from Kenosha to Menomonie, Wisconsin. All five adults and a child perished in the crash.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the accident and has reported that the Piper PA 46 was at 24,000 feet when Riek radioed to report icing and a request to begin a descent.
The Sauk County sheriff confirmed the pilot had talked with the tower prior to the accident. NTSB noted that air traffic control had approved the descent and reported that after a right turn and acceleration, the aircraft’s communication and the tracking of its data were cut off.
We know from the FAA that icing during a flight can:
- change the way air is flowing over an aircraft
- increase the occurrence of drag
- have an effect on the way an aircraft reacts to being handled
- effect an aircraft to stall when at higher speeds and at lower angles, possibly causing the craft to move in unrecoverable ways
Plane drops 27,000 feet
October 15, 2026
A British Airways flight departed from London Heathrow Airport at 11:50 am on October 5, 2026, bound for Chicago O’Hare International Airport. Over Ireland, around 30 minutes into the transatlantic flight, the Boeing 777-200ER suddenly plummeted from 37,000 feet to 9,000 feet—all in less than 10 minutes. Oxygen masks deployed in the passenger cabin and the plane made a U-turn to return to London. The plane circled for a few hours before landing back at Heathrow.
Aviation experts have suggested the aircraft’s rapid drop could have been a cabin pressurization issue.
Worker dies at meat plant
October 8, 2026
A worker died in a machinery accident at a Smithfield Foods meat production plant in Monmouth, Illinois, September 14, 2026. Workers walked off their shifts as they did not know what was supposed to happen following the accident. The fatal incident occurred during the night shift.
The Smithfield Foods fatality is currently being investigated by law authorities, company officials, and OSHA.
Death was apparently right around the corner
October 1, 2026
My first full shift at a hotel seemed like it was going to end without any hiccups. (Looking back, that was pretty miraculous. We were short-staffed, so I was completely alone with effectively no formal training.) It was a slow day, so I was just standing around at the front desk for the most part.
Then, about 5 minutes before my shift was over, a guest with a pale look on his face walked up to the desk and whispered, “Someone is injured at the pool. She needs help.”
The pool was closed for maintenance, so I was a bit puzzled. I couldn’t see anything on the cameras, so I began to walk there to see for myself.
I was stopped by my coworker, who just so happened to be early that day. With the same unsettled expression as the guest, she said, “I already called 911. You can go home for the day.”
I felt a little uncomfortable leaving in the middle of such an apparently serious situation, but she was adamant that she could take care of this. I eventually did leave, passing my an ambulance and a fire truck with blaring lights.
The next day, I asked my boss what happened. He explained to me:
“Our maintenance man lived at the hotel. I told him that his girlfriend was no longer welcome here because she had been causing trouble. He invited her here behind my back. From his room, she took some kind of hallucinogenic and fell from the balcony onto the concrete.”
“Is she okay?”
He shook his head and said, “I fired the maintenance man.”
This week’s edition was written by Jacob.
Death by MRI
September 24, 2026
Keith McAllister was wearing a 20-pound metallic weight-training chain around his neck when he walked into Nassau Open MRI facility in New York. McAllister’s wife was undergoing an MRI for her knee and had trouble getting off the table. A technician summoned McAllister to help his wife and brought him into the room while the machine was still active. In a turn of events, the heavy chain caused a forceful magnetic reaction, drawing McAllister into the MRI machine. He died after suffering multiple heart attacks.
Could AI take out humanity?
September 17, 2026
The upskill pace of AI is dizzying even for the companies working on AI. For instance, last year AI could solve a task in four minutes and this year a 40-minute one.
Now, we’re realizing that AI can outpace our management of it. So, the question of the month has been, Can AI put an end to humanity or compromise it in a definitive way?
Engine blade hits airplane window
September 10, 2026
Not only did the engine blade hit the window of the Ryanair aircraft taking off in Thessaloniki, Greece, the window shattered and a male passenger’s head was sucked out of the window. Passengers, including his wife, pulled at his legs and body to rescue him. He survived the horrific ordeal with friction burns, damages to his head and neck, and shock.
What happened to cause the engine blade to hit the window of the Ryanair plane? The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reported that it found parts of a bird on a fragmented engine. The flight had reached 16,000 feet over Thessaloniki—about 10 minute following takeoff—when the engine began reverberating. The shaking within the airplane grew stronger and a clearly audible boom was heard throughout the aircraft. The passenger oxygen masks dropped as the altitude warning sounded.
Missing people among flood in Nepal
September 3, 2026
Here’s what we know for now from the 8:37 am glacier collapse and flash flood on Wednesday, August 26, 2026.
- Emergency crews continue searching for thousands of missing people on the Nepal-China border in the aftermath of a glacial collapse.
- Estimation of unaccounted for in Nepal is currently 4,274, including more than 500 foreign nationals.
- Estimation of unaccounted for in Tibet is 16 deaths, 546 missing.
- The current death toll in Nepal is 903.
- More than 10,400 people have been rescued by relief teams.
- River erosion has inflicted transport routes.
- Rescue teams are working on tunnels at several affected hydropower sites where many workers had been trapped.
