[Scan-DC] Crash at MRB Airshow

[Bruce Harper]

On Sun, Sep 18, 2011 at 7:20 PM, Todd wrote:

> **
> Hi everyone,
>
> I *AM* from Washington County, MD ( Hagerstown), and we *have* a
> completely upgraded 911 system. The incident occurred in Martinsburg, WV,
> (approx. 30 minutes south on I-81). As Mr. Lawson stated so perfectly,
> officials just wanted to be proactive, as the "minor" earthquake the other
> week, devastated the two main cell networks to crash. Mr. Harper, please
> look at a map before knocking something. The newspaper (Herald Mail) is in
> Hagerstown, MD.Thank you for your time. I'm not trying to start anything,
> just clarifying.
>

Yeah, my bad on the Hagarstown/Martinsburg pick. It just struck me as an odd
announcement to make, that cellular devices could "interfere" with emergency
communications. Yes, it is one thing to overload the cellular (and landline)
network (been there, I work at Virginia Tech and went through April 16 when
thousands were trying to phone and text, but that was an extreme case), but
how is a crowd at an airshow going to "interfere"? Yes, I could see if the
system is inadequate someone might have trouble calling 911, but that isn't
what I consider "interference." I hope it was just a poor choice of words.

Bruce in Blacksburg