Tuesday, July 10, 2007

We're Not in Kansas Anymore

New SPOGG member D'Arcy G. found this doozy in an otherwise tragic story on FoxSports:

Lesa France Kennedy's husband killed
FOXSports.com, Updated
36 minutes ago

Dr. Bruce Kennedy, the husband of International Speedway Corp. official Lesa France Kennedy, was killed Tuesday morning in a plane crash in Sanford, Fla. that left at least five people dead and three others seriously burned.

The plane crashed into two houses trying to make an emergency landing.

An International Speedway Corp. official confirmed Kennedy's death to FOXSports.com.


The way the second sentence is written, it appears the houses were trying to land. This is why it's usually best to put modifiers right next to the word they're describing.

The plane, trying to make an emergency landing, crashed into two houses.

Or, The plane crashed into two houses as it tried to make an emergency landing.

It's true, of course, that the pilot was trying to make the landing, and not the plane. But the basic point remains.

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