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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.

Contractors submitted revised proposals for the U.S. Air Force’s KC-10 CNS/ATM upgrade work this month after the service discovered it botched the first competitive round last year that resulted in a $216 million award going to Boeing. Boeing was ordered to stop work on the contract in October owing to a mistake made by the Air Force in the original competition. Air Force Col. Michael Schmidt, contractor logistics support program director for the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center (where the contract is managed), acknowledged a “need for corrective action associated with the original source selection,” but has not specified the...

NTSB Prelim Confirms Firefighting DC-10 Struck Trees Tue, 17 Jul '07 Pilot Landed Aircraft Safely, Crew Not Injured A National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report released Sunday confirmed a DC-10 firebomber, operated for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention (CalFire) was damaged last month during a retardant drop on a brush fire near Tehachapi. "The flight crew was on their third flight of the day and preparing to jettison a load of retardant," the NTSB report says. "While in a left turn from base to final for the drop, the left wing dipped downward and impacted several trees."...

FedEx plane catches fire at Memphis airport By Jane Roberts December 18, 2003 A FedEx DC-10 landed on fire at Memphis International Airport shortly after noon. The fire was in the cargo hold. Four people, including several crew members were evacuated. The plane veered of the runway near Swinnea Road. The blaze has been extinquished, leaving the plane covered with soot and holes. The cause of the fire was not immediately known. The Memphis Fire Department said six fire fighting units were dispatched to the airport. The DC-10 was on a flight from Oakland, Calif. FedEx said no hazardous materials...