The Emirates Airbus 380 landed at Boston’s Logan International airport, Thursday January 26. It was billed as a “one-off” according to a tweet by the airline. The airport has renovated a section of Terminal E, their international terminal, so that the tall, double-decker aircraft can fit properly. Here are my photos of the arrival and departure. Lenses used were a Canon 800mm and a 100-400mm.
There is magic above, just look up. Lot Airlines flight LO26, Warsaw-NYC (JFK), flying at 37,975′ passes United Airlines flight UA999, JFK-Brussels, which is at 34,975′. I photographed this at 7:34pm tonight, from my driveway in Winthrop. Scroll down for the very cool radar readout, courtesy of the very awesome planefinder.net.
I, like many, was watching one of the morning national news shows when the unthinkable events that would change our nation forever commenced. First, one plane, and then another crashed into the World Trade Center towers. I went in to work my Boston Herald news photography shift shortly thereafter. The updated and ever-changing news reports showed one, if not both of the ill-fated airliners, departed from Boston’s Logan airport. I started toward the airport. It would take me over an hour to get from the Herald’s South End headquarters to Logan as most workers vacated the city at the same time. Cell phone service, due to heavy usage, was barely working in our area. I arrived on top of Logan’s Terminal B parking garage to look down at a quiet airport as other media members arrived. We all noticed when an F15 fighter jet roared overhead. It was at about that time that I received word that Peter West, the father of Herald colleague Matthew West, had been working in one of the WTC towers when the planes hit. Cell service was still very spotty and every once in a while, through the day, I would check in with Matthew and another co-worker/friend Matt Stone to find out any information about Mr. West. We all thought that the heavy confusion of the day and the bad cell service, etc. were the reasons we had not received information on the whereabouts of Mr. West. We are a close bunch at the Herald photography department and as the hours passed, we would contact each other to find any information we could about the West family, so as to not bother them. Peter west, a loving father, husband, brother, uncle and friend, died as he was going about his work on the 104th floor. A loving eulogy by his son Matthew would follow at the New Jersey funeral. Here is a link to the eulogy and to the Peter West memorial website. My photos below show F15 flying over Logan and a state police car guarding an American Airlines plane in the hours after the attacks. They also show one of the first jets to arrive at Logan after the four day closure of the airport. That arriving jet, a DHL cargo jet, is framed by an American flag flying above Winthrop. A few days later there was a very emotional prayer service at City Hall plaza that was attended by many area pilots and flight attendants. God bless to Mr. West and to all the victims of that horrific day. Peace on earth!
I snapped these from #SomeWindowInWinthrop, late last night, as these jets were turning west somewhere near Scituate. The larger plane is UPS Fl 1013 from Boston to Louisville and the smaller plane is SouthWest airlines fl 975 to Baltimore. Both jets took off over Winthrop but I needed to await that turn.
As a professional photographer, a Winthrop resident, and a self proclaimed aviation fanatic, I have enjoyed bearing witness to some fun moments in and around Logan airport. here are some of my photos from 2013.
June 24, 2013. A distant lightning bolt strikes well behind a departing Logan airliner.
December 19, 2013.
A cold moon greets an incoming airliner as seen from Winthrop.
October 19, 2013
Boston’s Custom House frames a departing jet.
November 13, 2013
Window washers, working on Northern avenue, are framed by a jet departing Logan airport.
September 18, 2013
A transatlantic flight exits the US east coast over Winthrop,MA.
May 9, 2013
An American Airlines jet arrives at Boston’s Logan airport.
July 7, 2013
An Aer Lingus Airbus-330 land at Boston’s Logan airport.
May 6, 2013
Fog and the sun “shadow” a departing airliner, as seen from Winthrop,MA
July 29, 2013
A thunderstorm approaches Boston’s Logan airport.
I snapped this from our Somerville front porch during a late dinner. I don’t think I have ever seen such a unique sunset. It was beautiful as this JetBlue plane climbed over Somerville after departing Logan.
I snapped this from Winthrop today. A tricky exposure for sure. I ended up deciding on underexposing as plane after plane “shadowed” like this. The shadow would appear for just a split second. This was the heavy fog that enveloped portions of the area in the late afternoon today.
I photographed smoke coming out of the cargo hold today as Massport firefighters, with a backup from the Boston Fire department, first investigated and then doused the morning fire. See my photos below of today’s event and also my photos from when the jet experienced happier times at Logan, first in Boeing colors, and then the inaugural flight from Japan. Also check bostonherald.com for any updates on the cause, etc.
A United Boeing 777 landed safely at Logan after a smoke smell was reported inside the aircraft. According to police scanner transmissions from Massport fire command, firefighters were investigating the source of the smell. They were then concerned enough, that they asked that a stair car be brought to the plane to take the passengers off that way as there was not a gateway available immediately. After buses and the stair car were positioned, it was decided not to evacuate in that manner. Please see my photos below.
Logan tower is aglow in red during tonight’s sunset. Earlier this evening, there was a rare visit by a Saudi Arabian 747SP. A moonrise, a few days ago, is also seen below. Thanks for viewing my photos.
