Great Scott! It looks like a reporter has been pranked, or possibly has just seen Back to the Future too many times, after reporting a plane crash in Massachusetts may have been caused by a “defective flux capacitator”.
Kathryn Burcham was reporting live for Boston 25 news on the scene of a plane crash at Cranland Airport in Hanson when she said made possibly the best plane crash gaff of 2018.
Not that plane crashes are ever a laughing matter, but seeing as nobody was harmed in this one we think it’s safe to have a little chuckle.
Mashable reports Jacob Haselden, the 20-year-old pilot who crashed-landed the plane, told Burcham the fictional time travel device caused the crash.
In case you weren’t aware, a “flux capacitor” is a crucial instrument used in Doc Brown’s time machine from cult classic Back to the Future.
WATCH AND LAUGH: Today in Boston… people are apparently having trouble going back in time. #bttf pic.twitter.com/hGAGuTF1Ka
— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) August 28, 2018
One Twitter user has pointed out that the pilot may have said ‘fluxgate compass’, which is a magnetic instrument pilots use to help keep the aircraft level.
A defective what?
📹@boston25 #back2thefuture #marty #doc #88mph pic.twitter.com/ea9tAGsqRP
— Tom Podolec Aviation (@TomPodolec) August 28, 2018
As for the actual cause of the crash, 7 News Boston said the National Transportation Safety Board is currently investigating.
“We flew up. I had difficulties with the engine. I managed to get everyone out and came back in for a landing, but couldn’t make it,” Haselden said, according to Mashable.
“The flipping (of the plane) was me running out of runway. I was coming in too fast due to difficulties with my engine, the flaps, and various plane issues.”
