…what a news outlet might do to get you to click on a link.

The homepage of Verizon’s website showed this seemingly alarming image of a plane crash, with an equally alarming tease (click to enlarge):

Holy Toledo! We’ve read about teen bullies, teens in gangs, teens with knives, teens with guns, and now… teens flying Boeing 747′s into the ground?!? I thought we’d stopped that sort of stuff after 9/11!

Having worked in the Aerospace Industry my curiosity was piqued, so I clicked through to reveal the Associated Press article:

“Deadly Ala. plane crash may have been teen joyride”
The Associated Press, Wednesday, January 2, 2013 12:07 PM EST

…to discover “…the Piper PA 30 crashed less than a mile from the Walker County Airport in Jasper [Alabama].” Here’s a photo of your typical Piper PA 30 “Twin Comanche” aircraft, with a human just behind it to provide a sense of it’s massive size (click to enlarge):

Obviously, the teen involved didn’t have a license to fly. As for Verizon, it appears they were simply exercising a touch of “Journalistic License“.

Thanks for reading!