Eastern Airlines Lives!

Although Eastern Airlines went bankrupt in 1991, the Federal Aviation Administration for some reason decided to illustrate the cover of its 78-page 2010 "Portfolio of Goals" report with a photo of the venerable DC-9 operated by the long-defunct carrier.

I flew a lot of Eastern shuttles in my life between Washington and New York, and although the FAA report does not identify the aircraft on the cover, there is no chance I mis-identified the once familiar Eastern livery. But to make sure, I compared the FAA photo with an Eastern Airline DC-9 photo on AirlineFan.com .

I called FAA's public affairs shop to find out why they decided to use a photo of a DC-9 operated by a carrier out of existence for 19 years, but have yet to receive a call back.

I imagine they are busy answering queries on why a child was directing aircraft at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York last month.