So I was doing my usual watching of weird YT videos yesterday and came across this gem. Already interesting enough, how this commuter jet hits a deer and then ends up with a fuel leak. But give a listen @ 4:30 and a couple of other places on this video. I found this quite... Amusing, and here's why: When I took the job as an engineer with the group of a few dozen radio stations (mostly religious) down south way back in 2000, one of the first things that I had to deal with was a call from the FAA in Roanoke, complaining that our gloriously maintained CCA transmitter was putting out a nice spur right on top of the main ground control frequency at the Roanoke Airport. Long story I won't get into now, but this wasn't the first time and I'm certain it wasn't the last. The other engineer had a long history of poor maintenance practices and neglecting things like preventative maintenance.
One time, one of our stations in TN had been having issues (as in, pretty much completely off the air--zero coverage). After he finally had given up on trying to figure out what was wrong for like a month and a half and conceded that I might actually be able to help, I walked into the building knowing exactly what was wrong and flipped the power switch off on the exciter. The transmitter kept happily putting out a few kilowatts with no exciter power, just like I knew it would, because the symptoms were obvious (at least to me)... Problem? The PA cavity hadn't been cleaned in probably 10 years, the screen around the tube socket clogged with an inch of filth, the socket was melted to shit, and half the fingerstock was burned off the plate ring. It was amusing to tune around and find all the different frequencies it was transmitting on.
Anyway, I do believe these same people have a transmitter right near where this plane was complaining of interference, and it wouldn't surprise me a bit to find out that the culprit is a poorly maintained grounded grid CCA transmitter. Oh, those radio days. Sometimes I do miss them. And then I don't. Enjoy a laugh with me.