Originally posted by: giantpinkbunnyhead
Biggest waste of resources?
Hmm. There's plenty in aviation. Weather is the biggest one. Recently we launched a 727 from Anchorage to Shemya AFB, which is the last ALeutian Island (almost). 1500 miles one way. That leg burns 29,000 pounds of fuel. Plane gets close to Shemya... weather went bad, plane couldn't land so it diverted to Adak. (another 15,000 pounds of fuel). Plane gasses up, Shemya weather is still bad... so the plane came back to Anchorage. Completely wasted trip. Total fuel used? About 60,000 pounds. Total elapsed time, 7 hours. I'd say that's a spectacular waste of resources; sadly sometimes it simply isn't avoidable.