The Satellite photo showing Atlanta Int. Airport's 5th runway was removed from Google Maps! WTF?

[Up2Late]

Did anyone else notice that the Satellite photo showing the construction of Atlanta's 5th runway (built over the major Interstate Highway I-285) was removed from Google Maps and replaced by the Pre-construction photo!

<http://maps.google.com/maps?client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&oe=utf-8&q=Atlanta+Airport&ll=33.636489,-84.427185&spn=0.04552,0.074329&t=k&z=14&om=1>

WTF? Did "homeland security" think "the terrorist" would see it as a target so they went with censorship???

Or did they think that, as long as they censor the "news" and the satellite photos, "the terrorist" won't notice that the giant Tunnel they drove through on their way to the Airport with big jet driving over it wasn't the new 5th runway?

I don't know, am I just over-reacting to this one, or does this qualify as another "slippery slope?"

[mike_c]

1. welcome to the Amerikan security state....

Your papers, please?

[murloc]

2. I wouldnt jump to conclusions

While I could easily see some nit-wit thinking they were doing us a security "favor", it would really really be stupid.

Go to any small airport and buy a sectional (essentially a pilots roadmap) and you'll get far far far more useful information than could be gleaned from a google photo.

My non-tinfoil hat explanation is that they replaced the photos for either licensing (they license these pics from other sources), or quality issues.

But the again, a nitwit could have declared them sensitive.

[Up2Late]

3. Well, it sure wasn't a "quality issues" because it was a very high resolution photo...

...very clear with it zoomed all the way in.

And the 5th runway, completed over a year ago, was all over the media:

<http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2006/05/22/story1.html>

And detailed info is available to anyone on-line at this link: <http://www.airnav.com/airport/KATL>

Including the airport diagram: <http://204.108.4.16/d-tpp/0705/00026AD.PDF>

Soooo...:wtf:

[murloc]

4. ummm.. exactly

Detailed information is readily available.

Detailed information HAS to be available if they expect anyone to land on it.

So it would be kinda stupid to think that changing the picture would have any safety effect.

As to the quality issue, I don't regularly view the Atlanta airport with Google Earth so I can't compare and contrast, however I can imagine a benign scenario where the entire region was replaced due to licensing or quality issues. (i.e. other parts of the region were upgraded in quality, even though it was an older image)

It may very well be some nit-wittery going with respect to national security, but imo its proably image licensing or something less malicious.

Think about it...why remove information about just ONE runway? If Google truly thought it was a security issue, the fools would have removed all the runways.

Regardless, its just speculation in the absence of further information.

[donheld]

5. WTF that's crazy

[Up2Late]

6. kick n/t

:kick: