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When a passenger on the Continental Airlines flight that skidded off the runway in Denver was brought to safety, he did what came naturally.  He posted about it on Twitter.

Mike Wilson used his iPhone to post entries about what he’d just been through, starting with a play by play of the actual crash:

Wilson described the takeoff as normal “when we suddenly veered off.” Wilson described a “sudden bottom-dropped-out feeling and then a jolt” when the plane dropped into the ravine.
“I believe it was after the jolt that the right engine, which was near my row, caught fire,” he said. “By the time the plane stopped we were burning pretty well and I think I could feel the heat even through the bulkhead and window.”

He then went on to complain about losing his glasses and being refused drink service by the airline once he was safe at the airport lounge.  His postings earned him interviews with NBC and Fox News.

This isn’t the first time Twitter has been at the forefront of breaking news.  The social networking site was also used to get information out about the Virginia Tech shootings and the California fires.  It’s also been used by two people who were arrested (an Egyptian student and a journalist covering the Olympics in Beijing) and was instrumental in their quick releases.  The service is breaking new ground in the field of journalism as its users find themselves reporting breaking news before the big networks, proving that blogging is much more than just an online diary.

Read[Washington Post]