R.I.P., Anthony Mitchell.

Anthony Mitchell, among the 114 people that an official said were killed in a plane crash over the weekend in Cameroon, was a dogged Associated Press correspondent from Britain with a passion for Africa and for uncovering challenging stories. He had been on assignment to investigate the criminal trade in endangered species for food.

Mitchell, 39, had just spent a week in the Central African Republic, where he visited markets that sold elephant meat and chimps and gorillas to international smugglers. His stories were to be published before an international conference on the topic next month.

Intra-African airlines can be scary. Easily the freakiest flying experience I’ve ever had was a Sosoliso Airlines flight from Enugu to Lagos when I was in Nigeria for these stories. That plane felt tenuous the whole way. Six months later, one of Sosoliso’s four planes crashed, killing 109. I can’t say for sure if it’s the same plane I flew on, but my plane still had Yugoslav insignia on the side; the plane that was downed was a Macedonian castoff.

Just got back from Los Angeles. Was 10 feet from the Governator.

07 May 2007

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