Fact Check

Did Sarah Palin Wonder If Flight 370 'Flew Directly to Heaven'?

Sarah Palin supposedly speculated that Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 may have disappeared 'because it mistakenly flew too high and ended up in heaven.'

Published May 21, 2014

 (Christopher Halloran / Shutterstock.com)
Image Via Christopher Halloran / Shutterstock.com
Claim:
Sarah Palin said Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 may have disappeared "because it mistakenly flew too high and ended up in heaven."

On 20 March 2014, the Daily Currant published an article stating that former Alaska governor and 2008 vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin had, during an Fox News interview with Sean Hannity, expressed the notion that the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (which disappeared over the South China Sea on 8 March 2014 with 239 persons aboard) may have disappeared because the aircraft "mistakenly flew too high and ended up in heaven":

Sarah Palin claimed today that Malaysia Flight 370 may have vanished because it mistakenly flew too high and ended up in heaven.

During an appearance on Fox News last night, Sean Hannity asked the former vice-presidential candidate for her thoughts about the aircraft, which has been missing for nearly two weeks.

The former Alaska governor stunned viewers with an unorthodox new theory that international investigators have so far ignored.

"I see all these smarty pants people on CNN saying that it was terrorism or a fire in the cockpit," she explained to a bewildered Hannity, "but I don't hear anyone talking about the God possibility. I mean what if they accidentally flew too high and got stuck in heaven?"

Soon afterwards links and excerpts referencing this article were being circulated via social media, with many of those who encountered it mistaking it for a genuine news item. The gist of this article was also circulated in the form of an infographic:

However, the Daily Currant article was just a bit of political humor spoofing Palin's reputation for blending political and religious issues together. As noted in the Daily Currant's "About" page, that web site deals strictly in satire:

The Daily Currant is an English language online satirical newspaper that covers global politics, business, technology, entertainment, science, health and media.

Q. Are your news stories real?

A. No. Our stories are purely fictional. However they are meant to address real-world issues through satire and often refer and link to real events happening in the world.

David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994.

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