... but in a prelude of future problems, the first B-1 unveiled in 1985,
in front of a crowd of 30,000, failed to start.
That is not what happened, not even close. The plane was damaged during delivery two days prior to the unveiling. It didn't "fail to start", they didn't try to start it after it was damaged. All of this didn't occur "in front of a crowd of 30,000"; again, it occurred two days before.
Much like the points you made, this line is another ham-fisted attempt to paint what happened in the most embarrassing way possible, by drawing an image in the reader's mind of a bumbling pilot turning the key and the starter cranking over without starting. The author knows this (I got it from his link[1]).
Much like the points you made, this line is another ham-fisted attempt to paint what happened in the most embarrassing way possible, by drawing an image in the reader's mind of a bumbling pilot turning the key and the starter cranking over without starting. The author knows this (I got it from his link[1]).
[1] http://www.nytimes.com/1985/06/30/us/30000-hail-bomber-debut...