Uh, what next?

Only in Rhode Island can this happen. Because if it were in Kentucky, the Capitol would be evacuated...

What are you doing here?

That's the question that likely popped into Lt. Gov.Charles J. Fogarty 's mind the other week. Fogarty was sitting on an airplane, preparing to take off from T.F. Green, when Governor Carcieri boarded the same flight.

As a matter of practice, the governor and lieutenant governor -- his would-be successor -- don't travel on the same airplane, just in case something goes terribly wrong with the flight.

However, on March 17, the two officials both opted for the same flight en route to Washington, D.C., where they were headed for discussions on proposed liquefied natural gas terminals in Providence and Fall River.

Fogarty booked his ticket on March 8; Carcieri reserved his the next day. But apparently neither official's office bothered to tell the other its travel plans.

"It was a surprise to the lieutenant governor," said Fogarty's spokeswoman Susan Pegden. Pegden said Fogarty was already buckled into his seat, ready to leave when Carcieri boarded, and Fogarty "did not feel as though he had the choice to get off the plane at that point."

Carcieri and Fogarty weren't the only high-ranking officials on the flight to Washington. Rhode Island's U.S. Attorney, Robert Clark Corrente , and Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline were also there, according to Pegden.

Carcieri and Fogarty had picked separate flights for their return to Rhode Island, and both made the roundtrip safely.

(For the record, the plane they shared, a Boeing 737-300, has one of the best safety records in the business. According to airsafe.com, the fatality rate is .22 deaths per million miles flown.)

Last April, Fogarty canceled plans to welcome home National Guard troops at Fort Drum in upstate New York because Carcieri would by flying out there on the same military C-130 airplane.

So who would become governor if something happens to both officials? Article IX, Section 10 of the state Constitution calls for the speaker of the House to fill the vacancy.

Like the New England states need new Governors anytime soon...New Jersey, Connecticutt...