Plane Crashes

My friend (who appears to be uniquely sighted) tells me: both crashes are linked by external manipulation. Aside from this the planes are safe. Both carried a passenger of particular interest. Makes me even less inclined to travel by air. Also interesting to me how, if true, the blame is easily focused on one corporation.
 
Trump does a back-flip - the 2 recovered black boxes were to be sent to Germany's Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) but Germany has declined. Britain and France's air accident investigation agency has not been contacted.

Trump says U.S. to ground Boeing 737 MAX 8s and MAX 9s
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the United States was going to order the grounding of all Boeing Co 737 MAX 8 and MAX 9 aircraft
after a crash in Ethiopia that killed 157 people after rising pressure from U.S. lawmakers and others to join regulators around the world.

U.S. grounds 737 MAX jets, Boeing shares fall again
A Chinese man mourns a victim of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 plane crash during a commemoration ceremony at the scene of the crash, near the town of Bishoftu, southeast of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia March 13, 2019. REUTERS/Baz Ratner


“We’re going to be issuing an emergency order of prohibition to ground all flights of the 737 MAX 8 and the 737 MAX 9 and planes associated with that line,” Trump told reporters at the White House.


“The FAA is prepared to make an announcement very shortly regarding the new information and physical evidence that we’ve have received from the site, and from other locations and through a couple of other complaints,” he said, referring to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.

Boeing shares, which were up earlier in the session, fell 2 percent to $367.70. The shares have fallen about 13 percent since the crash, losing more than $25 billion of market value.

Black boxes from Ethiopia crash to be sent to Germany: Ethiopian Airlines spokesman
The black boxes from a Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane that crashed in Ethiopia on Sunday, killing 157 people, will be sent to Germany for analysis, an Ethiopian Airlines spokesman said.

Germany says will not analyse Ethiopian Airlines black box
Germany's Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) said on Wednesday it will not analyze the black box from the Ethiopian Airlines passenger jet which crashed soon after taking off from Addis Ababa on Sunday.

Ethiopia crash black boxes still in Addis Ababa: airline
Two black box recorders recovered from the crash of Ethiopia Airlines flight 302 are still in the capital Addis Ababa as discussions continue about where in Europe to send them, the airline said on Wednesday.

Black boxes from Ethiopia crash to go to Europe for analysis
The black boxes from a Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane that crashed in Ethiopia, killing 157 people, will be sent to Europe for analysis, a spokesman for Ethiopia Airlines said on Wednesday.

France's BEA not contacted by Ethiopia over black box analysis
Ethiopian authorities have not contacted France's air accident investigation agency about receiving the black boxes from the Boeing 737 MAX 8 which crashed near Addis Ababa, a spokesman for the BEA said on Wednesday.

British body says has not been asked to take Ethiopia black boxes
Britain's Air Accident Investigation Branch said on Wednesday it had not received any request to analyze the black boxes from Ethiopian Airlines flight 302, whose crash on Sunday prompted a number of countries to ground Boeing's 737 MAX planes.

Southwest waives charges on fare differences for customers wanting off 737 MAX
Southwest Airlines Co, the world's largest operator of the Boeing Co 737 MAX 8 with 34 jets, said on Wednesday it is waiving any fare-difference charges for customers who wish to switch to another aircraft.

Kayak soothes nervous Boeing flyers with airplane search filter
Travel website Kayak is making changes to let customers exclude specific aircraft types from searches,
and booking sites are looking to reroute passengers, after an unexplained Boeing jet crash that killed 157 people in Ethiopia.

Norwegian Air to seek compensation from Boeing for MAX groundings
FILE PHOTO: Two Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft are parked at a Boeing production facility in Renton, Washington, U.S., March 11, 2019. REUTERS/David Ryder
Norwegian Air said on Wednesday it will seek compensation from plane maker Boeing for costs and lost revenue after grounding its fleet of 737 MAX 8 aircraft in the wake of the Ethiopian Airlines crash.

Saudi Arabia has no Boeing 737 MAX in its aircraft registry: civil aviation
Saudi Arabia does not have Boeing 737 MAX planes in its own aircraft registry, an official with the civil aviation authority said on Wednesday.

Ukraine suspends flights of two Boeing 737 models
Ukraine has suspended all flights by Boeing's 737-8 and 737-9 MAX aircraft following Sunday's deadly plane crash in Ethiopia, Ukraine's aviation authority said on Wednesday.

Iraq bans Boeing 737 MAX aircraft from its airspace
Iraq on Wednesday banned U.S. planemaker Boeing Co's 737 MAX aircraft from entering or transiting its airspace, a statement from the civil aviation authority said.

Georgia bars flights of Boeing 737 Max after crash in Ethiopia
Georgia's civil aviation agency on Wednesday temporarily barred Boeing 737 Max jets from taking off or landing at local airports, following the fatal crash involving the aircraft in Ethiopia.

Pilot of crashed Ethiopian Airlines jet reported flight control problems: WSJ
Ethiopian police officers walk past the debris of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 plane crash, near the town of Bishoftu, near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia March 12, 2019. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

The pilot of the crashed Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX 8 jet had reported flight-control problems and wanted to return to the airport, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing the chief executive officer of the airline.

Boeing Co should ground 737 MAX 8 jets: Ethiopian Airlines CEO
Boeing Co should ground all of its 737 MAX 8 jets until it is established that they are safe to fly, the chief executive of Ethiopian Airlines told the BBC on Wednesday.

FAA to open proceeding on fatal Boeing crashes
The Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday it plans to open a proceeding into two fatal Boeing Co 737 MAX 8 plane crashes after it said data showed "some similarities" in the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes.

Uzbekistan bars Boeing 737 Max jets from local airports
Uzbekistan's civil aviation agency on Wednesday barred Boeing 737 Max jets from taking off or landing at local airports for one month, following two fatal crashes involving the aircraft in Indonesia and Ethiopia.

Thailand aviation regulator suspends Boeing 737 Max 9 flights for a week
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand said on Wednesday it is suspending the use of the Boeing Co's 737 Max 9 due to safety concerns.
 
My friend (who appears to be uniquely sighted) tells me: both crashes are linked by external manipulation. Aside from this the planes are safe. Both carried a passenger of particular interest. Makes me even less inclined to travel by air. Also interesting to me how, if true, the blame is easily focused on one corporation.

We all know these deep state have so many ways to removed people from this physical plane. The UN has never lost so much members at one time. It makes me wonder if these members were against the deep state and its effort to create havoc in Venezuela.
 
I didn't make the connection earlier but the Acting Secretary of Defense, Patrick Shanahan, is a former Boeing executive. I wonder if this association might have figured into Trump's first reaction in keeping the US's Boeing 737 Max airplanes operational and in the air? 24 hours later, Thump has grounded all Boeing Co 737 MAX 8 and MAX 9 aircraft.

Top Pentagon official has not spoken to admin about 737's

A former Boeing executive who is now the Acting Secretary of Defense, Patrick Shanahan, told the U.S. Congress he has not spoken to anyone in the U.S. administration about issues with the 737 MAX 8 jet grounded Wednesday by the Federal Aviation Administration following crashes.

Ethiopian delegation has flown the black boxes from Ethiopia plane crash to Paris: Ethiopian Airlines
An Ethiopian delegation led by the accident investigation bureau has flown the black boxes from the Ethiopia plane crash from Addis Ababa to Paris for investigation, Ethiopian Airlines said on Thursday.

Ethiopia crash black boxes probed in France, families mourn
A relative puts soil on her face as she mourns at the scene of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 plane crash, near the town Bishoftu, near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia March 14, 2019. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri

Investigators in France took possession of the crashed Ethiopian Airlines jet's black boxes on Thursday, seeking clues into a disaster that has grounded Boeing's global 737 MAX fleet and left scores of families mourning and angry.

Grieving families of Ethiopia crash victims angry at delays
Families of some of the 157 victims of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 stormed out of a meeting with the airline on Thursday, complaining they were not being given timely information, as others paid their respects at the burnt crash site. The airline had called a meeting with families in a hotel in Addis Ababa but around 100 relatives walked out.

First readings of Ethiopian plane's black boxes may take days: BEA
It may take several days to complete the first readings of the black boxes recovered from the Ethiopian Airlines jet that crashed after take-off, a spokesman for the French air accident investigation agency conducting the analysis said on Thursday.

NTSB sending three to France to assist in Boeing 'black box' review
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is sending three investigators to France Thursday to assist with the downloading and analysis of flight recorders from the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 that crashed Sunday near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia killing 157 people.

Indonesia to send officials to Ethiopia to aid Boeing crash probe
Indonesia plans to send a flight inspector and an official from its transport safety agency to Ethiopia to help with the probe into Sunday's crash of a Boeing 737 MAX 8 jet, Transport Ministry official Polana Pramesti said on Thursday.

Garuda Indonesia CEO says 'possibility' airline will cancel Boeing 737 MAX orders
Members of the Ethiopian red cross search for remains at the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 plane crash before a commemoration ceremony at the scene of the crash, near the town of Bishoftu, southeast of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia March 13, 2019. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

Garuda Indonesia's chief executive said there is a "possibility" the airline will cancel its orders of Boeing Co's 737 MAXs, with the final decision depending on what the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) does.

Boeing faces crisis with worldwide grounding of 737 MAX jetliners
The United States grounded Boeing Co's money-spinning 737 MAX aircraft on Wednesday over safety fears after an Ethiopian Airlines plane crash that killed 157 people, leaving the world's largest planemaker facing its worst crisis in years.

Brazil, Mexico ground Boeing 737 MAX planes after fatal crash
Latin America's two largest nations Brazil and Mexico on Wednesday suspended Boeing Co's 737 MAX aircraft from flying, mirroring actions by European, Chinese and U.S. authorities after the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines plane.

Panama suspends operations of Boeing 737 MAX jets in its airspace
Panama's civil aviation authority on Wednesday temporarily suspended the operations of all Boeing 737 MAX 8 and MAX 9 aircraft in its airspace, following Sunday's deadly crash of an Ethiopian Airlines plane.
 
Explainer: How to read an aircraft's black box
An official from FranceÕs BEA air crash investigation agency speaks near the machines used to listen to tapes that are recovered from black boxes during a press visit at their offices in Le Bourget, France, September 14, 2018. Picture taken September 14, 2018.   REUTERS/Tim Hepher

France's BEA safety investigators are searching for clues as to what caused an Ethiopian Airlines plane to hurtle to the ground after take-off, as they begin analyzing two black boxes that arrived in Paris on Thursday from the crashed Boeing 737 MAX.


Here is how the process works.

WHAT ARE BLACK BOXES?
They are not actually black but high-visibility orange. Experts disagree how the nickname originated but it has become synonymous with the public’s quest for answers when planes crash. Many historians attribute their invention to Australian scientist David Warren in the 1950s. They are mandatory and the aim is to preserve clues from cockpit sounds and data to help prevent future accidents.

HOW BIG ARE THEY?
They weigh about 10 pounds (4.5 kilos) and contain four main parts:

** a chassis or interface designed to fix the device and facilitate recording and playback

** an underwater locator beacon

** the core housing or ‘Crash Survivable Memory Unit’ made of stainless steel or titanium

** inside there, the precious finger-nail sized recording chips on circuit boards which in the latest case could help decide the near-term fate of Boeing’s grounded 737 MAX.

There are two recorders: a Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) for pilot voices or cockpit sounds and a Flight Data Recorder (FDR). The BEA released a photo of the FDR from the Ethiopian jet appearing to show that the chip’s crucial housing is intact while the replaceable chassis is crushed.

HOW WILL THE RECORDERS BE HANDLED?
Technicians peel away protective material and carefully clean connections to make sure they do not accidentally erase data. The audio or data file must be downloaded and copied. The data itself means nothing at first. It must be decoded from raw files before being turned into graphs.

Investigators sometimes use “spectral analysis” - a way of examining sounds that allows scientists to pick out barely audible alarms or the first fleeting crack of an explosion.

HOW MUCH INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE?
The L-3 data chip on a similar Lion Air jet that crashed in October contained 1,790 parameters over 19 flights.

The CVR contains two hours of recordings, more than enough to cover the six-minute Ethiopian flight.

“The data recorder typically tells you ‘what’ and ‘how’ the event happened and the cockpit recorder starts to help you understand ‘why’ but may not be enough,” said an investigator.

WHO HEARS THE TAPE?
The BEA has a listening room like a recording studio with audio mixing and playback equipment linked to a screen showing synchronized data, Reuters observed on a recent visit by a group of reporters. Four channels separate voices and ambient noise.

Only the main investigator and a handful of people hear most tapes, which are then sealed. In France, where judges routinely carry out parallel probes, a police officer may be present as well as representatives from foreign investigation agencies.

A technician will first prepare the recording to ensure it is intact. In one of the most dramatic events in the 73-year-old BEA’s history, legal sources say it was at this stage that staff first suspected the captain of a Germanwings jet had been locked out by a suicidal co-pilot in 2015, sending 144 people to their death while he tried to beat down a reinforced door.

Trauma counseling is available for staff hearing tapes.

HOW LONG WILL THE RESULTS TAKE?
Investigators prefer to work methodically but public and media pressure can be intense. Depending on any damage to the boxes and type of accident, some investigators acknowledge they can get a very basic idea in days or even hours. But they stress this is not always the case and rarely the whole story.

Interim reports are published after a month but are often sparse. Deeper investigations take a year or more to complete.

A Lebanese investigation into an Ethiopian Airlines crash in 2010, in which the BEA also analyzed recorders, took two years.

WHAT WILL BLACK BOXES LOOK LIKE IN FUTURE?
A new type of box now being tested by Airbus and the BEA, after it spent two years searching for Air France 447 which crashed in the Atlantic in 2009, would be built into a floatable panel embedded in the outer skin. Bolts would retract allowing it to fall away when the plane feels it is about to crash on water, triggering a radio beacon and avoiding a deep-sea search.

Since that crash and the unresolved disappearance in 2014 of Malaysian Airlines MH370, there has been intense debate about whether black boxes should stream live data back to the ground. French regulators are skeptical, saying it would be hugely costly for little benefit, since most boxes are quickly found.

HOW HAVE THEY EVOLVED?
Older models used to record on wire, foil or reels of magnetic tape. Samples of them are now stacked like an Aladdin’s cave of vintage machinery inside the BEA’s headquarters at Le Bourget airport, Paris. The BEA needs some old equipment to work on systems that are still flying on decades-old aircraft.

Modern versions use computer chips housed inside “crash-survivable” containers able to withstand g-forces 3,400 times the feeling of gravity.
 
Investigators may have found one defect - similar to the Lion Air crash last October - that may have caused the plane to crash?

Ethiopian crash investigators find piece of wreckage with similar setting to Lion Air plane: sources
Investigators have found a piece of a stabilizer in the wreckage of an Ethiopian jet with the trim set in an unusual position similar to that of a Lion Air plane that crashed last year, two sources familiar with the matter said.

Ethiopian Airlines flight reported trouble soon after takeoff: NYT

The Boeing 737 Max 8 that crashed in Ethiopia on Sunday killing 157 people requested permission to return to Addis Ababa airport three minutes after takeoff as it accelerated to abnormal speed, the New York Times reported.

Excavators may be damaging Ethiopia crash site: diplomats
Villagers gather wreckages of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 plane crash, near the town Bishoftu, near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia March 15, 2019. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri
Trucks and excavators are going onto the site of the Ethiopian Airlines plane crash, causing concern that vital evidence may be lost or crushed, two diplomatic sources said on Friday.

Indonesia to speed up release of Lion Air crash report: safety agency head
FILE PHOTO: An Indonesian National Transportation Safety Commission (KNKT) official examines a turbine engine from the Lion Air flight JT610 at Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta, Indonesia, November 4, 2018. REUTERS/Beawiharta
Indonesia will hasten the release of its report on the October crash of Lion Air Boeing 737, the head of the nation's transport safety committee said on Friday.

Russia's Aeroflot will cancel Boeing 737 Max order if safety issue not solved: CEO
Russia's national flag carrier Aeroflot will cancel its order of 20 Boeing 737 Max planes unless Boeing is able to guarantee the plane's safety after Sunday's deadly crash in Ethiopia by November, Aeroflot CEO Vitaly Savelyev said on Friday.

Saudi's Flyadeal to decide on Boeing 737 MAX order after crash investigations
Saudi Arabian airline flyadeal will wait until investigations into two Boeing 737 MAX crashes are completed before deciding whether to proceed with a signed order for 30 of the jets, its chief executive said on Friday.

(Note: On the subject of planes and flying ... )

American Airlines pilots told by union not to fly to Venezuela
FILE PHOTO: An American Airlines airplane takes off from Heathrow airport in London July 3, 2014. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor

American Airlines Group Inc pilots should not fly to Venezuela, an influential pilots union said on Friday, following a travel advisory issued by the U.S. State Department this week.

The department cited civil unrest, poor health and arbitrary arrest and detention of U.S. citizens in Venezuela for issuing the advisory on (Tuesday) March 12.
 
Investigators probing the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX jet eight days ago have found strong similarities in the 'angle of attack' data recorded by the doomed aircraft's cockpit recorder and data from a Lion Air jet of the same model that crashed in October, a person familiar with the matter said.

Exclusive: Data shows angle of attack similar in Boeing 737 crashes
FILE PHOTO - Ethiopian Federal policemen stand near engine parts at the scene of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 plane crash, near the town of Bishoftu, southeast of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia March 11, 2019. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri

FILE PHOTO - Ethiopian Federal policemen stand near engine parts at the scene of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 plane crash, near the town of Bishoftu, southeast of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia March 11, 2019. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri

Graphs of the two sets of data are “very, very simliar,” the person said on Monday, asking not to be identified because the matter is still in the early stages of investigation.

The angle is a key flight parameter that must remain narrow enough to preserve lift and avoid an aerodynamic stall.

A flight deck computer’s response to readings from an apparently faulty angle-of-attack sensor is at the centre of an ongoing probe into the Lion Air disaster.

The similarity between the two data readings on the Ethiopian and Lion Air flights will be subjected to further investigation, the person said. Ethiopian and other investigators were not immediately available for comment.

Boeing faces growing scrutiny in Ethiopian crash probe
The world's biggest planemaker faced escalating pressure on Monday after Ethiopia pointed to parallels between its crash and one in Indonesia,
sharpening focus on the safety of software installed in Boeing's 737 MAX planes.

Ethiopia says crashed jet's black boxes show similarities to Lion Air disaster
The crash of an Ethiopian Airlines plane that killed 157 people had "clear similarities" with October's Lion Air crash, Ethiopia said on Sunday, shown by initial analysis of the black boxes recovered from the wreckage of the March 10 disaster.

Swiss Re says helped insure Boeing, Ethiopian Airlines
FILE PHOTO: The logo of insurance company Swiss Re is seen in front of its headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland February 12, 2019.  REUTERS/Arnd WIegmann/File Photo

Reinsurance group Swiss Re helped cover jetmaker Boeing Co and Ethiopian Airlines, the Swiss company said on Monday amid an investigation into what caused an Ethiopian Airlines plane crash that killed 157 people.
 
Ethiopia's insistence that its pilots followed procedures when their Boeing Co 737 MAX nosedived before a deadly crash, and Boeing's recent declaration that a new software fix makes a "safe plane safer," have set the stage for a lengthy fight over the roles of technology and crew in recent 737 MAX crashes.

Explainer: Ethiopia crash raises questions over handling of faults on Boeing 737 MAX
FILE PHOTO -American civil aviation and Boeing investigators search through the debris at the scene of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 plane crash, near the town of Bishoftu, southeast of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia March 12, 2019. REUTERS/Baz Ratner/File Photo

American civil aviation and Boeing investigators search through the debris at the scene of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 plane crash, near the town of Bishoftu, southeast of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia March 12, 2019. REUTERS/Baz Ratner/File Photo


After a deadly Lion Air crash in October, Boeing and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration told airlines what to do in the event that an erroneous sensor reading fooled the jet into thinking it was in a stall and pushed the nose down.

The Ethiopian Airlines pilots initially followed the advice to shut off the MCAS anti-stall system but later reversed the command counter to guidance at a time when they were traveling beyond maximum operating speeds, according to data contained in a preliminary report released on Thursday and experts on the jet.

How flawed software, high speed, other factors doomed an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX
FILE PHOTO: Ethiopian police officers walk past the debris of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 plane crash, near the town of Bishoftu, near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia March 12, 2019. REUTERS/Baz Ratner/File Photo
Minutes after take-off, the pilots of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX were caught in a bad situation.

Fitch says 737 Max grounding to hurt Asian airline industry more in second quarter
FILE PHOTO: Employees walk by the end of a 737 Max aircraft at the Boeing factory in Renton, Washington, U.S., March 27, 2019.  REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson/File Photo
Fitch Ratings said on Friday the impact on the airline industry in Asia from the grounding of Boeing 737 Max jets has been muted so far but may worsen in the second quarter of 2019.

Ethiopian crash report highlights sensors, software, leaves questions
Ethiopian transport minister Dagmawit Moges addresses a news conference on the preliminary report to the Ethiopian Airlines ET 302 plane crash in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia April 4, 2019. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri
Faulty sensor readings and multiple automatic commands to push down the nose of a Boeing plane contributed to last month's fatal crash in Ethiopia, leaving the crew struggling to regain control, according to a preliminary accident report.

Indonesia to send investigators to Ethiopia to aid crash probes
FILE PHOTO: Ethiopian police officers walk past the debris of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 plane crash, near the town of Bishoftu, near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia March 12, 2019. REUTERS/Baz Ratner/File Photo
Indonesia will send two investigators to Ethiopia to assist in a probe and exchange data on two fatal crashes of Boeing 737 MAX jets since October, the head of the country's air safety agency stated.

Bereaved families blame Boeing after Ethiopia crash report
Dried flowers are seen at a family grave site for victims of the Ethiopian Airlines ET 302 plane crash in Nakuru County, Kenya April 5, 2019. REUTERS/George Nganga
Mourning families of Ethiopian Airlines passengers who died in last month's crash are asking awkward and angry questions of U.S. plane maker Boeing after closely following a preliminary report into the disaster.

Japan's air force loses contact with F-35 stealth fighter
Senior leaders of Japan’s Ministry of Defense, U.S. Forces Japan, Pacific Air Forces and Lockheed Martin gather in a Japan Air Self-Defense Force hangar for the commemorative ceremony welcoming the first operational F-35A Lightning II to JASDF's 3rd Air Wing at Misawa Air Base, Japan, February 24, 2018. Picture taken February 24, 2018.  U.S. Air Force/Tech. Sgt. Benjamin W. Stratton/Handout via REUTERS
Japan's military said on Tuesday it lost contact with one of its Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighters over the Pacific Ocean close to northern Japan.

Crashed Japanese F-35 wreckage found in Pacific, pilot still missing
Search and rescue teams found wreckage from a crashed Japanese F-35 stealth fighter in the Pacific Ocean close to northern Japan, and are scouring the waters for the missing pilot, authorities said on Wednesday.

Daunting salvage task awaits Japanese F-35 investigators baffled by crash
A Japan Air Self-Defense Force's F-35A stealth fighter jet, which Kyodo says is the same plane that crashed during an exercise on April 9, 2019, is seen at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Komaki Minami factory in Toyoyama, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, in this photo taken by Kyodo June 2017. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS
Two days after one of Japan's F-35 stealth fighters plunged into the Pacific and no closer to finding out why it happened, investigators face a daunting task to recover what remains of the highly classified jet from the ocean depths.
 
I hate to think this way but is it possible that there might be "a rival competition and turf war" going on between "Airbus and Boeing" and some devious ill-fated monkey business?

* ‎October‎ ‎24‎, ‎2018‎ - Boeing Lands on Airbus Turf, With First European Factory in U.K.
* October 29, 2018 - Indonesia Lion Air flight with 189 on board crashes into sea

* January 10, 2019 - Boeing beats European rival Airbus in global aircraft order race for the first time since 2012
* March 10, 2019 - Ethiopian Airlines flight to Nairobi crashes with 157 people onboard
* March 31, 2019 - Co-owner of Russia's S7 airline dies in plane crash near Frankfurt

* April 10, 2019 - ZERO New Orders for Boeing’s Troubled 737 MAX After Global Groundings


‎October‎ ‎24‎, ‎2018‎ - Boeing Lands on Airbus Turf, With First European Factory in U.K.

Bloomberg - Are you a robot?

Boeing Co. has touched down on the turf of its European rival, Airbus SE.

The U.S. planemaker on Thursday opens its first European factory, a 40 million-pound ($52 million) facility in Sheffield, England, that will make system-control components used for 737 and 737 Max narrowbody and 767 widebody jets.


While it’s a small beachhead -- the plant will employ only 52 people -- it gives Chicago-based Boeing a platform to expand in the U.K. just as the country leaves the European Union. The divorce could be messy, but for Boeing, there may be opportunities as it goes after more business in the U.K. Its arrival also lends support when other businesses -- including Toulouse, France-based Airbus -- have been sharply critical of the Brexit project.

“We are always looking for opportunity wherever we are around the world," Jenette Ramos, senior vice president for manufacturing, supply chain and operations, said on a conference call with reporters. “We have been very supportive of the U.K. prosperity agenda. We have invested not only in our commercial, defense and services presence in country, and this adds a manufacturing presence to the whole portfolio.”

The factory, set in motion last year, will produce about 10,000 titanium components each month, such as spur gears, shafts and housings. They’ll be sent to a plant in Portland, Oregon, to eventually be installed on wings. Boeing set up a research operation in 2001 with the University of Sheffield, and has been growing since. It now employs 2,200 people across the country.

Boeing is trying to increase its share of Britain’s defense spending, while battling Airbus globally for dominance of commercial planemaking. The company has been selected for exclusive talks to supply the U.K. Ministry of Defence with a new generation of surveillance aircraft, a contract also sought by Airbus.

Airbus, which makes wings in Wales, warned the government in June that it could leave the U.K. if the country exits the EU single market and customs union without a transition deal. The European company later softened its tone, lending support to Prime Minister Theresa May’s Chequers plan.

Production of the 737 remains a focus for Boeing, after engine-related delivery delays earlier this year. “Where we do have issues, we send out teams to be on-site to help," Ramos said.

10 Jan, 2019 - Boeing beats European rival Airbus in global aircraft order race for the first time since 2012
Boeing handily beats Airbus in 2018 global jetliner order race

* Airbus registers 747 orders compared to Boeing's 893
* Airbus was outsold three to one by Boeing for a second year in the high-margin widebody segment

Mon. Oct. 29, 2018 - Indonesia Lion Air flight with 189 on board crashes into sea
Indonesia Lion Air flight with 189 on board crashes into sea

Sunday March 10, 2019 - Ethiopian Airlines flight to Nairobi crashes with 157 people onboard
Ethiopian Airlines flight to Nairobi crashes with 157 people onboard

ZERO New Orders for Boeing’s Troubled 737 MAX After Global Groundings Apr 10 2019
Boeing did not win any commercial orders for its 737 MAX jet in March following a second deadly crash involving the plane, as it is the first time in seven years the company failed to sell a single aircraft of this model.

March 31, 2019 - Co-owner of Russia's S7 airline dies in plane crash near Frankfurt
Natalia Fileva, chairwoman and co-owner of Russia’s second largest airline S7, died when a private jet she was in crashed near Frankfurt on Sunday, the company said. Fileva, 55, was the major shareholder in S7, a member of global Oneworld airlines alliance, and one of the richest women in Russia, whose wealth was estimated by Forbes at $600 million.
 
Business American City Business Journals
Airline collapse causes Boeing to remove 210 aircraft orders from backlog April 25, 2019
Boeing has removed 210 commercial airplane orders from its books after India's Jet Airways suspended its operations. The orders for 200 737 Max single-aisle jets and 10 787 Dreamliner wide body jets were struck by Boeing before Jet Airways suspended its operations on April 17. The loss of orders is a blow to Boeing and its two Puget Sound region airplane factories.

April 28, 2019 - Pilots demand better training if Boeing wants rebuilt trust in 737 MAX
Pilots demand better training if Boeing wants to rebuild trust in 737 MAX
2019-04-28T152304Z_1_LYNXNPEF3R0HY_RTROPTP_2_ETHIOPIA-AIRPLANE-BOEING-PILOTS.JPG.cf.jpg

FILE PHOTO: The cockpit of Jet Airways Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft is pictured during its induction ceremony at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International airport in Mumbai, India, June 28, 2018. REUTERS/Abhirup Roy/File Photo

American Airlines pilots have warned that Boeing Co's draft training proposals for the troubled 737 MAX do not go far enough to address their concerns, according to written comments submitted to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.

The comments were made by the Allied Pilots Association (APA), which represents pilots at American Airlines Group Inc, the world's largest airline and one of the biggest 737 MAX operators in the United States.

Their support is important because Boeing has said pilots' confidence in the 737 MAX will play a critical role in convincing the public that the aircraft is safe to fly again.

Boeing's fast-selling 737 MAX was grounded worldwide in March following a fatal Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed all 157 on board just five months after a similar crash on a Lion Air flight that killed all 189 passengers and crew.

Now it is readying for regulatory approval a final software update and training package to address an anti-stall system known as MCAS that played a role in both nose-down crashes.


A draft report by an FAA-appointed board of pilots, engineers and other experts concluded that pilots only need additional computer-based training to understand MCAS, rather than simulator time. The public has until April 30 to make comments.

Protesters are expected outside Boeing's annual meeting in Chicago on Monday, where shareholders will also question the company over its safety record.

APA is arguing that mere computer explanation "will not provide a level of confidence for pilots to feel not only comfortable flying the aircraft but also relaying that confidence to the traveling public."

It said the MAX computer training, which originally involved a one-hour iPad course, should include videos of simulator sessions showing how MCAS works along with demonstrations of other cockpit emergencies such as runaway stabilizer, a loss of control that occurred on both doomed flights.

APA also called for recurring training on simulators that includes scenarios like those experienced by the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines pilots, in addition to computer training.

"When pilots visually experience the failure modes and then apply them, the lesson is cemented in their minds," APA wrote.

American Airlines has said it is looking at the potential for additional training opportunities in coordination with the FAA and its pilots union.

Canada, Europe and South Korea are all weighing the need for simulator training, going above the recommendations in the draft FAA report, sources have said.

Required simulator training could delay the MAX's return to service because it takes time to schedule hundreds or thousands of pilots on simulators. Hourly rates for simulators range between $500 and $1000, excluding travel expenses.


American Airlines Chief Executive Doug Parker said on Friday that even if other countries delay the ungrounding of the MAX, once the FAA approves it, American will start flying its 24 aircraft.

Union pilots for Southwest Airlines Co, the world's largest operator of the MAX with 34 jets and dozens more on order, have said they were satisfied with the FAA draft report but would decide on additional training once they see Boeing's final proposals.
 
Department of Defense Boeing 737 plane skids off Florida runway into the water; 2 minor injuries
A Department of Defense plane from Guantanamo Bay skidded off a runway into shallow water in Jacksonville, Florida, late Friday, but officials said there were no serious injuries.

There were two "very minor" injuries, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

"At approximately 9:40 p.m. today, a Boeing 737 arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba into Naval Air Station Jacksonville crashed into the St. Johns River at the end of the runway," Naval Air Station Jacksonville said in a statement. "Navy security and emergency response personnel are on the scene and monitoring the situation."
 
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Department of Defense Boeing 737 plane skids off Florida runway into the water; 2 minor injuries

"At approximately 9:40 p.m. today, a Boeing 737 arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba into Naval Air Station Jacksonville crashed into the St. John's River at the end of the runway," Naval Air Station Jacksonville said in a statement. "Navy security and emergency response personnel are on the scene and monitoring the situation."

Thanks for Posting the report, Mabar! ( ('') Smiley)

That flight was out of Gitmo and was landing in Jacksonville, Florida - but ended up in St. John's Bay?

I wonder, if there is a possibility that - Rear Admiral John Ring - who was just fired as Gitmo Commander and was reassigned to the
command's Miami headquarters ... was on that plane?

I guess - it was just an "ax-slide-dent"? Nothing to see here, folks?

Guantanamo Bay Admiral Fired Due to Loss of Confidence
Task Force Guantanamo conducted a change of command ceremony welcoming incoming commander Rear Adm. John C. Ring and bidding farewell to outgoing commander, Rear Adm. Edward B. Cashman here, Tuesday, April 17, 2018. He was relieved of command April 27, 2019 due to loss of confidence in his ability to command. (Jerry Saslav/U.S. Army)


A spokesman for SOUTHCOM told Military.com that Ring has been temporarily assigned duties at the command's Miami headquarters pending forthcoming permanent reassignment. He would not comment on the reasons for Ring's relief or any additional actions that might be taken.

Boeing 737 slides off runway into Florida river, 21 hurt
Boeing 737 slides off runway into Florida river, 21 hurt

A chartered Boeing 737 jetliner with 143 people on board slid off a runway and into the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday while attempting to land at a military base in a thunderstorm, injuring 21 people.

There were no reports of fatalities or critical injuries. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said on Twitter that all 21 people who had been taken to a hospital for treatment were listed in good condition.

The plane, a 737-800 arriving from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba with 136 passengers and seven crew members, crashed into the river at the end of the runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville about 9:40 p.m. local time, a spokesman for the Florida air base said.

“The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for,” the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said on Twitter.

The sheriff’s tweet was accompanied by two photographs showing the plane, which bears the logo of Miami Air International,
resting in shallow water and fully intact.

The mayor of Jacksonville, Lenny Curry, said on Twitter that U.S. President Donald Trump had called him to offer help. “No fatalities reported. We are all in this together. Absorb that,” Curry said in a separate tweet.

A passenger on board the plane, attorney Cheryl Bormann, told CNN in an interview that the flight, which had been four hours late in departing, made a “really hard landing” in Jacksonville amid thunder and lightning.

“We came down, the plane literally hit the ground and bounced, it was clear the pilot did not have total control of the plane, it bounced again,” she said, adding that the experience was “terrifying.

Bormann said she hit her head on a plastic tray on the seat in front of her as the plane veered sideways and off the runway. “We were in the water, we couldn’t tell where we were, whether it was a river or an ocean.”

Bormann described emerging from the plane onto the wing as oxygen masks deployed and smelling the jet fuel that she said was leaking into the water.

Bormann, from Chicago, said that most of the passengers were connected to the military and helped each other out of their seats and onto a wing, where they were assisted after some time into a raft.

Miami Air International is a charter airline operating a fleet of Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Representatives for the airline could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters on Friday evening.

A Boeing spokesman said that the company was aware of the incident and was gathering information.

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Boeing 737 slides off runway into Florida river, 21 hurt
 
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