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28 Nov 2011 10:51

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U.S.: Guy watches child porn on plane, story ends as you’d expect

  • cause A University of Utah professor took a ride on a plane over the weekend; during said flight, he watched child porn on his laptop, in view of other passengers. Sickening. And a bad idea, because said passengers told officials about it.
  • reaction Now, Grant D. Smith is stuck in a Massachusetts jail after he was arrested after the plane landed. The school placed Smith on administrative leave. And many are confused as to why someone would do something like this. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Nov 2011 20:11

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Tech: Electronic gadgets on planes: Why can’t you use ’em during takeoff?

  • Surely if electronic gadgets could bring down an airplane, you can be sure that the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration, which has a consuming fear of 3.5 ounces of hand lotion and gel shoe inserts, wouldn’t allow passengers to board a plane with an iPad or Kindle, for fear that they would be used by terrorists.
  • New York Times reporter Nick Bilton • Going in for the kill with his story regarding the use of electronic devices on planes — specifically, why can’t they be used as a plane’s taking off or landing? According to FAA spokesperson Les Dorr, the agency chooses to err on the side of caution, despite evidence that the usage of electronic devices have no effect on a plane. “There have never been any reported accidents from these kinds of devices on planes,” Dorr said, reluctantly. So, why the policy? Good question. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Aug 2011 11:28

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Offbeat: Arkansas homeowner spots burglars — while flying overhead

  • Lesson of the day to burglars: Just because a homeowner isn’t home doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a killer home security system. Even if, in the case of Arkansas resident Steven Lynn, the “home security system” was totally unintentional and he was simply taking aerial photos of his home … in a plane. From a vantage point that allowed him to call 911 so the cops could arrest the two dudes attempting to steal his stuff. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 May 2011 11:17

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World: Ryanair flies plane through Iceland’s volcanic ash to prove it’s safe

  • How badly does Ryanair want to fly in this mess? Well, the ultra-cheap airline, which is trying to argue that the air plume from the Iceland volcano isn’t that bad, just sent a test plane through the thickest part of the plume for an hour. To put it simply, the plane got through OK, which means that now RyanAir is really arguing that officials allow airlines to fly their passenger planes through this murky soup. Look, we know your entire business model relies on tight profit margins, Ryanair, but is this really how you want to save money? (amazing eruption photo via NASA Goddard Photo and Video’s Flickr page) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Apr 2011 21:10

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U.S.: On the FAA, air traffic controllers and sudden media attention

  • Over the last few weeks we have seen examples of unprofessional conduct on the part of a few individuals that have rightly caused the traveling public to question our ability to ensure their safety. This conduct must stop immediately.
  • FAA chief administrator Randy Babbitt • Expressing anger and outrage over the reports that a number of their air-traffic controllers have been caught sleeping. The situation is the key reason why the FAA Air Traffic Organization’s leader, Hank Krakowski, no longer has a job. To us, to be completely honest, sleeping air traffic controllers are the new sharks. The fact of the matter is, air traffic controllers probably slept through a lot of incidents like these before the media started paying attention. Now that they are, it’s imperative to change things. But we bet that things are only changing because the media suddenly cares. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Apr 2011 12:23

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U.S.: Southwest Airlines: Our Boeing 737s not all they’re cracked up to be

In an inspection of their fleet of 737s following a plane’s emergency landing last week, the airline says that five of their planes had fuselage cracks in them. Kevin Smith’s PR flub no longer looks so bad. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Apr 2011 13:45

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Politics: National Transportation Safety Board weighs in on Flight 812

  • Was the aircraft well maintained and should it have been maintained better? That is exactly why we are here, to look at why this problem occurred… We did find evidence of widespread cracking across this entire fracture surface.
  • NTSB member Robert Sumwalt • Speaking at a press conference regarding the nearly calamitous defect on Southwest Airlines Flight 812 last Friday, which tore open a piece of the overhead fuselage. Some 300 flights have been canceled to free up the Southwest 737s now subject to inspection, “aircraft skin fatigue” being what inspectors consider the most likely culprit (thanks to producermatthew for his great work on this). source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

24 Mar 2011 13:38

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U.S.: Air traffic snafu gives way to FAA study on staffing levels

  • Air traffic control lapse at reagan Airport: Two planes were left unguided for about fifteen minutes, and were forced to circle the airport while contacting a regional FAA office. The office, after verifying that the control tower was unresponsive, guided both planes in for the landing. Officials have said the controller may have been asleep, though that isn’t yet certain. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood he said that he’s directed the FAA to study staffing levels at airports, and that only having one controller on duty is “not acceptable.” source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Feb 2011 12:16

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World: Tragedy strikes at south Ireland’s Cork Airport

  • three number of attempts a small Irish airplane made at landing at Cork Airport; it was having trouble touching down due to low visibility
  • six number of people killed on the third attempt, which sent 6 other people to the hospital for wounds of varying severity source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Jan 2011 21:21

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World: Iranian plane crash: Blame ancient fleet for latest accident

  • Iran’s had trouble with planes recently. Part of this is due to an ancient fleet and little way to get new supplies for the aircraft. So, as a result we have scenes like this one, where 72 people die (and 33 are hurt) in a plane crash. On a ground covered with snow. In the dark. This isn’t even the worst aviation disaster Iran has had in the last decade. Sigh. Can we offer a word of advice, Iran? Perhaps, instead of putting so much energy into building a nuclear facility, maybe you should build some new planes. It might help save some lives. (We retract this for the reasons explained here. See? We’re not made of stone.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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