Aircraft in the News and Odd Stories

This pilot had to ditch his aircraft approximately 253 miles northeast of Maui, Hawaii, on Sunday, when his single engine Cirrus SR-22 aircraft ran out of fuel. Of course as we know the Cirrus SR-22 has CAPS which is essentially a parachute for the aircraft and the pilot used it after it ran out of fuel.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/pilot-pull...ane-escape-ocean/story?id=28487260&cid=fb_gma

A National Transportation Safety Board report on a Cessna 150 crash in Watkins, Colorado, last May is raising eyebrows for partially blaming the fatal accident on the pilot's use of his cell phone to take selfies mid-flight. The 29-year-old pilot at the controls of the Cessna, who was not Instrument or night current, took off on a VFR night flight into instrument meteorological conditions with 6 miles of visibility and an overcast layer at 500 feet agl. The Cessna reached an altitude of 740 feet agl before making a sharp turn, descending at 1,900 feet per minute and crashing into a field near Front Range Airport, killing the pilot and his passenger.

A South Korean court sentenced the daughter of Korean Air Lines' chairman to one year in prison, after finding her guilty over an on-board incident at JFK Airport, New York concerning the way she was served nuts in first class. Heather Cho Hyun-ah, the airline's former head of in-flight service, violated the law by ordering the plane to return to the gate after it started to taxi on December 5, the court ruled. Cho had demanded the cabin crew chief be expelled from the flight after she was served macadamia nuts in a bag, and not on a dish. The South Korea-bound plane, which had started to move away from the gate, had to return.

The so-called "nut rage" episode triggered scorn and outrage in a country whose economy is dominated by family-run conglomerates known as chaebol. "This is a case where human dignity was trampled upon," Judge Oh Sung-woo said. The court took into account that Cho was the mother of 20-month-old twins and had already suffered, but added that her conduct had seriously harmed the victims. Cho, 40, has been in custody since December 30. "It's my understanding that she is repenting," said her lawyer, Suh Chang-hee, adding that he would discuss whether to appeal against the ruling. Korean Air declined to comment. In a letter to the court read out by the judge, Cho said she was "truly sorry to those who were hurt". Wearing green prison uniform, Cho hung her head, long hair obscuring her face, as the judge read the verdict. She cried when the judge read her apology letter.

'LIKE SLAVES'

Prosecutors had sought a three-year jail term if Cho was convicted of breaking aviation law and another charge of using her position to obstruct due process. The court found her not guilty on the second charge. It sentenced another executive to eight months in prison for trying to interfere in the government investigation. Choi Jin-nyoung, a spokesman of the Korean Bar Association, said he had expected Cho to be sentenced to 1-1/2 to 2 years in prison, as a year is the minimum for aviation law violations. "These days, the court makes a decision based on sentencing guidelines, so chaebol people don't get suspended sentences like they did in the past," he said. Cho, who resigned after the incident, is the oldest of the three children of Korean Air Chairman Cho Yang-ho. Her siblings also work for the airline.

(Reuters)

The world's largest 'aircraft' is slowly coming to reality! It's an airship called the Airlander...

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/03/10/tech/airlander-10-biggest-aircraft/index.html

Man arrested for allegedly pointing lasers at NYC planes...

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/loca...Aircraft-3-Pilots-Injured-NYPD-295724871.html

Solar Impulse claims two speed records

olar Impulse reached a peak altitude of 27,000 feet during the flight and a maximum speed of 216 km/hr — nearly 117 knots — thanks to the high altitude jet stream. That may not sound very fast, particularly when you are flying around the world, but Piccard said in a video after the flight, while still in the airplane, that he believes that was the fastest ground speed the Solar Impulse had ever achieved. He also believed he broke the record for slowest flight flying backward at about 20 km/hr as he circled during the descent into Mandalay. (Flying)

India has rejected a request from BP to be allowed to sell jet fuel to the booming aviation market in Asia's No. 3 economy, saying it did not meet the conditions necessary, a person with direct knowledge of the decision said. Consumption of aviation fuel is set to rise in India as domestic air traffic is estimated to almost triple this decade, with more of the country's 1.25 billion people starting to fly and as airlines connect smaller cities. Demand for aviation fuel in India could rise by 2.2 percent in the financial year beginning in April, according to the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell in the federal oil ministry. BP is not the only overseas company interested in India's jet fuel retail business, which is dominated by state refiners. Royal Dutch Shell already sells a small volume of jet fuel in a tie-up with state-run Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals. The person declined to cite the precise reason for BP's request being turned down by the oil ministry.

According to Indian rules, marketing rights for jet fuel can be given only to companies investing or proposing to invest at least INR20 billion rupees (USD$319 million) in exploration and production, refining, pipelines or terminals in the country. In 2011 BP agreed to buy a 30 percent stake in oil and gas blocks operated by India's Reliance Industries for USD$7 billion and also invested funds for further exploration and development. It applied for a jet fuel marketing license for the second time last year. However, according to the Reuters source, who did not wish to be identified, the oil ministry wrote to the company this month saying it did not meet the conditions specified for marketing aviation fuel in the country. "BP has been continuously engaging with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas regarding the licensing application and we are confident we meet the requirements," a spokeswoman said. "We will continue to work closely with the Government authorities and urge them to review the decision."

(Reuters)

Bertrand Piccard, one of the two founders of Solar Impulse, has completed the fifth leg of the round the world attempt of Solar Impulse 2, landing early Tuesday morning at Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport in China. This leg was from Mandalay, Myanmar to Chongqing was a marathon of epic proportions, taking Piccard 20 hours and 29 minutes to complete.

Reno Police said a pilot is lucky to be alive Sunday night after a glider crash in downtown Reno Sunday afternoon. Around 2:30pm Sunday, a glider crashed into a parking lot between the Easy 8 Motel and the Golden Flower Restaurant. The pilot was able to escape the aircraft before it came down and walked away with minor injuries.Robert Spielman is all smiles after what could have been a disaster Sunday afternoon. His Schleicher ASW-27 Glider crashed into a parking lot near Fifth Street and Arlington Ave. "This could have been a lot worse, looks like the glider didn’t hit anybody or really anything maybe a car or two in the parking lot here,” said Lt. Patrol Robert Larson.

Thomas Flohr's VistaJet recently said 'bye bye' to the last of its Learjet 60 aircraft. The sale of the last aircraft of this type signals VistaJet's intention to end the light jet side of its business. The company had operated a total of 20 LearJet 60s since they took delivery of their first aircraft in 2004. The company decided to purchase Challenger 350s to replace the Learjet 60s

Six aircraft were damaged in Wichita at the James Jabara Airport when a hangar housing them collapsed during gusts of up to 100mph

Virgin Galactic is expected to start to test the new SpaceShip Two this year in efforts to replace the predecessor that crashed back in October 2014. The crash created a major setback in the Richard Branson-led space tourism venture but they press on to keep the program moving. A new SpaceShip Two has been built but the NTSB is still investigating the crash in the Mojave dessert so until they can prove this rocketship is safe the new successor will be grounded even though they anticipate to start testing later this year.

Lufthansa Technik has developed a two-in-one tail-mounted radome that houses both Ka-band satcom and satellite TV antennas, as well as an HD camera. The solution—which provides onboard high-speed internet, TV connections and a tail-view video feed—has received STC approval for the Boeing BBJ1 and BBJ2 from the U.S. FAA and EASA. (AIN)

London City Airport was closed yesterday because a World War 2-era unexploded bomb was found nearby in the Thames River in about 15-meters of water. Workers stumbled upon the war relic while doing exploration work related to expansion a the London City Airport. The closure affected thousands in the traveling public. The 500kg bomb was detonated in a controlled explosion by teams from the Royal Navy and service returned to the airport on Tuesday morning (13th February).

The Virgin Galactic Spaceship is back online again and has flown its first flight since one crashed in October of 2014. The all new SpaceShipTwo spacecraft has been named "VSS Unity". They fired-up the rocket engine on Thursday for a while after it was released from its mothership, WhiteKnightTwo.

Perhaps in the near future you will be resting in bunk-beds in the cargohold of your flight, if Airbus gets its way. The airframer is envisioning having this facility in the cargo hold for passengers who are looking for a fully-lay-flat nap and they would be available for rent of course. The idea was revealed at the recently held Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg which Airbus and Zodiac Aerospace plan to carry the idea forward.

[In an environment as cramped as a plane cabin, Zodiac's designers had to go downstairs, into the cargo hold, to find extra space. Airlines buying certain planes from Airbus will soon be able to order new "passenger modules", the exact size and shape of a cargo container. They can slot them into the belly of large planes, just like they load your luggage, in a large metal bin. They can also pull them out again for shorter flights or when they need more cargo space. (WIRED)]

Flapping wingtips? Airbus is working on something called the flapping wingtip believe it or not. As you would expect it has been inspired by the flapping of a bird's wings especially soaring birds that fly at high-altitudes. Airbus is more going after the efficiency aspect and are more studying the graceful and effective soaring of the Albatross. The wing tip is on a "semi-aeroelastic hinge" which reduces stresses on the wing. The hinges allow the tips to move in response to wind gusts and turbulence, reducing stress on the wing structure and removing drag. If they work as hoped, engineers will be able to take weight out of the wing structure thanks to reduced aerodynamic stresses. The concept first flew earlier this year on a scaled-down A321 however, the tips were locked in either end of the phases. The next tests will involve them in transition during flight.

The departure is the point of the video. This plane took up nearly all the runway at Newcastle on departure.

Remember this Air France Airbus A380 that suffered a serious engine failure to one of its GP7200 Engine Alliance powerplants back in September 2017? The investigation into what happened to that aircraft at the time when it was flying to Los Angeles and suffered the explosion on the outboard starboard side engine had been halted because they needed to find certain engine parts that fell into the snow in Greenland. They have recently found one critical engine part in the deep snow.

A Beechcraft KingAir 350i crashed into a hangar at the Dallas-Addison Airport in Texas on June 30th. The crash resulted in the deaths of the eight passengers and two pilots. The NTSB is currently investigating the crash. The twin-engine turboprop was a 2017-built aircraft.