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The weird, the wonderful, and the wicked

Discussion in 'The Ten Mile High Club' started by KCook, Feb 22, 2013.

  1. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

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    More than half of British airline pilots say they have fallen asleep in the cockpit, a survey said, ahead of an EU vote on flying hours which a pilots' association said could affect flight safety. According to the British Airline Pilots' Association (BALPA), 56 percent of 500 commercial pilots admitted to falling asleep while on the flight deck and, of those, nearly one in three said they had woken up to find their co-pilot also asleep. Pilot exhaustion grabbed the headlines this week when a newspaper reported two pilots on a British long-haul flight fell asleep in the cockpit, leaving the jet unsupervised on autopilot.

    The survey, released by BALPA, came ahead of a vote in the European Parliament on Monday on new rules which could replace British regulations. BALPA, a pilots' union, voiced concerns that these proposed changes would water down British safety standards. The rule changes would mean that pilots could work a maximum of 110 hours in a two-week period, more than the 95-hour limit under British regulations, and at night could be expected to fly for up to 11 hours, against a current 10-hour limit.

    "Tiredness is already a major challenge for pilots who are deeply concerned that unscientific new EU rules will cut UK standards and lead to increased levels of tiredness, which has been shown to be a major contributory factor in air accidents," BALPA general secretary Jim McAuslan said in a statement. The proposals, devised by the European Aviation Safety Agency to harmonise rules regarding pilots' hours across the European Union, would also mean they could be called to work at any time on their days off. Currently, restrictions are in place to help them plan their rest on days off.

    The survey of pilots, by pollster ComRes, found 84 percent of respondents believed their abilities had been compromised over the last six months by tiredness with almost half saying pilot exhaustion was the biggest threat to flight safety. British lawmakers, in a report published earlier this month, expressed concern that the new European rules set the limit for the flight duty period at night too high. But the Association of European Airlines, which represents 31 European airlines, urged support for the proposals, saying they would ensure all airlines followed the same rules.

    "The new... rules would ensure that Europe will continue to have one of the strictest rules in the world, even stricter than today," the body's acting Secretary-General Athar Husain Khan said in a statement. The Civil Aviation Authority, Britain's aviation regulator, dismissed worries about the new rules. "We think the new European flight time limitation regulations maintain the UK's current high safety levels, and will actually increase safety for UK passengers travelling on some other European airlines," it said in a statement.

    (Reuters)
  2. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

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  3. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

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  4. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

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  5. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

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  6. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

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  7. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

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  8. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

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    16-yr-old skydiver plummets 3,500 feet but her doctor says she'll be OK in 6 - 8 weeks.
  9. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

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  10. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

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    FAA personnel are busy trying to get to the bottom of a situation that occured recently. It is said that a mysterious object fell through the roof of a Virginia home that is located along the flight path of Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C., last week. The object discovered was a large piece of metal about 4 inches long and it left a hole in the ceiling of the home. The homeowner Abby Baker, discovered the hole and piece of metal on Friday morning. She initially thought it was part of a gas pipe, however, after having the gas company inspect it, she was told that it was likely a piece from an aircraft. The FAA says it is currently looking into Friday morning flight records to determine whether or not the piece of metal, fell from a passing aircraft. No injuries were reported as a result of the incident.
  11. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

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  12. Norseman

    Norseman Member

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  13. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

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    Convicted of pointing a high-power laser at a police helicopter in 2012, 26-year-old Sergio Rodriguez has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison. Rodriguez targeted a Fresno Police helicopter with a laser estimated to be many times more powerful than a pen-size "pointer." According to an AP story, the officers in the helicopter were investigating reports of another laser incident involving a medical helicopter flying over the apartment complex from which Rodriguez aimed his laser at the police. (Flying)
  14. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

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  15. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

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  16. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

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    Jamaican airport authorities are investigating the emergency landing of a Florida-bound JetBlue Airways plane that was forced to return to the Caribbean island on Monday night after reports of smoke onboard.

    The flight was headed to Fort Lauderdale from Kingston's Norman Manley Airport but returned to Jamaica 15 minutes after take-off, JetBlue officials said.

    Alfredo McDonald, an official with Jamaica's Airports Authority, said authorities were looking into reports that smoke was detected in one of the plane's engines.

    The plane, an Embraer E190, was carrying 98 passengers and four crew members, McDonald said.

    "Six customers have been taken to the hospital for precautionary reasons and they have been released," JetBlue spokeswoman Gina Recine said. "Right now all we have is smoke odour and we're looking into that today."

    One passenger told a Kingston radio station that an engine caught fire. A JetBlue spokeswoman told Reuters news agency there were no reports of fire.

    McDonald said one passenger suffered a broken leg while exiting the aircraft.

    The airport was closed temporarily, and officials said the aircraft would remain on the ground until mechanical checks were performed.

    (Reuters)
  17. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

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    Remember Solar Impulse, the Solar powered plane that flew across the US last year. There is now an even larger sequel this one is expected to fly across the globe.
  18. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

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