Free Republic

A pair of US astronauts stuck waiting to leave the International Space Station said Wednesday they were confident that the problem-plagued Boeing Starliner they rode up on would soon bring them home, even as significant uncertainties remain. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams blasted off on June 5 aboard the brand new spaceship that NASA is hoping to certify to ferry crews to-and-from the orbital outpost. They docked the following day for what was meant to be roughly a week-long stay, but their return was pushed back because of thruster malfunctions and helium leaks that came to light during the journey....

Officials at Denver International Airport said United Flight 1001 -- a Boeing 757-200 -- landed at DIA just before 11 a.m. after a wheel on the rear landing gear fell off the plane upon takeoff at LAX. No injuries were reported among the 174 passengers or seven crewmembers. United says an investigation is now ongoing to determine what caused the wheel to fall off. The wheel has since been recovered in Los Angeles. Allen Stubblefield was traveling from southern California to Iowa with a connecting flight in Denver. He flies for work often and has never been part of an...

Boeing will plead guilty to a criminal fraud charge tied to the 737 Max crashes, months after a near-catastrophe in January prompted the Justice Department to revisit a 2021 settlement that protected Boeing from prosecution.

At least 30 people were injured on Monday after an Air Europa Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner flight hit turbulence over the Atlantic, sending passengers flying out of their seats with one man appearing to have gotten stuck in the overhead bins. Passengers aboard Flight UX045 from Spain to Uruguay shared harrowing video of the damage and aftermath caused by turbulence, with one customer uploading a video on X showing a man stuck in the overhead luggage compartment. The man’s feet could be seen poking out of a bin after he was allegedly hurled up there by the turbulence, with a group...

Another Boeing whistleblower has come forward, saying that he witnessed 787 Dreamliner planes being built in a manner that could lead to a "catastrophe down the line." Richard Cuevas was a Strom airplane mechanic who used to work as a contractor for Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems. In a complaint filed by his lawyers to the FAA, Cuevas said Spirit AeroSystems workers were drilling holes into the fasteners of the plane's forward pressure bulkhead, which were bigger than what Boeing had specified. In March, a few months after he reported his findings to Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems, he was fired from...

The Justice Department has presented Boeing with a plea deal after it accused the airplane manufacturer of violating the terms of a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement that was put in place following two 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019. The Justice Department told Boeing it could plead guilty or go to trial, people familiar with the talks confirmed to CBS News. The agreement, which was presented to Boeing on Sunday, would have the company plead guilty to the conspiracy charge it originally faced in 2021. In exchange, Boeing would pay a fine and enter a three-year probationary period, the...

An initial eight-day Boeing Starliner test mission to the International Space Station will be extended indefinitely to test the spacecraft's thrusters. Test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are safely aboard the ISS and are not stranded in space, NASA commercial crew program manager Steve Stich said ... But there is no targeted return date "until we get the testing completed," Stich said. ... The Starliner's service module contains thrusters, helium lines and other systems that NASA officials need to study before discarding the module upon re-entry and allowing it to burn up. Those components require further study to determine...

A Korean Air flight to Taiwan was forced to return to Incheon airport west of Seoul after a sudden depressurization on the plane, a Boeing 737 Max 8, the transport ministry said Tuesday. The ministry said 19 of the 133 people aboard the flight Saturday were sent to hospitals due to ear pain and nosebleeds, but none suffered serious injuries. Separately, Malaysia Airlines said one of its flights en route to Bangkok on Monday made a U-turn back to Kuala Lumpur after the Airbus A-330 experienced a “pressurization issue.” Malaysia Airlines said its pilots initiated an emergency descent even though...

The first astronauts to fly Boeing's troubled Starliner are definitely not "stranded" at the International Space Station, NASA insisted Friday despite having no clear timeframe for bringing them home. In an unusually defensive press call, officials attempted to put a positive spin on where things currently stood after weeks of negative headlines due to the spaceship's delayed return. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams blasted off on June 5 following years of delays and safety scares affecting Starliner, as well as two aborted launch attempts that came as astronauts were strapped in and ready to go. They docked the following...

American Airlines flight #AA174 departed late Wednesday, June 26 2024 from Raleigh/Durham for a 7-hour flight to London Heathrow. The Boeing 777-200ER (registration N756AM) climbed to 37,000 ft. But close to New York City, the crew decided to turn around following a mechanical issue. The 22-year aircraft was vectored to Charlotte due to operational reason. It landed 3 hours later at CLT Airport.

An aircraft mechanic who was contracted to repair Boeing planes has alleged he was labelled a "snitch" and then sacked for speaking up over safety concerns. Richard Cuevas claimed he witnessed substandard manufacturing and maintenance work on a crucial section of Boeing 787 aircraft. Boeing, which has been dogged by questions over whether its safety culture is rigorous enough, said the issues had been investigated and "did not present a safety concern". Lawyers representing Mr Cuevas alleged he reported critical issues that could create a serious public safety risk and has filed complaints with the Federal Aviation Administration and the...

A Korean Air Boeing 737 Max 8 experienced a sudden emergency shortly after taking off from Incheon International Airport, plummeting 26,900 feet before making multiple erratic loops before stabilizing. The plane, which departed from Incheon International Airport at 4:45 p.m. local time on Saturday, suffered issues with its pressurization system while flying over South Korea’s southern resort island of Jeju. According to data from Flight Radar, the plane began descending sharply, dropping nearly five miles in 15 minutes. Commercial jet airliners typically cruise at altitudes ranging from 30,000 to 40,000 feet. So, assuming the aircraft was flying at the upper...

SpaceX may be forced to come to the rescue of two astronauts stranded at the International Space Station after their Boeing Starliner suffered troubling helium leaks. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams soared into space on the Starliner on June 5 and were only supposed to remain at the ISS for nine days — but issues with their ship have left their return date still up in the air, and NASA is now furiously trying to help solve the problem. Boeing-rival SpaceX could potentially end up being tapped to ultimately bring them home aboard its Crew Dragon spaceship. The outcome...

....50 minutes into the flight, the B737 MAX experienced a sudden uncontrolled decompression. According to FL360aero, the message “pressure s ystem (pressure control function of the aircraft) abnormality” was displayed while flying over Jeju Island. As per standard procedure during a sudden loss of cabin pressurization, the flight crew made an emergency descent. According to data from the flight tracking website Flightradar24, the aircraft dropped about 26,900 feet in around 15 minutes. The aircraft, carrying 125 passengers, was able to return to ICN Airport at approximately 19:40 local time. One of the passengers onboard the flight captured footage inside the...

Editor's note: NASA announced on Friday that Starliner's troubleshooting has been extended for a third time, meaning that the astronauts will stay aboard the International Space Station indefinitely until some time in July. Two NASA astronauts who rode to orbit on Boeing's Starliner are stranded in space aboard the ISS after engineers discovered numerous issues with the Boeing spacecraft. Teams on the ground are now racing to assess Starliner's status. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were originally scheduled to return to Earth on June 13 after a week on the ISS, but their stay has been extended for a...

After numerous delays, NASA said Friday that the Starliner crew would return to Earth in July, The agency said in a blog post that it delayed Starliner's Tuesday departure from the International Space Station so it doesn't conflict with a series of planned ISS spacewalks. The extra time also would afford Starliner astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Williams more time to review the spacecraft's propulsions systems, according to the agency. Wilmore and Williams have been on board the ISS for almost three weeks. The two were set to complete a full assessment of the spacecraft while docked to...

A Boeing 737 MAX 8 jet was forced to turn around and passengers began to suffer from nosebleeds and ear pain following a malfunction with the plane’s cabin pressurization system, according to reports. Passengers on Korean Air Flight KE189, bound for the Taiwanese city of Taichung, reported that the plane’s systems began experience a problem soon after the flight took off Saturday afternoon. Less than one hour into the trip, the plane turned back to Incheon International Airport in Seoul, South Korea, Yonhap News Agency reported. A a result of the malfnction, the Boeing 737 Max 8 was forced to...

Starliner had been scheduled to come home on June 26, but it will now stay aloft until at least July 2...Starliner's current mission, known as Crew Flight Test (CFT), sent NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the ISS. CFT launched on June 5 and arrived at the orbiting lab a day later.But, as Stich noted, that arrival was not perfectly smooth. During its chasedown of the ISS, Starliner experienced problems with five of its 28 reaction control system (RCS) thrusters. Four of them were eventually brought back online.In addition, CFT team members have noticed five small helium leaks...

Photos show a dented central window pane with cracks in multiple areas but the cause of the damage has left investigators scratching their heads. The crack in the four-layer thick glass left cockpit crew terrified as the plane made its transatlantic voyage. The incident occurred three hours into the flight as the jet flew between Greenland and Iceland and forced Virgin Flight VS41 to make a U-turn and fly back to the UK on May 27. Experts have said that the plane's altitude meant it could not have hit a bird and no immediate other course have been highlighted but...

A Boeing 737 aircraft suddenly plummeted to less than 500 feet of the ground over Oklahoma, terrifying residents who feared the jet was going to crash. Southwest Airlines Flight 4069 was still nine miles away from Will Rogers World Airport just after midnight on Wednesday, when records show it dived to between 400 and 500 feet as it flew over a high school in the City of Yukon. Doorbell camera footage showed the Boeing 737 MAX-8 then hovering above houses, before it flies out of frame. A resident was startled awake by the plane's engine and wondered if the aircraft...