Free Republic

False location signals near Iran shut down onboard direction systems False electronic signals imitating satellite data from Global Position System satellites recently caused complete navigation failures for 12 aircraft flights near Iran, according to a private aircraft security group. “A troubling new development in enroute airspace is emerging: Aircraft are being targeted with fake GPS signals, quickly leading to complete loss of navigational capability,” the organization OpsGroup stated in a warning notice. The crew of a Boeing 777 flying near southeastern Iraq toward Baghdad lost the use of its GPS in one incident, leaving the pilot in the dark. “What...

According to The Aviation Herald, the aircraft was performing its initial climb out of Amsterdam's runway 24 when the left-hand engine, a General Electric GE90, began to vibrate. However, as these vibrations remained within "acceptable ranges," the crew continued the climb to cruising altitude. The jet was enroute at an altitude of FL300, about 310nm westsouthwest of Amsterdam, in English Airspace, when a failure of the aircraft's number one engine occurred, prompting a diversion and the decision to return to Amsterdam. Referencing a map, this incident would have occurred somewhere above Swindon or Bristol. ...It's interesting that the aircraft flew...

A passenger on a British Airways plane defecated on the floor before smearing feces on himself and around the cabin earlier this month. The news was first reported by The Sun. Emergency services were called to Heathrow Airport following the incident on a Boeing 777 aircraft due to fly to Lagos, Nigeria. During boarding the male passenger took his trousers off in the economy cabin on flight BA075 on October 7 before defecating on the galley floor, The Sun reported. The man then sat in the feces, "rubbed" it into carpet and ran up the aisle smearing it on seats...

An initial maintenance inspection suggests an issue with a hydraulic pump on the aircraft, which had 256 passengers on board for the flight, United Airlines said. Sparks flew off the plane as it climbed after takeoff, according to a video posted online that purports to show the flight. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating what happened with Flight 149, which departed Newark airport late Wednesday night, then declared an emergency. The Boeing 777-200 aircraft had been headed to Sao Paulo, Brazil, before returning to Newark, the FAA said. The hydraulic system on the Boeing 777 runs key systems, such as...

The United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released an update on Friday about the United Airlines Boeing 777 engine incident. In late February, the aircraft was climbing out of Denver International Airport (DEN) when the pilots throttled up the engines in anticipation of turbulence. Shortly after that, a loud bang and fire coming from the engine led the pilots to bring the plane back to Denver. United Airlines, shortly after, voluntarily removed 24 of its Pratt & Whitney 4000-powered Boeing 777 aircraft from service. The airline is working to fill in the gaps in its schedules as these aircraft...

The International Atomic Energy Agency reaching a deal with Iran on inspections of its nuclear facilities. The compromise deal reached in the face of Iranian plans to end snap inspections by international atomic experts... When it comes to the coronavirus have we reached the magic moment of "herd immunity"?... The selective reopening of Israel is underway with shops to be open to all but gyms and theaters will only be open to those who have "Green Pass" status... The coronavirus vaccination rate for seniors over age 70 is lowest in three states starting with Rhode Island at the bottom with...

Delta said it also expects the MD-90 aircraft, which are made by Boeing Co. BA, +0.84%subsidiary McDonnell Douglas, to exit its fleet in June. Boeing's stock fell 2.3% ahead of the open. Delta expects to record impairment charges of $1.4 billion to $1.7 billion as a result of the aircraft retirements. Delta said the 777 fleet included 18 aircraft. Chief Executive Ed Bastian said the decision was made as international travel is expected to return slowly. "[P]arking this fleet will provide significant cost savings over the next several years," Chief Executive Ed Bastian wrote in a memo to employees.

The world's longest and largest twin-engine airliner, the Boeing 777-9X, has finally taken to the skies for its maiden flight, offering a ray of hope for the troubled US aviation company following months of grim headlines. After days of abysmal weather, airplane WH-001 took from Paine Field, home of Boeing's wide-body factory, north of Seattle, on Saturday morning. The flight had been postponed twice earlier in the week because of poor conditions, but as the aircraft taxied past the press viewing area ahead of takeoff, a rainbow appeared -- perhaps offering a positive portent. When the moment did finally arrive,...

Incredible footage has revealed the moment that the world's biggest jet engine took to the skies for the first time, ahead of its planned maiden commercial flight in 2020. The huge GE9X powerplant, which is as wide and tall as the fuselage of a Boeing 737, is being built for the latest version of the firm's long-haul 777, the 777X 'megaplane'. General Electric has now begun flight trials of the prototype, after delays caused by technical problems stopped tests originally planned for late last year.

A tenacious Brit convinced that missing flight MH370 is in the Cambodian jungle says he will resume his search - even though a previous attempt nearly proved deadly. Ian Wilson believes he spotted the Malaysia Airlines plane when looking at Google Maps. He travelled to the area with brother Jack last year - and Jack was lucky to survive a sudden fall after ground gave way underneath him. Despite this Ian is keen to return to the mountainous terrain... However the Aviation Safety Network (ASN) is certain that the aircraft was captured mid-flight. Evidence is mounting that the crash, which...

Boeing is set to debut its biggest plane ever next month, and the 777X has finally been paired with the gargantuan GE9X engine that will propel its flight. The plane is currently housed in Boeing's Everett, Washington, assembly plant, where pictures show it looming over workers as they prepare it for its maiden flight. The GE9X engine is the biggest turbine engine in the world. At roughly the size of an entire Boeing 737's fuselage, it was subjected to test flights last March when a single turbine was hitched to a 747 testbed. The engine includes a composite fan more...

Airlines, it turns out, prefer the fuel efficiency of smaller planes like the Boeing 777 to the pack-em-in capacity of the Airbus A380. As a result, Airbus hasn’t scored any new orders for an A380 in more than a year. Its big plan to turn things around? Launch a new version, make it cheaper to fly, and slap on some winglets. This week at the Paris Air Show, Airbus announced the revamped “A380plus,” a refresh that packs even more passengers into the super-jumbo and tweaks the wing design. The upswept winglets found on most modern airliners boost fuel efficiency by...

DWR just turned the main spillway off as the Reservoir Elevation reaches 836' (Mean Sea Level), the minimum level of the Main Spillway.

Charred debris, possibly belonging to the missing MH370 plane, has been handed to investigators - raising the prospect of a flash fire on board the ill-fated jet. An American amateur investigator handed over several pieces of blackened debris to Australia's Transport Safety Bureau on Monday in what may prove to be a breakthrough in one of the biggest mysteries in aviation history. Blaine Gibson said the material, which had washed up in Madagascar, included what appeared to be an internal panel.

Two pieces of new debris have been found in the Maldives and experts will determine if they are linked to missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, said Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai (pix). He said one was a "honeycomb material" while the other had a flat surface. "It is very small, about the size of your hand," he said when asked to explain on the new finding on Sunday. "The first thing we have to do is to determine if it is actually of plane material," Liow said adding that the discovery was made two days ago. "Our team...

KUALA LUMPUR: A part number on aircraft wreckage recovered in the Indian Ocean confirms it came from a Boeing 777, a Malaysian official said Friday, expressing confidence that the mystery of Flight MH370 was close to being solved. "From the part number, it is confirmed that it is from a Boeing 777 aircraft. This information is from MAS (Malaysia Airlines). They have informed me," deputy transport minister Abdul Aziz Kaprawi told AFP. The wing component found on the French island of La Reunion bears the part number "657 BB", according to photos of the debris. AFP was not immediately available...

In the forward galley area near the L1 door and flight deck, a small access panel sits below the carpet which acts as the gateway to the 777’s electronics and engineering bay. The bay, referred to as the ‘E/E bay’, contains many of the 777’s extremely sensitive systems. A recently posted YouTube video, below, shows how shockingly easy it is to access the E/E bay, and how seemingly little has been done to keep people out. The systems in the E/E bay vary from fuse panels to the Airplane Information Management System (AIMS), also known as “the brains” of the...

(Poster's note: I searched by title and keyword and didn't find this already on FR) A pilot from New York believes he has found the wreckage of the missing Malaysia Airline Flight 370 off the coast of Thailand after searching thousands of satellite images online. Michael Hoebel, 60, spent hours trawling through the images made available to the public on a crowd-sourcing website, TomNod.com, before coming across what he believes is the doomed plane. The recreational pilot from Tonawanda said he was shocked to discover that the aircraft, which vanished two months ago, appeared to be in one piece beneath...

British woman Katherine Tee is saying she spotted what she believes is the missing Malaysian Air flight MH370 while she was sailing. She saw in early March, but is only now coming forward because she did not believe her eyes at the time. Tee said that while she and her husband Marc Horn were sailing across the Indian Ocean from India to Thailand, she spotted what looked like a plane on fire during the night of March 7. She thought she was hallucinating, but after the media coverage, she looked up the flight plan of the aircraft and discovered their...

THE $90 million search for MH370 has discovered “man made objects” almost four kilometres under the surface of the southern Indian Ocean, but they are not the missing Boeing 777. Instead the debris is thought to be from an ancient shipwreck, comprising an anchor and other items. Australian Transport Safety Bureau Operational Search Director Peter Foley said they were “obviously disappointed” the discovery was not the missing aircraft.