Posted on 08/29/2008 4:25:55 PM PDT by SilvieWaldorfMD
Russian, Delta Jets Nearly Collide Over Caribbean WASHINGTON (AP) ― Federal authorities say two airliners were a minute away from colliding when they turned away from each other over the Caribbean this week.
The National Transportation Safety Board says the Delta Air Lines flight and a Russian-registered passenger jet were heading toward each other north of Puerto Rico on Thursday when cockpit alarms went off.
In a statement Friday, the NTSB says the pilot of the Russian plane -- a Transaero Boeing 737 -- descended 200 to 300 feet to avoid Delta Flight 485.
The planes were 33,000 feet over the water and about 180 miles north of San Juan. The Delta aircraft was headed from New York's Kennedy International Airport to Port of Spain, Trinidad.
The most interesting flight for me was the one from Alma Ata to Moscow on the Tu-144, the “Concordski” Russian SST.
It was FAST, and the windows were much larger than the ones on the Concord, allowing an incredible view from 60,000 feet plus altitude.
The fuselage was wide enough for a 3-2 seating arrangement rather than the 2-2 seating in the Concord. I was luck to have had this experience since the plane was pulled out of commercial service after only about eight months.
Then, a few years ago NASA leased one and refurbished it to use as a Supersonic test bed. None are flying any longer.
I had no idea that the Sovs (or Russians) had developed such piece of machinery.... any pics?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.