Free Republic

Several Boeing 747s have been spotted on radar leaving China for Iran over the last week, according to reports, sparking concerns that the CCP is helping the Middle Eastern nation transport cargo or people out of the country as Israel continues to strike the country’s nuclear facilities. Starting on June 14th, FlightRadar24 shows that at least five flights traveled from China to Iran, and The Telegraph reported that the "mystery transport planes" had flown westward along northern China before crossing into Kazakhstan, south through Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, and then fell off radar as they approached Iran. Additionally, the report indicated...

EDITED EXCERPT An Iranian businessman accused by the US government of violating sanctions on Tehran donated money to the Clinton Foundation, The Daily Beast has confirmed. Vahid Alaghband’s Balli Aviation Ltd, a London-based subsidiary of his commodities trading firm tried to sell 747's to Iran, despite a US federal ban. The company pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal information. The hefty sum imposed was “a direct consequence of the level of deception used to mislead investigators," Thomas Madigan, a top DOJ official, said at the time. Balli Aviation agreed to pay a $2 million criminal fine, serve five years...

Boeing Co. on Friday said unnamed buyers had ordered $5.8 billion worth of single-aisle planes and wide-body aircraft this week, making it one of the biggest for new orders. Buyers ordered 20 wide-body 777s, nine single-aisle 737s and three 747s, the company said. The $5.8 billion figure is based on median order prices, a Boeing spokesman said.

SEATTLE -- Since first taking off in 1969, Boeing 747s have carried 3.6 billion people and flown the equivalent of 74,000 round trips to the moon. (A) consideration is whether the large planes could fly low and slow enough to be used effectively against the kinds of fires that have raged across the West in recent years -- charring 60 million acres in the past decade, or an area the size of Oregon, according to the National Interagency Fire Center, based in Boise, Idaho.