‘I don't know how I survived:' Sole survivor of India plane crash speaks out
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Pilot tells passengers he's trusting his 'gut' and refuses to fly plane
Pilots have the final say on the aircraft Yet another pilot is in the headlines after refusing to fly a plane. This time, the pilot made the call as the passengers were boarding. According to a post from Ambitious_Station_41 on Reddit, passengers were in the midst of the boarding process when the captain emerged from the jet bridge. The pilot ordered the gate agent to suspend boarding. The pilot was familiar with the plane The captain explained that he flew the same plane from Miami to Atlanta the day before. He'd noticed the problem with the elevator, which is essential to controlling the up and down movements of the aircraft. The pilot said he'd put in a maintenance request, but when he checked the log, it said, 'no issue found.' The pilot was uncomfortable accepting the aircraft until maintenance was dispatched to the scene. Maintenance showed up and said the plane was good to go. A department supervisor explained that they'd spent nine hours of 'investigation and repairs' after the issue was reported yesterday. He said he was trusting his gut The captain announced he was rejecting the aircraft. He informed the passengers that he'd been flying with Delta for 25 years and spent over 20,000 hours flying 757s. He told the travelers he 'knows when something is wrong.' The pilot further explained that this is the first time he'd rejected an airplane in over ten years. He said he trusts maintenance 100% but he goes with his gut when his gut says 'things are not what they should be.' A new plane arrived on the scene The announcement was made both on the plane and at the gate. Many passengers erupted into applause to show how much they appreciated his concern for their safety. A gate change was announced, and the flight was able to depart within about an hour of its scheduled departure time. At the new gate, the captain said it had been 22 years since he'd rejected a plane. The first officer said it had been seven years for him. The situation is increasingly common This isn't the first incident in which a pilot has refused an aircraft. Recently, a pilot refused to fly to Hawaii due to issues with the fuel system, despite the aircraft being cleared. In another instance, a pilot refused to fly because he was worried he might fail a drug test after a passenger smoked pot in the forward lavatory. Can a pilot refuse to fly a plane? Pilots have the final say when it comes to flight safety. This means they have the right to refuse to fly an aircraft they deem unsafe, even if the airline is telling them otherwise. Factors they can take into consideration include maintenance issues, weather, the fitness of the crew to operate the aircraft, and unruly passengers. The moment the captain announced he wasn't "feeling it," and refused the plane to Hawaii was captured on video by @johnnyjet. See it here. Solve the daily Crossword
News24
2 days ago
- News24
Why do air disasters keep happening in African skies?
A series of fatal crashes in Africa raise concerns over pilot training, maintenance, regulatory enforcement, and weather preparedness. Experts link crashes to human negligence, insufficient safety culture, and unpredictable weather patterns exacerbated by climate change. Inconsistent safety regulations, economic pressures, and failure to meet international standards undermine the continent's aviation industry. In recent months, Africa's skies have been under intense scrutiny as a series of fatal crashes have raised questions over pilot training, regulatory enforcement, maintenance standards, weather preparedness and other key issues pertaining to the safety of continent's aviation industry. On 6 August, a Harbin Z-9EH military helicopter used by Ghana's air force slammed into a forested mountainside in the Ashanti region, killing all eight passengers aboard, including Defence Minister Edward Omane Boamah, Environment and Science Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed as well as other senior political and security figures. Just one day later, this tragedy was overshadowed by another crash, when a Cessna air ambulance operated by AMREF Flying Doctors in Kenya crashed into a residential area near Nairobi shortly after take-off, claiming six lives - four on board and two on the ground. Earlier in the year, a chartered Beechcraft 1900D carrying oil workers from South Sudan's Unity State to Juba in January went down just minutes after departure from the GPOC Unity Airstrip in Rubkona County, killing all 21 on board. In June 2024, Malawi lost Vice-President Saulos Chilima and former First Lady Patricia Shanil Muluzi to another fatal crash when a Malawi Defence Force Dornier 228 plane plunged into the Chikangawa Forest Reserve en route to Mzuzu, with a total of nine fatalities. Meanwhile, there are growing reports of severe turbulence incidents which have left multiple passengers injured during civilian flights, which have only intensified the attention that is being paid to what is happening in African skies. Human error - and hubris Industry experts say the machines themselves are not the problem, stressing that human error, systemic negligence, an insufficient safety culture, and increasingly unpredictable weather patterns are the factors that, over time, have resulted in this worrying track record. 'Airplanes are faithful machines. They are built to serve. They are built so well that [they're] loaded with a lot of redundant components in such a way that before anything goes wrong, the airplane faithfully tells the pilots and the engineers at every point in time,' Nigerian aviation consultant Godwin Ike told DW, highlighting the abundance of backup systems in modern planes and helicopters. Tony Karumba/AFP In his view, aircraft will typically only 'fall off the skies because human operators can be very unfaithful and more often than not, horribly dishonest'. According to Ike, there's a certain element of human pride that can still get in the way of otherwise perfectly operational aircraft: Ike insists that taking simple actions like refusing take-off when automated systems detect a fault can make all the difference between life and death, adding that following through on regular maintenance schedules is also just as important. 'Turn that plane in for that maintenance that is due. In that way, you can be guaranteed usage without any issues,' he explains, adding that this is not a form of weakness but safety in action, Mind the weather For Felicity Ahafianyo, the head of Ghana's Central Analysis and Forecast Office, the greater danger is less about preparedness and reaction on the ground but rather in the skies: She warns that climate change has had an effect on weather patterns in the higher levels of the atmosphere across the globe, making certain hazards less predictable. 'When it comes to aviation industry, weather is a key factor. ... The first part has to do with the convective activities. That's the formation of thunderstorm clouds. Another one has to do with visibility. Another one has to do with the wind shear. Some areas are getting more rainfall more than usual, and some are getting less than the usual,' she noted. 'Apart from the convective activities that affect the aircraft operations, there is clear weather turbulence or clear air turbulence, which also affects aircraft operations.' AFP Ahafianyo's team is in charge of providing helicopters with various pieces of information that are crucial for the safe and proper operation of aircraft, such as 'the vertical profile of the atmosphere from flight level 600 up to 12 000 feet high in the sky' as well as 'the tropical boundary locations for the day' and 'if there could be any shears that may disturb their operations'. But not every pilot listens, she underlines: 'I was once an aviation forecaster, and could see that some pilots don't care about the weather.' Godwin Ike agrees. If there is a persistent problem in the skies that is related to the weather conditions, pilots should just head to 'the nearest airport, make contact on radio with the airport, and announce that they want to do an emergency landing,' he explains. However, he adds that by the time some pilots agree to follow this standard protocol, it might already be too late - especially in such cases where they're transporting precious cargo such government ministers and other influential leaders, whose time may appear to be more precious than anything else. Africa's negligence of international standards The two analysts highlight that the recent events that have befallen Africa's aviation sector also expose deeper political and regulatory failings. Weak government oversight, an inconsistent safety culture, and growing economic pressures from rising fuel prices to the high cost of obtaining spare parts, all combine to creating ever-growing risks. Ike says while the issue of human error in the cockpit must be addressed, the problem of human negligence on the ground might even be greater. Until Africa's aviation industry catches up to the highest air traffic standards, Ike believes that pilots must be told to treat every mechanical alert and each weather warning as an instruction, not as a suggestion. International aviation bodies meanwhile have also repeatedly urged African governments to strengthen the enforcement of their safety standards and to better adapt to growing climate volatility, as each crash further erodes public trust.
Forbes
4 days ago
- Forbes
Recollections Of My U-2 Flight One Year Later
It's been exactly one year since I took a rare U-2 flight to the edge of space. I wrote about it at the time, of course (link below) - that was the point. It's an honor few civilians and non-pilots ever get. Having had time to digest it now, I've been able to reflect on what happened and what it meant. First, the flight was eight years in the making. When I visited Beale AFB in 2017, the wheels were put in motion. I flew in a T-38 jet, chased the U-2 in a Dodge Charger as it landed and was stuffed into the claustrophobic pressure suit pilots wear for protection against the vacuum of space. Little did I know at the time how much longer it would take to get the actual flight. There were promises and disappointments and postponments and changes of base personnel. The bureacracy got to the point where I never thought the flight would happen. I almost gave up out of frustration, but I also knew from life experience that big things usually take time. One example: It took me 12 years to interview Apollo 11's Neil Armstrong, first man on the moon. But through perseverance and hard work, he finally agreed not long before his death. So when my flight finally was scheduled in stone, I was still skeptical. It was hot in August at Beale, I was told. Didn't I just want to postpone until fall, when the weather was cooler? I really don't care about heat, I told them. Let's just get it done. And so with my contacts at the Pentagon and the public affairs chief at Beale, Charlene Spade, we did. Once I arrived at the base for training, I was excited sure, but still skeptical. The three days of pre-flight training proved more difficult than I had anticipated. Again, I became frustrated, even paranoid. Perhaps this was God's insidious last-minute way of canceling my flight. Looking back now, I realize that wasn't the case. The base personnel were thorough for my own good. A U-2 flight is serious business. When you go above 70,000 feet and something goes wrong with cabin pressurization, you're toast in a few seconds. And then there's the reliability of the plane itself, Cold War-era, and the 'coffin corner' the pilots must negotiate. At the edge of space, the air is so thin that an aircraft must stay within a six-mph window. Go too fast, and the wings fall off of the plane, too slow and the plane stalls. Both are real and deadly scenarios I needed to be prepared for. When finally I was strapped into the cockpit with my claustrophobic Michelin Man space suit and breathing 100 percent pure oxygen, a thousand things went through my mind - fear, excitement, the ability to execute tasks I was given during flight like arming and disarming the ejection seat, taking photos and video, locking and unlocking the canopy, staying hydrated by drinking enough fluid through a straw in my helmet and the rest of it. The flight went off without a glitch, but after two-and-a-half hours in the air, and six hours in the cramped suit, I was exhausted. Thank God for the after-flight debrief, the GoPro camera and what I can actually recall from memory. I suddenly understood what my figure-skating friend, Sasha Cohen, once told me about her Olympic appearances. You have a few short moments to take it all in. But so much is happening so fast, you have little time to enjoy it. Your name is called, then you get out on the ice knowing that the next four minutes determine the rest of your life. You have to focus on your performance, while everything rushes by. Then it's over, and you wait for the judge's scores. Cohen, a little like me, has the aid of television cameras to help her remember it all after the fact. She ultimately took Silver for the U.S. at Torino in 2006, of which she is deservedly proud and has helped change her life. My flight also rushed by. Nothing I had feared went wrong. It has changed my life, too, not to the degree of Cohen's, of course. But I've given Cold War speeches and recalled my unique experience on several podcasts and radio programs. I just wish I could live the flight over, take it in at the time, knowing that all would be okay in the end. I wonder if Cohen feels the same way about her Olympic performance? But I'm also realistic enough to know that that will never happen. It's just my memories and the GoPro film and photos that I will have to cherish. So when people ask if my flight was fun, I'm truthful. No, I say, but it sure was interesting. Probably it's like that for many who experience something unimaginable in their lives, and come out the other end okay. All I can say now is thank you to the U.S. Air Force staff for keeping me safe and allowing me to recount an extraordinary flight for millions of Forbes readers, let them live out my experience vicariously. Frustration, paranoia and fear a year ago for me have turned into satisfaction and gratitude today
