Latest news with #HongKong-bound
New York Post
07-05-2025
- General
- New York Post
United Airlines planes clip wings while preparing to depart from San Francisco airport
Two United Airlines planes clipped wings as they prepared for departure from San Francisco International Airport on Tuesday — the latest mishap involving air travel around the US. United Airlines Flight 863 was pushing back to begin its journey to Sydney, Australia at around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday when its right wing clipped the wing of Hong Kong-bound United Airlines Flight 877, the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed to CNN. The accident happened 'in an area where air traffic controllers do not communicate with flight crews,' the FAA told the outlet. Advertisement 3 Two United Airlines planes clipped wings as they prepared for departure from San Francisco International Airport on Tuesday. Michael Belkin via Storyful However, an Air Traffic Controller had allegedly pointed out that Flight 863 was 'pushing pretty deep' moments before the mishap, according to ABC 7. In the recording, the air traffic controller allegedly told the pilot of the Sydney-bound United flight to watch out for other aircraft as it pushed back from the gate. Advertisement United Airlines Flight 863 was carrying 202 passengers and 16 crew members while United Airlines Flight 877 had 306 passengers and 16 crew members on board, according to FlightAware. A United Airlines spokesperson confirmed the collision and shared that 'no injuries occurred.' 'Passengers on both planes deplaned normally,' the spokesperson said in a statement to CNN. 'We are working with our customers to rebook them on other flights.' The FAA said they are investigating the incident. Advertisement 3 The accident happened 'in an area where air traffic controllers do not communicate with flight crews,' the FAA said. Michael Belkin via Storyful The accident is the latest in a string of incidents being investigated by the FAA. Last week, a fried piece of copper wire sparked a 90-second radar and communications blackout for air traffic controllers overseeing Newark Liberty International Airport. The saga resulted in thousands of delays and flight cancellations in recent days, which the FAA blamed on a shortage of air traffic controllers at the airport and runway construction. Advertisement United CEO Scott Kirby previously slammed air traffic controllers for 'walking off the job' following the outages, saying 20% of the FAA staffers overseeing Newark flights had taken leave due to the equipment failures. 3 The FAA said they are investigating the incident between two United Airlines planes at San Francisco International Airport. Michael Belkin via Storyful United, which accounts for 75% of Newark's traffic, announced it was canceling 35 daily flights into and out of the New Jersey hub to mitigate the snarl resulting from air traffic controller shortages. In late April, a plane carrying congressional representatives from New York and New Jersey was struck by another aircraft at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport — the site of a Jan. 29 mid-air crash that killed 67 people. The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed it would 'investigate' the 12:45 p.m. incident on the DCA taxiway, when the JFK-bound American Airlines flight carrying the lawmakers was bumped by an AA Bombardier CRJ900 bound for Charleston, SC. 'American Eagle flight 5490, operated by PSA Airlines, made contact on a DCA taxiway with American Eagle flight 4522, operated by Republic Airways. Safety is our top priority, and we apologize to our customers for their experience,' an American Airlines spokesperson said. In another incident on March 29, a Delta Airlines plane carrying 136 people nearly collided during takeoff with a military jet group of four Northrop T38 Talons headed for a flyover at nearby Arlington National Cemetery. Advertisement A day later, a United Airlines flight hit a kite while landing at the airport, which experts at the time said could have been dangerous had the kite been sucked into the plane's engine. The FAA is also investigating a Delta Air Lines plane wing hitting the runway at LaGuardia Airport during an unsteady landing in March.
South China Morning Post
01-05-2025
- South China Morning Post
Greater Bay Airlines cancels Hong Kong-bound flight from Taipei after bird strike
Greater Bay Airlines has apologised to passengers after it was forced to cancel a Hong Kong-bound return flight from Taipei on Wednesday night after a bird collided with the aircraft. Advertisement A spokesman for the carrier said on Thursday that flight HB704 experienced a bird strike just as it was arriving in Taipei, forcing the airline to cancel the plane's return flight to Hong Kong on Wednesday night to allow for safety checks. 'The flight landed at Taipei Taoyuan International Airport safely at around 9pm without any injuries to our passengers and aircrew,' he said. 'As a safety precautionary measure, the aircraft had to undergo a thorough inspection before it entered into service again.' The carrier said it had immediately arranged hotel accommodation for affected passengers, who were transferred to other flights to Hong Kong on Thursday. Advertisement 'We apologise for the inconvenience caused to our passengers and state that flight safety is always the priority at Greater Bay Airlines,' the spokesman said.
South China Morning Post
01-05-2025
- South China Morning Post
Greater Bay Airlines cancels Hong Kong-bound flight from Taipei after bird strike
Greater Bay Airlines has apologised to passengers after it was forced to cancel a Hong Kong-bound return flight from Taipei on Wednesday night after a bird collided with the aircraft. Advertisement A spokesman for the carrier said on Thursday that flight HB704 experienced a bird strike just as it was arriving in Taipei, forcing the airline to cancel the plane's return flight to Hong Kong on Wednesday night to allow for safety checks. 'The flight landed at Taipei Taoyuan International Airport safely at around 9pm without any injuries to our passengers and aircrew,' he said. 'As a safety precautionary measure, the aircraft had to undergo a thorough inspection before it entered into service again.' The carrier said it had immediately arranged hotel accommodation for affected passengers, who were transferred to other flights to Hong Kong on Thursday. Advertisement 'We apologise for the inconvenience caused to our passengers and state that flight safety is always the priority at Greater Bay Airlines,' the spokesman said.
South China Morning Post
26-03-2025
- South China Morning Post
Power banks a peril when used in the air
One flight accident does not necessarily pose a wider safety threat. But a recent spate of in-flight fires involving power banks has prompted aviation authorities across Asia to take action, and rightly so. Advertisement Under new rules effective from April 7, passengers will be barred from recharging power banks, and from using them to charge electronic devices, during flights. Stowing power banks in the overhead cabin bins also will be prohibited. Flight regulators and airlines in the region have been on the alert since a Hong Kong-bound Air Busan plane caught fire before taking off from Gimhae International Airport in January. The flames were believed to have been ignited by a passenger's portable power bank inside an overhead bin. The incident prompted a few airlines to ban the use of power banks on board, with some requiring passengers to carry them in plastic zig bags and place them in the seat pocket in front of them, or underneath their seat. Advertisement The local Civil Aviation Department did not take action until this month, after an inbound Hong Kong Airlines flight from Hangzhou in Zhejiang province was forced to divert to Fuzhou due to a power bank stowed in an overhead compartment that apparently caught fire.
South China Morning Post
18-02-2025
- South China Morning Post
Scams the blemish as Hong Kong's crime rates decline
Many traditional forms of violent crime are in marked decline, with assault and wounding cases in 2024 falling to their lowest in 51 years at 3,614 incidents, and arson to the lowest in 40 years at 234 cases. If only those figures, released by Commissioner of Police Raymond Siu Chak-yee, were an accurate reflection of the overall crime trend in Hong Kong, already known as a safe city. Sadly, they do not fully compensate for a continuing rise in scams. The rate of increase in scams slowed to 11.7 per cent last year from 42.6 per cent in 2023, but the total still accounted for 46.9 per cent of the 94,727 criminal cases recorded in 2024, which were up 5 per cent year on year. Even at last year's slower rate of increase they could account for more than half the total this year. The latest figures include more than 5,500 cases of a new type of deception involving fake customer service messages. Reports to police identify target groups, such as mainland students at Hong Kong universities. Two were recently swindled out of HK$11 million (US$1.4 million) by fraudsters posing as law enforcers, prompting local police to discuss with mainland counterparts the possibility of educating Hong Kong-bound students and their parents about scams.
