Latest news with #MikeSlack
Western Telegraph
21-05-2025
- Business
- Western Telegraph
Blue Lagoon at Bluestone to open for one day only this month
Bluestone's Blue Lagoon Water Park will welcome the public for a special evening during the May half-term holidays. All proceeds from the event will go to Milford Youth Matters, a charity that helps young people in Pembrokeshire. The event will take place on Tuesday, May 27, and is part of the Bluestone Foundation's community events programme. It will give up to 600 people the chance to enjoy an evening at the water park while raising money for a good cause. The event will also show the foundation's commitment to supporting environmental, economic, and social projects across Pembrokeshire. This will be the third Blue Lagoon fundraiser of the year. The first two events raised a total of £7,854 for the Megan Starr Foundation in February and Fishguard and Goodwick's Young Person's Trust (POINT) in April. The Bluestone Foundation is the charitable arm of Bluestone National Park Resort. It was set up to make a difference and supports the ethos of Bluestone. The foundation celebrates the county and its people, helps build economic growth, and creates social opportunities in Pembrokeshire. Since it was set up in 2010, the foundation has given more than £250,000 to various charities. Milford Youth Matters is a youth charity that helps young people aged 11-25. It provides vocational training, volunteering, and work-based learning opportunities, as well as social activities. The charity has helped more than 500 young people in the area. Dayle Gibby, Milford Youth Matters co-ordinator, said: "We're all about investing in young people. "The support from the Bluestone Foundation means we can evolve and try new activities, reach new audiences, and remove financial barriers that often stand in the way of young people's development. "In recent years, we have developed a good relationship with Bluestone, and with many of the young people we support now working there, it's a great example of the work we do to equip them with the tools needed for employment whilst keeping it within the local area. "We are so grateful for this opportunity." Mike Slack from the Bluestone Foundation said: "We're looking forward to hosting the third Bluestone Foundation event of the year during the half term break. "These events have so far proved to be a success – not only do local families enjoy an evening of fun at the Blue Lagoon, but money raised will also contribute towards funds given to chosen charities. "Milford Youth Matters is a fantastic example of what community-led support can achieve, and we're proud to be playing a small part in their continued success." The next Blue Lagoon event will take place on Tuesday, May 27, at 5.30pm.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Yahoo
‘Bottom line is aircraft are not supposed to collide.' Probe begins in American Airlines crash
Surveillance camera images of the collision of a military helicopter and an American Airlines jet as it descended to land at a Washington, D.C. airport late Wednesday will be helpful in determining the cause. As will the communication between the pilots and the air traffic controllers. Protocol calls for their tower to be locked down after a collision in order to preserve data and perhaps discussions that were not broadcast over the radio air. Just as critical to determine why the jet and Army Blackhawk helicopter came to occupy the same space will be information and recordings extracted from the cellphones of the 60 deceased passengers. Although the devices may have been damaged when they were thrust into the Potomac River, experts said it is likely that the cellphones will yield key answers on what was happening seconds before impact, as phones burned in post-impact fires have in other crashes. 'They will be taken,' Austin-based attorney Mike Slack, a licensed pilot who has represented plaintiffs in mid-air collision cases, said of passenger cellphones. Because the collision late Wednesday at Reagan Washington National Airport is classified by the NTSB as a major investigation, a member of the body's board will lead the probe. Groups of experts on weather, air traffic control, flight operations and other areas will each prepare technical reports ahead of a public hearing. The NTSB final report will likely take 18 months to release and will include a probable cause and safety recommendations directed, perhaps, to the FAA, American Airlines and the Army. Investigators will consider the flight paths and the altitudes, air speeds and angles of both aircraft. And they will likely review the role of negligence in keeping the jet and helicopter separate and the responsibility of the pilots and air traffic controllers to prevent catastrophe. 'The bottom line is aircraft are not supposed to collide,' aviation attorney Jim Brachle said. On final approach, the American jet was descending from 500 feet to zero feet as the helicopter was operating at an altitude restriction of 200 feet. 'That is not a lot of separation,' Brachle said. In part to be certain that evidence does not become stale, relatives of passengers will likely not wait for the release of the NTSB final report to consider filing lawsuits. Families could bring claims alleging negligence against Fort Worth-based American Airlines. 'They could also sue the U.S. government,' under the federal tort claims act, Slack said, if attorneys representing relatives of passengers conclude that the helicopter pilots failed to see and avoid the American jet. The collision occurred during a landing approach in Washington, causing both aircraft to crash into the frigid Potomac River and killing 67 people in the worst U.S. commercial aviation disaster in years. Flight 5342, operated by PSA Airlines from Wichita, Kansas, to Reagan Washington National Airport, collided with an Army Blackhawk helicopter at 8:48 p.m. ET. American Airlines said the CRJ-700 Bombardier was carrying 60 passengers and four Charlotte-based crew members; the helicopter was involved in a training flight with three soldiers aboard. The bodies of 28 people had been recovered by early Thursday, and efforts to find the remains of other passengers were underway. The NTSB assessment will examine the role of the extreme challenges of flying at Reagan Washington National Airport. 'The environment around Reagan is not the environment around Meacham,' Slack said of the Fort Worth airport. The airspace in Washington is complex, and the difference between a near-miss and tragedy is a matter of feet.
