Latest news with #NationalCivilAviationAgency
Libyan Express
29-06-2025
- Business
- Libyan Express
Mauritania, Turkey sign civil aviation cooperation agreement
BY Libyan Express Jun 29, 2025 - 01:25 Updated: Jun 29, 2025 - 06:29 Mauritania, Turkey sign civil aviation cooperation agreement in Istanbul Mauritania's National Civil Aviation Agency signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Turkey's Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Saturday to boost technical cooperation in various areas of civil aviation between the two countries. The deal was signed on the sidelines of the 2025 Global Transport Communication Forum in Istanbul, attended by Mauritania's Minister of Equipment and Transport, Ehel Ould Verrek. The MoU was signed by N'Gaidda Abdallah Abbas, director general of Mauritania's Civil Aviation Agency, and Kemal Yüksel, director general of Turkey's Civil Aviation Authority. Under the agreement, Turkey will support the development of Mauritania's civil aviation sector through training programmes, technical assistance and the exchange of expertise. The pact is part of broader efforts to deepen the strategic partnership between Mauritania and Turkey. The views expressed in Op-Ed pieces are those of the author and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of Libyan Express. How to submit an Op-Ed: Libyan Express accepts opinion articles on a wide range of topics. Submissions may be sent to oped@ Please include 'Op-Ed' in the subject line.
Online Citizen
22-06-2025
- Online Citizen
Eight killed and 13 injured as tourist hot-air balloon erupts in flames over Brazil's Praia Grande
At least eight people died and 13 others were injured on 21 June 2025 when a sightseeing hot-air balloon exploded in mid-air and crashed near the coastal town of Praia Grande in Brazil's southern state of Santa Catarina. Governor Jorginho Mello announced the casualties just hours after the accident, confirming that emergency teams had recovered eight bodies and taken 13 survivors to nearby hospitals. Videos filmed by residents show the balloon's envelope engulfed in flames above farmland. Moments later the basket detached, plunging several dozen metres while terrified passengers jumped in an attempt to escape the blaze. VIDEO: A dawn sightseeing balloon ride over Praia Grande, Santa Catarina in Brazil, turned to tragedy on 21 Jun 2025 when the craft erupted in flames and crashed. 8 dead, 13 injured. — The Online Citizen (@theon9citizen) June 22, 2025 Investigators believe a backup blowtorch stored in the basket ignited leaking propane, triggering a flash fire that quickly spread to the fabric canopy. The pilot began an emergency descent and instructed passengers to jump once the balloon neared the ground. Four victims were burned to death inside the basket. The remaining four died from injuries sustained during their desperate leap as the balloon lost weight, rose again, and reignited before slamming into a field. Thirteen survivors, including the pilot, were treated at three regional facilities. Our Lady of Fatima Hospital reported three patients in stable condition with minor burns and fractures, while two others were discharged later the same day. The remaining eight were kept under observation. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva expressed condolences and promised federal support for the investigation, stating that all agencies would 'spare no effort to clarify the causes of the tragedy'. The balloon, a Czech-built Kubíček BB85 operated by Praia-based company Sobrevoar Serviços Turísticos, had passed its annual inspection in May and was insured. The operator has suspended flights indefinitely and offered to assist victims' families. Civil police and the National Civil Aviation Agency have opened separate inquiries. Specialists are analysing flight logs, maintenance records and fuel samples. Preliminary findings are expected within 30 days, though a final report could take several months. Hot-air ballooning is the main draw for Praia Grande, often called 'the Brazilian Cappadocia'. Calm mornings allow up to 30 launches a day during the June festival season, attracting tourists eager to view the region's dramatic basalt canyons from the air. Saturday's disaster was Brazil's second fatal balloon incident in a week. On 16 June an unauthorised craft crashed into power lines in São Paulo state, killing one person and injuring 11, heightening calls for stricter oversight of lighter-than-air tourism nationwide. Authorities later identified six of the Praia Grande victims as doctors Leise Herrmann Parizotto and Andrei Gabriel de Melo, civil servant Leane Herrmann, figure-skating coach Leandro Luzzi, and married couple Janaina and Everaldo da Rocha. Two other names were withheld pending formal notification. Municipal tourism chief Paulo Machado warned that the crash could devastate local livelihoods, noting that dozens of family-run businesses rely on balloon flights. He urged investigators to publish transparent findings quickly to restore visitor confidence. Funeral arrangements are being coordinated with forensic services, and an evening candle-lit vigil drew hundreds of residents to Praia Grande's main square. Counsellors and social workers are offering support to grieving relatives. Globally, fatal balloon accidents remain rare but often deadly. Major incidents in Egypt, the United States and Mexico over the past decade have highlighted the need for redundant safety systems and rigorous crew training.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Stream It Or Skip It: ‘A Tragedy Foretold: Flight 3054' On Netflix, A Docuseries About Latin America's Deadliest Air Disaster And The Families Who Still Want Answers
A Tragedy Foretold: Flight 3054is a three-part docuseries, directed by Angelo Defanti, that examines the deadliest air disaster in Latin American history and its aftermath 18 years later. On a rainy night in July 2007, TAM Airlines flight 3054 skidded down the runway as it tried to land at Congonhas Airport in São Paulo, Brazil. It ended up crashing into a building owned by TAM Airlines, and exploded. A total of 199 people were killed: all 187 passengers and crew on the plane, and 12 people on the ground. Opening Shot: A shot of a plane flying through rain clouds. The Gist: In the docuseries, director Angelo Defanti talks to survivors of the accident, namely people who worked in the building the plane crashed into, as well as families of people who died in the crash. There are also CGI reenactments that depict how authorities believe the accident proceeded, including just how the plane briefly went airborne again before crashing into the building. But much of the docuseries focuses on how an accident at Congohas Airport was almost bound to happen. Congohas is situated in São Paulo's city center, surrounded by city blocks with businesses and residences, and has a short runway with little room for pilots to course correct. While there is a newer international airport on the city's outskirts that was supposed to lighten the load on Congohas, the outmoded city airport was busier than ever by 2007, due to its central location. This caused overcrowded terminals, loaded planes and short tempers on the part of passengers and staff. The country's air infrastructure in general was strained at the time, suffering from delays and accidents. The victims' families are angry about the accident to this day, and blame Brazilian transportation authorities and the airline for letting the situation at Conhogas continue to get worse over time. In the third episode, Denise Abreu, chairman of Brazil's National Civil Aviation Agency (the Brazilian equivalent of the NTSB) at the time, is interviewed; she faced federal charges in the aftermath of the accident. What Shows Will It Remind You Of? A Tragedy Foretold: Flight3054 reminds us of another Netflix docuseries about an air disaster: MH370: The Plane That Disappeared. Our Take: Given that we're not at all familiar with the TAM flight 3054 crash, despite its horrific circumstances, A Tragedy Foretold: Flight 3054 was certainly informative, giving us more than enough context about the accident without getting into the weeds about everything that preceded it. In so many docuseries about mass casualty events, things plod along because the producers and director want us to get all the context surrounding the time period first, then move on to the stories of some of the victims. In this series, though, the crash is at the outset of the first episode, with the filmmakers' goal to backfill information about the airport's shortcomings, the aviation crisis in Brazil at the time, and other contextual information as the investigation is examined. The tone of the storytelling from the first minute — even the title of the series — tells viewers that the idea of this accident's inevitability is going to be the major thrust of the show. Just the overview shots of Congohas, surrounded by city blocks, shows just how tenuous the situation was there — if you've ever flown in or out of Reagan National in DC, you know how tenuous that is. But it seemed like there was a perfect storm of events, no pun intended given the weather conditions the night of the crash, that made conditions ripe for an accident like this. Given the context about Brazil's aviation crisis that's filled in as the investigation unfolds — and the really awful way that the airline handled things in the aftermath — it's no wonder why the victims' families are still so angry 18 years later. Sex and Skin: None. Parting Shot: Clips of the second episode, where victims' families accuse TAM of disregarding passenger Star: The account of how Paulo Zani, who was working in the TAM Express building when the plane crashed into it, and a coworker escaped with their lives was harrowing to listen Pilot-y Line: While we're not huge fans of reenactments, we were impressed with the reenactments of the crash, likely done via detailed CGI. Our Call: STREAM IT. A Tragedy Foretold: Flight 3054 is an impressive recounting of the deadliest airline crash in Latin American history, with the context of missteps that led to the crash doled out in a way that mirrors the crash's investigation. Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn't kid himself: he's a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, Fast Company and elsewhere.
