Latest news with #SantaAna
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Climate
- Daily Mail
Shocking reason Alaska Airlines 'flight from hell' skidded down runway
A recent report has detailed the shocking reason why a 2023 Alaska Airlines flight skidded across the runway and produced sparks when it landed at a California airport. The National Transportation Safety Board revealed in its final analysis that the terrifying landing was a result of 'incorrect service/maintenance.' The lack of maintenance to an essential part of the aircraft's main landing gear had not taken place for nearly 800 flights -- leading to a crack and eventual failure upon landing. Passengers aboard Alaska Airlines Flight 1288 on a Boeing 737 filmed the terrifying moments the plane landed at John Wayne-Orange County Airport in Santa Ana on August 20, 2023. Passengers on the flight had departed from Seattle, Washington, and landed in California around 11:15 pm during Tropical Storm Hillary. Video footage of the landing revealed sparks flying in the air. The captain said the touchdown had a 'film jolt feeling' and confessed the plane was 'pulling reasonably hard to the left,' according to the NTSB report. 'At Alaska Airlines, safety is our top priority. We appreciate the NTSB's diligence in this investigation, and we are thankful to our crew members who safely operated this flight,' Alaska Airlines said in a statement to on the recent report. The report revealed that the cause of the unusual landing was the failure of an aft trunnion pin, an important part of the aircraft's main landing gear. The NTSB noted that a crack in a critical part of the plane resulted in the failure. The crack was present for over 700 landing cycles before August 20, 2023 The pin connects the part of the plane that absorbs a landing with its wing. During the Alaska Airlines flight, the trunnion pin failed, resulting in the plane skidding down the runway and sparks on the tarmac. The NTSB's investigation found that the pin's fracture was present for over 797 landing cycles before the jarring landing on August 20. The crack likely developed in 2018 from excessive grinding due to heat exposure during a maintenance overhaul, according to the report. 'However, results of this examination and previous NTSB investigations demonstrate that even relatively mild heat exposure from grinding and/or machining during overhaul can lead to cracking, which can lead to fatigue crack growth and failed landing gear components, as occurred in this accident,' the report stated. The NTSB noted that the crack wouldn't have been visible before it fractured during the flight. The report added that cracks can occur due to mild heat exposure from grinding, which can often go undetected. The crack had reached a depth of 0.144 inches, which was large enough to cause a fracture in the trunnion pin, resulting in the collapse of the aircraft's left main landing gear. Despite the rough landing, the pilot managed to land the plane and all 112 passengers safely evacuated with no deaths or reported injuries. The flight was also met with rain, wind, and turbulence from Tropical Storm Hilary, which reached category four hurricane status as it ravaged the west coast of Mexico. Hilary was downgraded to a tropical storm for parts of Southern California. It marked the first tropical storm warning in the region since Hurricane Nora in 1997, according to hurricane data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The crew on Flight 1288 still could see the runway and noted that the landing gear indicator lights were green before the pilot descended. As the plane hit the runway, passengers noticed the sparks, with one telling ABC News she was 'panicking.' 'I stood up and saw that my left side of the plane was tilted up and the right side plane was tilted down,' another passenger told the outlet at the time. The Orange County Fire Department responded to help evacuate passengers from the tarmac during the storm.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
'Creator' of Flamin' Hot Cheetos loses PepsiCo, Frito-Lay lawsuit
May 29 (Reuters) - PepsiCo (PEP.O), opens new tab won the dismissal of a lawsuit by a former executive who said the food and beverage company defrauded and defamed him by denying that he invented Flamin' Hot Cheetos. In a decision on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge John Holcomb said Richard Montanez, who retired from PepsiCo in 2019 to become a full-time motivational speaker, did not show that PepsiCo and its Frito-Lay unit intentionally reneged on a promise to tell the "true story" of how he created the popular spicy chips. The Santa Ana, California-based judge also said PepsiCo did not defame Montanez by allegedly refusing in 2023 to assist in a documentary about his life unless it debunked his claim. Holcomb said the actual malice standard for defamation, requiring knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard for the truth, was appropriate based on Montanez's describing himself as "part of the cultural canon" through two best-selling books and a hit movie directed by Eva Longoria. Lawyers for Montanez did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday. Camille Vasquez, a lawyer for Purchase, New York-based PepsiCo, declined to comment. Montanez began in 1976 as a Frito-Lay janitor in Rancho Cucamonga, California, and rose to become PepsiCo's vice president of multicultural marketing and sales. He said he sparked what became Flamin' Hot Cheetos around 1989, when took unflavored Cheetos home to experiment with seasonings and "drew inspiration" from elote, a Mexican grilled corn seasoned with chili powder. PepsiCo introduced Flamin' Hot Cheetos in 1992, and made it a multibillion-dollar brand. Montanez said he once booked 35 speaking engagements annually at $10,000 to $50,000 each but lost most bookings after a Los Angeles Times article in May 2021 in which Frito-Lay rejected the "urban legend" that he invented the snack chips. Frito-Lay later said its comments were misconstrued, and it had no reason to doubt Montanez's efforts to create new Cheetos products. The newspaper defended its reporting. Montanez's story about Flamin' Hot Cheetos was told in Longoria's 2023 film "Flamin' Hot" and in two memoirs. The case is Martinez v PepsiCo Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, No. 24-01792.
Fox News
3 days ago
- General
- Fox News
Cause of failed Alaska Airlines landing gear that sent passengers screaming revealed
Nearly two years after passengers screamed while sparks flew down a runway during the landing of an Alaska Airlines flight, the cause has been revealed. A final report by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released on Tuesday points to "incorrect" maintenance work. The flight, which departed from Seattle, Washington, made a hard touchdown in Santa Ana, Calif., during Tropical Storm Hilary after the left main landing gear collapsed on touchdown. Video recorded by a passenger captured the plane slamming into the ground at high speed. Sparks were seen flying as the plane appeared to drag its left wing along the tarmac. Investigators revealed that the incident was caused by a "fatigue crack" of a metal trunnion pin, which is part of the left landing gear. The fracture formed from excessive grinding during a 2018 maintenance overhaul, which introduced heat damage to the metal. While the crack was initially not visible, it grew over time and ultimately "caused the pin to fracture during landing," the NTSB report said. "Results of this examination and previous NTSB investigations demonstrate that even relatively mild heat exposure from grinding and/or machining during overhaul can lead to cracking, which can lead to fatigue crack growth and failed landing gear components, as occurred in this accident," the report stated. The report added that the pin had endured more than 4,000 landing cycles since undergoing the 2018 maintenance work. The crack itself had likely been present for approximately 800 landing cycles, the NTSB found. Although the aircraft sustained substantial damage from the hard landing, all 112 passengers and crew members were able to deplane safely and without injury. Alaska Airlines previously said, "our focus is taking care of our guests who were on board, including retrieving their checked bags." "We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate their patience during this situation." Alaska Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
CBS News
4 days ago
- General
- CBS News
After failed trip to see Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Maryland congressman says El Salvador mission was "beyond disappointing"
Maryland Congressman Glenn Ivey expressed disappointment after returning from El Salvador without being able to see Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man who was mistakenly deported from the U.S. in March. Abrego Garcia remains in custody in a Salvadoran facility despite ICE admitting his deportation was due to an administrative error and despite federal and Supreme Court orders for the Trump administration to facilitate his return. Rep. Ivey denied access Rep. Ivey traveled to El Salvador on Friday, May 23. Before making the trip, Ivey said he made a formal request with the Salvadoran ambassador to see Abrego Garcia and confirmed with the Salvadoran government through the U.S. ambassador. Despite his planning, Ivey said when he arrived at a prison in Santa Ana to see Abrego Garcia, he was denied access and told to go back to San Salvador to get a permit. "They knew why we were coming, and they know we have the right to do this," Ivey said in a social media video. "So, they need to just cut the crap. Let us get in there and have a chance to see him and talk with him." After returning to the U.S. on Tuesday, May 27, Ivey told WJZ that he was not given a reason for being denied a meeting. "There's no real good reason for it," Ivey said. "They routinely let in Republican members of Congress, media outlets that they think are sympathetic." Checking on Salvadoran prison conditions Ivey said one of the goals of his trip was to check on the conditions at the lower-security facility that Abrego Garcia was moved to after he was initially held at CECOT, a notorious supermax prison. Ivey also said he wanted to see how American taxpayer dollars were being used to house deportees in El Salvador. "As a member of Congress, you know, we have collectively the power of the purse," Ivey said. "We have oversight obligations and responsibilities. We're supposed to go look at things like how American tax dollars are being spent." Abrego Garcia's attorney and a member of a Maryland-based workers' union joined Ivey for the trip. "It was, I thought, you know, beyond disappointing that they wouldn't allow an international delegation from Congress to go in and visit," Ivey told WJZ. Rep. Ivey: U.S. is paying El Salvador to jail deportees Abrego Garcia was among nearly 230 men who were put on a flight and deported from the U.S. to a Salvadoran prison in March. The Trump administration claimed they were all terrorists and gang members, and used a World War II-era law to send them to El Salvador. Abrego Garcia's lawyers and family have repeatedly denied claims that he is affiliated with a gang, citing his clean criminal record. According to Rep. Ivey and Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who met with Abrego Garcia in March, the Salvadoran government is being paid by the U.S. to keep the deportees as prisoners. "I'm not even completely sure there's an actual written agreement between the United States and El Salvador," Rep. Ivey said. "But my understanding is the United States, the Trump administration is paying millions of dollars to the Bukele administration, the president of El Salvador, in exchange for them jailing deportees from the United States." Sen. Van Hollen shared a similar sentiment after meeting with Salvadoran Vice President Félix Ulloa. "...the Government of El Salvador is holding [Abrego Garica] solely at the request of your Administration and, specifically, because you are paying them to imprison him," Van Hollen said in a letter to President Trump. Kilmar Abrego Garcia's case plays out in court Abrego Garcia entered the U.S. illegally and lived in Maryland for 14 years before he was taken into custody by ICE agents. In 2019, he was granted a withholding of removal order that should have prevented him from being deported to his native country of El Salvador. After his March deportation, Abrego Garcia filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, sparking a legal battle that continues to play out in court. A federal judge and the Supreme Court have both ordered the Trump administration to facilitate Abrego Garcia's return. However, in mid-May, attorneys for Abrego Garcia accused the administration of stonewalling the court orders after the government invoked the states secrets privilege, allowing them to withhold information from the court. "Judges at every level of the federal court system have said 'bring him back,'" Ivey told WJZ. "It's just a question of how long the Trump administration is going to continue to try and ignore those obvious orders and drag their feet and avoid the ultimate day in court that Kilmar deserves and should get under the Constitution."
Fast Company
5 days ago
- General
- Fast Company
ICE asked judges to close certain immigration cases—and then immediately arrested the people
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested 11 people after their court hearings at the San Diego Immigration Court last Thursday as part of a new nationwide operation to try to fast track deportations. Beginning on Tuesday, May 20, in courts including those in Santa Ana and Las Vegas, attorneys representing the U.S. government—who are also employed by ICE—requested that immigration judges close cases of some people who had been in the U.S. for less than two years and who had shown up without attorneys. Normally a closed immigration court case would mean that the government is no longer trying to deport someone. But instead, ICE officers waited outside courtrooms to arrest those people and put them into expedited proceedings that do not require a judge. 'Going to immigration court is your chance to be heard,' said Michelle Celleri, an attorney and legal rights director of Alliance San Diego. 'It is your right. It is part of due process.' Celleri said that arresting people who show up for their hearings would discourage others from coming to immigration courts. ICE and the Executive Office for Immigration Review, which runs the immigration court, did not respond to requests for comment from Beyond the Border. ICE has told other news outlets that it is detaining people who are subject to a fast-track deportation authority. That fast-track deportation process is called expedited removal. In expedited removal, an immigration officer, rather than a judge, gives the deportation order. In an executive order issued in January, President Donald Trump called for officers to use the process on anyone who has been in the U.S. for less than two years. 'With expedited removal, they can deport them tonight,' said Ginger Jacobs, a private immigration attorney in San Diego. 'They're short-cutting the due process these folks came here to receive in immigration court.' But not everyone detained in San Diego last Thursday had closed cases. ICE arrested several people who had received future hearings dates from the immigration judges they appeared before, according to their attorneys and friends. Ruth, a volunteer with the grassroots group Detention Resistance who asked not to be fully identified because of concerns about potential retaliation, said she had accompanied her friend, a man from Colombia who has been in the U.S. for just under a year, to court Thursday morning. She said that when her friend left the courtroom to go to the bathroom, officers tried to detain him even though his hearing hadn't happened yet. During his hearing, Ruth's friend told the judge that he was afraid of being arrested when he went back outside the courtroom. The judge told her friend that he wasn't affiliated with ICE and couldn't control what they did, Ruth said. Her friend turned in his asylum application, and the judge gave him another hearing date. When her friend left his hearing, ICE officers took him into custody. 'He came in good faith keeping with his asylum process,' Ruth said. 'Now we don't even know what's going to happen to him.' Ruth said her friend has been active in the San Diego community and getting involved as a volunteer to help others in need. Tracy Crowley, an immigration attorney with Immigrant Defenders Law Center, took on Ruth's friend's case as he was being detained. She said she was still trying to figure out the legal reason for taking him into custody. 'It's wild,' Crowley said. 'The warrants are very bareboned and don't include the legal basis for detaining them.' Crowley was among a group of lawyers who jumped in to try to represent people in their court proceedings throughout the day in an effort to avoid additional arrests. Jacobs, the private immigration attorney, said her office took on four cases on May 22, including that of a young woman from Turkey who seemed terrified by the officers' presence. In the afternoon, Jacobs helped a mother and her teenage son, quickly getting to know them in the courtroom in the moments before the hearing began. Outside in the hallway, more than 10 officers waited. ICE also called in two private security guards and two Federal Protective Services officers because of the presence of journalists, attorneys, and community members documenting their actions in the hallway. After the family left the courtroom, ICE appeared to follow them to try to detain them. Jacobs followed after the officers, and she said that ICE decided to let the family go. Jacobs said ICE let the family go because the son had accompanied his mother. ICE officers in San Diego mistakenly attempted to arrest two additional people that same day. The officers later acknowledged the error. In one case, an attorney from the American Bar Association Immigration Justice Project accompanied his client out of the courtroom. When ICE moved to arrest the client, the attorney objected, asking to see a warrant. Officers shoved themselves between the attorney and his client. Two officers took hold of the man and he ended up on the ground. Beyond the Border witnessed him begin to gasp for air and hyperventilate. The attorney asked to be allowed to help his client, but ICE officers kept him away. 'May I please see a warrant because the warrant you provided is not that person,' the attorney said after ICE showed him their documentation. 'You are making an unlawful arrest.' ICE continued to keep him away from his client, saying that the man was having a medical emergency. 'He's having a medical emergency thanks to you,' the attorney replied. Another attorney in the hallway called for an ambulance, and eventually ICE backed away from the man. The attorney helped his client down the hallway to the elevator, holding the man's arm over his shoulders to support his weight so that he could move away from the officers. 'I will help my client at this point,' the attorney said as they left. 'You guys have done enough.' Several people who had accompanied family members to their hearings were left in the hallway in tears as they watched loved ones being taken away. Celleri worried about family members who weren't there and would have no way of knowing what had happened. 'For those who are unrepresented, to their family they have just disappeared, and they are not going to know where they are for 48 hours—and that's if they know how to find them,' Celleri said. Officers told attorneys in the hallway that those arrested on Thursday would be taken to Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego. Lindsay Toczylowski, an attorney and CEO of Immigrant Defenders Law Center who was among the first to publicly call attention to the ICE operation, called the arrests a bait and switch. 'By detaining people in courtrooms, we are discouraging people from doing what we have always asked them to do,' Toczylowski said. 'We have always stressed how important it is for people to show up to court, to avail themselves of the system to follow the rules that are set out.' She said courts in Santa Ana, Chicago, Phoenix, and Miami also saw arrests this week. Celleri said people with upcoming hearings should know that if they don't come to court, they will likely be ordered deported in their absence.
