Friday Fun – Airport Security

It’s been a while since our last Friday Fun post, so here we go again.

Is this how airport security really works? It would explain a few situations, I guess…

by balint01

Boeing 747 Cargo Crashes During Take Off At Brussels

A Boeing 747 cargo plane crashed in Brussels after take off. The pilot said he had heard a loud noise before the plane crashed and was torn into two at the end of the runway.

The plane was heading to Bahrain today (25 May 2008). The flight crew survived the crash with light injuries and they were taken to hospital. Fortunately the plane did not catch fire when it hit the ground. The rescue team howeever covered the wings with fire proof foam, because it was still full of kerozene.

The plane was operated by the US based Kalitta Air.

The reason of the crash is still unknown.

Please note: our blog will soon move to a new place. If you would like to receive updates, please send us a short email and we will add you to our notification list.

(photo: AP)

By Szafi

Flight Attendant Sets Fire Onboard

An angry flight attendant took a very strange revenge on the management of the airline he worked for. The 19 year-old flight attendant disliked the route he was assigned to. He had to work on the flight of a Compass Airlines (a subsidiary of Northwest Airlines) from Minneapolis to Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Regina must not be the worst place on eart, where airlines fly, it is is in South Canada, somewhere between Winnipeg and Calgary. At this time of the year even the weather should be okay.

Still the angry flight attendant decided to “stand up for his rights” in a very dangerous way. He lit a roll of toilet paper in the lavatory of the plane. The smoke set the smoke alarm in the cockpit off and in the emergency situation he himself rushed to put the fire out with the help of a passenger.

The Embraer 175 made an emergency landing in Fargo, ND and soon after the investigation started it turned out that the fire was caused by the young flight attendant. None of the 72 passengers and four crew members abourd was injured.

I hope other airlines filter out psychopaths in a smarter way.

By Szafi

Swiss Man Flies Jet Wings Over The Alps

A Swiss pilot, Yves Rossy made a big decision and took a big step out of a Pilatus Porter aircraft 7500 feet (2300 m) above the ground over the Swiss Alps. Before he stepped out of the plane, he unfolded a special wing attached to his back equipped with four jet tubines. The engines speed up the flier to 186 miles per hour (300 km/h).

He even maneuvered a little bit. He made a perfect 360 degree roll “just to impress the girls” as he said. Although he said the flight was not any more stressy than riding a motorbike, he had a yellow handle to pull in case a parachute would have been needed. It wasn’t.

Well, i think we will still have to wait a little until it will become a natural way to get to work during high traffic hours.

Source: AP

By Szafi

Englishmen In Moscow – Champions League Final

Foreign airlines have sent over 120 requests to carry out charter flights with British football fans to Moscow airports, as coordinator of the UEFA Champions League Final project Alexei Sorokin reports. According to his words, the first British football fans are expected to arrive on May 19 with regular and charter flights, but the majority of fans (around 30000) will come to Moscow early morning May 21.

The football fans will be delivered separately: Chelsea fans will fly to Sheremetyevo and Vnukovo airports and Manchester United fans to Domodedovo. Several thousand fans will stay in Moscow hotels which they have managed to book, Mr. Sorokin said.

From the airports the fans will be transferred to the city by around 600 buses decorated with logotypes of their favourite football teams.

Don’t give up!

If you are a Chelsea fan departing from London, apparently there are quite a lot of flights that are still bookable. Try BA, BMI, Aeroflot, Transaero Airlines for direct flights or check for non-direct flights with a travel agent or online travel consolidator like Expedia, Travelocity, Opodo etc.

If you are a Manchester United fan departing from Manchaster, Czech Airlines and Finnair have non direct flights, or check multiple carriers on travel portals.

Original article: russia-ic.com

By Szafi

Red Bull Air Race 2008 – San Diego

Airline World Blog started a column that follows the events of this year’s Red Bull Air Race. Here you can read the first article that explains the race and presents the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Britain’s Paul Bonhomme defeated American Mike Mangold in San Diego on Sunday in a dramatic final showdown pitting the two dominant pilots of the last two Red Bull Air Race World Series seasons. It was another dazzling precision performance by the British ace, unbeaten in the first two races of 2008. Kirby Chambliss of the United States grabbed third place by beating Hannes Arch of Austria in the 3rd Place Fly-Off.

Bonhomme, who lost to Mangold by a heart-breaking fraction of a second in the 2007 World Series, gained a measure of revenge on his American rival with the hard-earned victory in front of a crowd of 63,000 spectators watching from the shores of San Diego Bay. Although Bonhomme made it look easy with his elegant style of flying through the challenging obstacle course just above the water, he was breathing hard and drenched in sweat after returning to the runway set up on the U.S. Naval Air Station on North Island. He won the final with a time of 1:18.01 to 1:19.24 for Mangold.

“I do like San Diego,” said Bonhomme, who also won the race in “America’s Finest City” last year. “I’m very pleased to take the win. All I can say is that it’s hard work. I’m chuffed to bits that we won. The guys on the team have done a brilliant job. But it’s not a walk in the park. And if anybody says they expect it to be easy, I would say it’s hard work and getting harder all the time. These other guys are not standing still.”

More than 120,000 fans attended the two-day race weekend lining the shores of San Diego Bay.

Source: redbullairrace.com

By Szafi