Saturday, June 27, 2009

MJ "The King of Pop" '58-'09


I'm joining the bandwagon by blogging about MJ. I'm not a fan of him but I always find myself singing and dancing to his tunes. I like some few songs of him such as ABC Song, Heal the World, The Earth Song and who could ever resist Thriller?. MJ passed away Thursday due to cardiac arrest. The doctors tried to resucitate him for more than an hour. He was supposed to start his world tour next month. So, It is really a shock for his fans waiting for him to return on stage. He lived his life filled with controversies but nevertheless remained an icon for everyone. He is truly The King Of Pop.. R.I.P. MJ















Monday, June 15, 2009

Baby Names

If I'd have a chance to have a family of my own, I would name my 3 babies Dubai, Zurich, and Sydney. Dubai being the eldest, Zurich has to be a boy, and Sydney has to be a girl.. la lang.. Just a thought. Why can't I name them after my favorite cities on the earth?. It kinda sound nice so I don't think there will be a problem. =)

Jon Dubai
Jay Zurich
Joan Sydney

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

On a brighter side

I just found another school where I can train to fly... I'm just excited so I have to blog it!! hehehehe.. The Oxford Aviation Academy is located in Oxford England.. Duh! In 5 years I will be there.. or In other case, If Emirates can train me then I won't leave the airline.

Air France tail fin found...


The rudder of the missing flight found: This is a major breakthrough for the recovery team since the black boxes of the aircraft can be found on the tail section of the aircraft. It narrows down the search area where they should be looking for the black boxes. The rudder may also give a vital clue why the plane crashed. See, the rudder fins have a "swing" limit although it prevents the aircraft from spinning. It might have detached itself after suffering from the forces of the turbulence caused by the stormy weather in that area. The pitot tubes from the fuselage may also be a factor. The pressure of the air entering the pitot tubes measures the airspeed and the angle of the plane. If in case it froze up during the flight, it will certainly give the wrong airspeed. This one that crashed was supposed to have its pitot tubes replaced "in the coming weeks" before it went down. AF should have grounded their A330 fleets for replacements. So far, 24 bodies had been found. 202 to go. I just hope they find the black boxes before the end of this month because it only emits frequency/signal for 30 days.

Black BoxES.. yes there are two black box in a plane. The Cockpit Voice Recorder and the Flight Data Recorder

Monday, June 8, 2009

Airbus A330 has history of airspeed problems

PARIS (Reuters) – Airbus has faced problems with the speed sensorson its A330 aircraft dating back to at least 2001, forcing changes in equipment as well as the pilot's flight manual, according to regulatory documents.

An automated error message from the flightdeck pointing to discrepancies in airspeed data is among a handful of clues available so far to experts investigating last week's crash of an Air France A330 in an Atlantic storm that killed 228 people.

France's chief crash investigator said on Saturday airspeed problems had arisen on the same type of plane before but stressed it was too soon to say if these were to blame for the crash and added the plane was still safe to fly.

Airbus confirmed on Saturday it had recommended before the crash that airlines change speed sensors called pitot probes. But it said it was an optional move based only on performance rather than concerns about safety, which would be mandatory.

Operators have however been warned in the past of unsafe conditions resulting from potential ice damage to the sensitive probes fixed to the fuselage, according to online filings.

In 2001, France reported several cases of sudden fluctuation of A330 or A340 airspeed data during severeicing conditions, according to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.

"Lost or erroneous airspeed indications could result in lack of sufficient information for the flight crew to safely operate the airplane, and consequent inadvertent excursions outside the normal flight envelope," the FAAwrote in a 2001 summary.

Airbus was ordered as a result to update the cockpit manual. On Thursday, following the crash, Airbus issued a reminder to pilots on procedures in the event of speed discrepancies.

The plane which crashed was an A330-200, the newer of two variants of the A330 wide-body twinjet. It was built in 2005.

In 2002, operators of the A330-300 sister model had been ordered to upgrade speed sensors, again because of problems in extreme weather, according to a directive issued in Australia.

The pitot probes, angular tubes sticking out from the side of the aircraft, measure speed based on pressure but their measurements can be halted or skewed if they become blocked.

Two companies manufacture sensors suitable for the A330, France's Thales and U.S.-based Goodrich.

A spokeswoman for Thales, which supplied the sensors on the crashed aircraft, said on Friday it was premature to speculation whether they were linked to the crash pending the investigation.

France's weather office said on Saturday the equatorial storm in the plane's path was severe but "not exceptional."

(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Matthew Jones)


A summary of the final messages from Flight 447


French and Brazilian officials have described a "burst" of messages from Flight 447 just before it disappeared.

A more complete chronology was published Wednesday by Brazil's O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper, citing an unidentified Air France source, and confirmed to The Associated Press by an aviation industry source with knowledge of the investigation:

• 11 p.m. local time — The pilot sends a manual signal saying the jet was flying through CBs — towering cumulo-nimulus thunderheads.

• 11:10 p.m. — A cascade of automatic messages indicate trouble: The autopilot had disengaged, stabilizing controls were damaged, flight systems deteriorated.

• 11:13 p.m. — Messages report more problems: The system that monitors speed, altitude and direction failed. The main flight computer and wing spoilers failed.

• 11:14 p.m. — The final message indicates a loss of cabin pressure and complete system failure — catastrophic events in a plane that was likely already plunging toward the ocean.


Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Just when I thought....

Just when I thought I have given up admiring Westlife, I saw a copy of their concert and bought it. I just wanted to see how they have been after 10 years. So I went home and watched their concert in Ireland held just last year. I really wasn't expecting that I would give another "wow" for them. Surprisingly, I did. Hehehe. I have never imagined that I would feel what I felt when I started liking them back in high school. There are too many changes but their songs never fails to touch my heart *mushy mode*. They have this certain melody in their songs that I love so much. Haaays... I may be getting older but my respect for them and for their music will never change. It may sound too nerdy but I really don't care. Westlife is Westlife, They are truly unbreakable. Shane and Nicky both has kids, Kian have a fiance and no doubt they will be married soon, My favorite Mark, announced that he have a boyfriend. I still like him though. They are sooo cute together. Okay, so much for that. Back to reality!

PS : Im still their number 1 fan!!

AF447 wreckage found


Wreckage spotted in the Atlantic Ocean is "without a doubt" from the Air France jet that disappeared en route to Paris from Rio de Janeiro with 228 people on board, Brazil's defense minister said on Tuesday. A Brazilian Hercules plane on a search mission for the missing passenger jet saw a band of wreckage along a 5-km (3-mile) strip, Nelson Jobim told a news conference. "It confirms that the plane fell in this area," he said. (Reporting by Maria Pia Palermo; writing by Brian Ellsworth; editing by Stuart Grudgings and John O'Callaghan).
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Although the wreckage has been found, the black box may never be recovered. The tragic event will never be unfolded and questions will never be answered. I have speculations about what happened on this flight. It might have experienced the same fate as TWA800 and CA611.  Both disintegrated in the air without warning due to metal fatigues. Of course this could be just a possibility considering that the flight flew into major thunderstorm where it could have suffered from a heavy turbulence. The fact that the aircraft sent an emergency signal stating that there is a loss of cabin pressure. Explosive decompression is somewhat the same thing happens when you pop a balloon. I can just imagine that the passengers died before they hit the water due to suffocation caused by the loss of oxygen. Going back to the issue, This is the first accident involving an Airbus A330 in 11 years. This could not have been a major design flaw. Air France also have their maintenance for every aircrafts every now and then so I doubt what brought this plane down is a technical glitch. I'm sure NTSB will let us know what happened to this ill-fated flight if they can trace every second of this event without the blackbox.

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This catastrophe will never stop me from flying. It made me stronger by facing what consequences might happen. God Forbid. I am ready no matter what. And the chances of dying in a plane crash is very slim. It's like a 1to a million ratio. Being involved in a car accident is much more imminent than being involved in a plane accident.

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"once you have tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you long to return...." 
-Leonardo DaVinci

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

AF447 Passenger Manifesto

It is finally confirmed by AF the nationalities of pax onboard as follows:

Brazilian: 80
French: 76
German: 18
Italian: 9
US: 6
Chinese: 5
Hungarian: 4
Spanish: 2
UK: 2
Marrocco: 2
Ireland: 2
Angola: 1
Argentina: 1 
Austria: 1
Berlgium: 1 
Iceland: 1 
Phillippines: 1
Norway: 1 
Poland: 1
Romenia: 1 
Russia: 1
Slovakia: 1 
Sweden: 1
Turkey: 1 

7 of these are children and 1 baby

Monday, June 1, 2009

Air France - A332

An Air France Airbus A330-200 is reported missing several hours ago. The Flight AF447 took off from the Galaeo International Airport (GIG) in Brazil en route to Charles De Gaulle (CDG) in Paris. There are 228 souls on board including 12 crews. An official from Air France reported that they lost contact with the flight after it dropped out of the radar. There are reports that is saying that the aircraft entered an area where it coould have experienced a turbulence. So far there are no reports that there is a possibility of a hijack. The Brazilian Air Force are currently having their search and rescue operation for the flight.  Whatever the reason may be, Let's just pray that those on board make it to ground safely..  Even though the flight should have landed 3 hours ago before this was posted..