Sunday, July 07, 2013

Happy Fourth of July


Sincere sympathies.

My sincerest sympathies to all the families and friends of the wonderful young people that died this weekend. A school trip turned into a nightmare in the USA. I am very sorry.

The dead passengers (click here) were identified on Sunday as two 16-year-old Chinese students on their way to a summer camp. The students, both women, were believed to have been seated toward the back of the passenger jet, said Yoon Young-doo, the president of Asiana Airlines. Their bodies were found on the runway.

The plane didn't have enough lift.

The ADR (accident data recorder) and the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) don't match. The information the crew was using in their conversations was not reflective of the physical speed of the plane. These planes can't be flown without their computers.

The speed of the plane as determined by the air crew was different from that of the physical speed of the plane. Not just a little bit, a lot. The throttles were at idle and the air speed was slow. the flaps were correct, but, there wasn't enough air moving under the wings to create LIFT. It wasn't until the 'attitude' of the plane was realized VISUALLY on the final decent did the crew decide they weren't approaching the airport in a reasonable dynamic to land the plane safely. By, then it was too late. 1.5 seconds before impact for a change of flight path in another ("go round") is not enough time for the tower to formulate a strategy and communicate back to the plane for any tower recorder to make a history of it.

One of the comments (and I didn't get the name of the man that spoke before the lady from the NTSB) that man stated was the approach to the airport was on visual with glide path assistance within accepted practice and even exceeded that standard. He didn't elaborate on exactly what that means. What exceeded REGULATIONS. 

Having the throttle at ideal sounds wrong, but, it isn't necessarily. If the air speed and lift were sufficient to land the plane the next step that happens is brakes and reverse throttles. So, having the throttle ideal is not necessarily unrealistic. 

I remind this is a Space Shuttle adaption to these aircraft. The Shuttle did nothing but glide.

There was a disconnect between the information the crew was operating on and the actual physical attitude of the plane. IF that is accurate and that is what I heard; the AVR and FDR didn't match in the crew's conversations; then the problem is what was the flight deck receiving in data on approach to the airport? 

There should be absolutely no interference by anyone of the NTSB in this investigation. The NTSB has to operate autonomously, thoroughly and can ask for information as they need it to complete their investigation. The airline industry should not be involved at all unless information is required. 

I remind, we currently have a documentary questioning the decisions made by the USA regarding a plane crash in 1996. We don't need to revisit this flight, too.
 

This is no excuse in your face racism. This is North Carolina at it's best.

This is what is driving voter ID laws and the Robert's Court. Simple as that. President Obama has to come forward with a formula for Congress now that the hostile Supreme Court has dissolved justice.

Racists are ignorant about their own words and actions and this is yet another example. I suppose having Black History Month is reverse racism to the ignorant and backward Mr. Spell. No excuse. That level of ignorant idiocy hurts and ultimately provides a platform for hatred and violence.

Just imagine standing there waving a small flag on the 4th of July and have this roll past you while your children looked on. The Supreme Court's decision to remove protections for voters allows this level of hatred to reconstitute itself.

July 4, 2013

...Officials in a small North Carolina town (click here) received an earful of complaints from some spectators over an Independence Day parade float festooned with racially-charged language.
Local farmer Donnie Spell drove a green John Deere tractor with the Confederate flag hitched to the back. The makeshift float was pulling a wooden wagon with a red, white and blue sign on the side reading “white history month” and, just below, “HUG WTE PPL” in all capital letters.
Spell, who is a frequent entrant in the July 4th parade as well as the local Christmas parade, was decked out in a white baseball cap and a shirt in the design of the American flag....

Fly by wire. Everyone can live in denial of the issues, but, that won't stop the trauma.


...The sudden, unheralded nature (click here) of Aviana Airlines flight 214's crash in San Francisco on Saturday afternoon seems to have taken even the jet's trained crew by surprise in the crucial, chaotic moments after it came to rest just beyond the seawall at the end of the runway.

After the Boeing 777-200 that originated in Seoul, South Korea, hit the seawall barrier at the end of the runway, snapping the tail right off the aircraft, San Francisco resident and crash survivor Benjamin Levy said the crew was simply "overwhelmed."

He said there was no verbal warning from the pilot or crew before the impact.

"I mean, the crew was not expecting it at all," Levy said. "So, I mean the ones who were able were helping, the ones who were injured were not. You know, we had to help each other out."

So far, 305 of the 307 passengers and crew survived the crash. At least 181 people have been transported to area hospitals, 49 with serious injuries....


The larger the aircraft the more they rely on computers to fly them. What occurred at San Francisco is a problem with the ever increasing size of the jets and their reliance on computers to fly. These large jets rely on digital and not analog technology. The pilots are very used to handing the control to computers. This was NOT human error. This WAS computer error and the heavy reliance of them.

...Officials told the Reuters (click here) news agency that a landing assistance system known as "Glide Path" had been turned off at San Francisco International for much of the summer, and while it was not unusual for the system to be turned off during good weather conditions, it would likely be another factor for investigators to consider.

"What that means is that then the automatic warnings that would occur in the cockpit when you deviate below the desired electronic path wouldn't have been available either. So we don't know yet if that's a factor in this particular situation, but that's certainly something they'll be looking at," Sullenberger told KCBS....

Not only is it Glide Path, what updates did the computer get before it landed because it looks to me as though the plane didn't compensate well for the longer San Francisco runway and/or the sea wall. These are all computer problems.

The Fly By Wire system first came into effect with the Space Shuttle. It was used to assist a heavy vehicle with a small wing surface from space to a runway. It was later adapted to aircraft and the Airbus A320 was the first to use the technology. These super-jumbos rely very heavily on computer systems to stabilize them in flight as well as takeoff and landing. 

There was a book written after "The Miracle on the Hudson" entitled "Fly by Wire" (click here) that discusses the lack of power the FAA and it's investigative agencies have and how dangers continue in the face of knowledge by pilots to adverse outcomes. No one paid attention and no one is still paying attention. The media is only interested in getting control of the message and diverting everyone's attention to insure the industry doesn't suffer set backs in income. 

Here again there is no questioning the decisions of Wall Street, but, supporting their stockholder share prices. The consumer loses every time and in this instance there were deaths. Then people wonder why employees of these airlines lose their cool. These issues happen because every member of the crew knows to some degree of error they are flying on a wing and a prayer.

The difference between Right Wing Republicans and the rest of the country is problem solving.

The GOP, which is primarily Right Wing Republicans now, don't solve problems the same way as the majority of the people of the USA. Take for instance Hamas. Hamas wants their own nation. They are separatists. The GOP has no solutions for Hamas because their answer is to end the struggle. So rather than moving a nation, such as the Palestinian state forward, the GOP rather engage in profitable war and kill people. Similar to the war in Iraq.

Now while no one can claim genocide in Iraq. Or can they? I guess it depends on what body count one respects. There was a concentrated effort by Commander and Chief Bush to annihilate the Shi'ite leadership in southern Iraq. In other words, Bush formulated the same solution to the problem as Saddam Hussein.

While McCain and the rest want to blame lack of inclusion to their parties woes, that ain't all of it.

Mr. ElBaradei is the best choice for Egypt's Prime Minister right now.

Any, oh by the way, Egypt is not without a president currently. Mr. ElBaradei is well known to the international community and can bring confidence to the struggling economy.

July 6, 2013
CAIRO — Egypt's new president (click here) has backed away from an announcement that pro-reform leader Mohamed Elbaradei would be the interim prime minister.
A spokesman for interim President Adly Mansour, Ahmed el-Musilamani, told reporters on Saturday that consultations were continuing, denying that the appointment of the Nobel Peace laureate was ever certain.
However, reporters gathered at the presidential palace were ushered into a room where they were told by an official to wait for the president who would arrive shortly to announce ElBaradei's appointment.
A senior opposition official, Munir Fakhry Abdelnur, tells the Associated Press that the reversal occurred because the ultraconservative Salafi el-Nour party objected to ElBardei's appointment and mediation was underway....

Morsi has problems with legitimacy as a President of Egypt. No one wants to recognize the fact he was imprisoned until the demonstrations that brought down the Mubarak presidency. The problems of his presidency begins with the tailcoats of his affiliations. Even if Morsi wanted to shake 'the old' and 'be the new' it wasn't working. A branch of al Qaeda has established a foothold in the Sinai and he did nothing about it. Looking the other way to extremism which was setting up camp to cause Israel problems is not very presidential.

Part of the problem with Mubarak was his oppression of the Muslim Brotherhood. He never allowed them a place in the Egyptian government, hence, their radical directives. Morsi served in the Egyptian parliament as an independent candidate which was the only way he could be elected.

It will be interesting to hear the charges against Morsi. I would not be surprised if they build on his past charges and involve affiliations of radical characters. He could never fully rid himself of those affiliations. They followed him and even today they are vowing to die for his release. 

There were incredible tensions building under Morsi. Hamas was becoming recognized in Gaza by the Morsi that would eventually lead to an independent state for Hamas. Morsi was also willing to recognize Helbollah as important for political purposes. There were problems with his presidency and I don't doubt his removal will benefit Egypt. 

When a president is willing to take radicalized extremists under his wing for the purpose of promoting their agenda it brings problems to that country. In the case of Egypt, most of those Morsi were willing to recognize are considered terrorist networks by The West. That carries huge problems for the people of Egypt.

The 'thing' about Hamas is Gaza itself. Hamas does not want to be recognized as a part of the Palestinian State and they want their own nation. Israel and Fatah have tried to bring the violence from Hamas under control and provide a political platform for them as members of a Palestinian state, but, they refuse. When leadership, such as former President Morsi, changes that direction overnight problems will result. Regardless of his good intentions, Morsi was surrounded by extremists that wanted power and not peace. It was a growing problem for him and the people of Egypt.

Morsi was ineffectual because he never sought concensus. He ruled as a dictator rather than seeking talks with Israel to bring Hamas into a state of peaceful transition. Morsi's policies were unrealistic and threatening. He was educated, but, completely unable to transition from Egyptian Political Prisoner to President. His presidency was unsuccessful by his own hand. Whether or not he believed threatened with his life by his affiliations is another question. But, if that was the case, he still didn't confront the problem through his use of Egypt's military so much as pander to those most violent.

It is unfortunate because in some circles it was hoped he would be a transformational figure to stop the radicalization and bring those estranged by Mubarak's government into a normalized political theater. It was too much to hope for because the level of hate with the radicalized groups overwhelms their reasoning. With that level of hate on his coattails, Morsi was going to fail. It is better he fail in this manner than a war of some magnitude that would destroy Egypt.