Stockton Rush was a born risk taker, arrogant, headstrong, supremely confident of his own abilities - and abusive towards anyone who suggested he didn't know what he was doing, or who suggested third party engineering oversight on his submersible. He sneered at "safety considerations" and he regarded them merely as impediments in his rush to get the bottom of the deep ocean. He was well named and he certainly got his wish to get to the bottom of the ocean in a hurry. The sad part is he cared little about who or how many he took with him. The pressure cycling on this submersible is obviously something Rush never even remotely considered. Keep up multiple massive pressurising and de-pressurising events, and sooner rather than later, you find the hull weak points.

(Written on 06/29/2023)(Permalink)

This "Russian" airliner problem, of what is essentially theft of billions of dollars of aircraft, and with Russia continuing to operate them with no factory support or factory parts, will reverberate right around the world, and the collateral damage will end up as many other countries problem. Those countries who allow flights of Russian airliners into their airports are exposing themselves to major air disasters if a poorly-maintained Russian airliner falls out of the sky onto one of their cities. There will be an upsurge in the trade of aircraft components and parts that no longer have any traceability. Safety margins will plummet and many Russian aircraft will be running with faults that would normally ground an aircraft elsewhere in the world. And at the end of the day, these Russian aircraft will be worthless on the world market - except to those dodgy operators who will be keen to acquire a cheap Russian aircraft, that has a non-existent maintenance and repair history. The r

(Written on 11/10/2022)(Permalink)

So just one guy knows more about the MH17 crash details than the hundreds of International expert crash investigators, who have examined every detail of the crashed aircraft? Kevin (and I doubt that's your real name), you are an execrable piece of human being, intent on supporting a ruthless, murderous, thieving regime, which is intent on carrying out genocide on the Ukrainian nation, without regard to any human life that gets in the way of that regimes aims. I wish you a miserable life filled with tragedy and loss, as Karma for the evil you propagate.

(Written on 06/16/2022)(Permalink)

The order backlog for the A320 series of aircraft currently stands at 6,156 planes. The name "Boeing" currently has a rotten smell around it, which is driving clients away from the sales showroom.

(Written on 12/23/2021)(Permalink)

The QANTAS name came from Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services. Hopefully Boeing will go down in corporate training and history as how you can destroy the great accumulated value in a huge corporation, with a total lack of morals and ethics and leadership at the top, and a primary focus on fat company profits, whilst paying only lip service to safety. There would have to be a dozen future books in the pipeline, as to what went wrong with the worlds greatest aircraft manufacturer - and a too cosy relationship with air safety regulators has to be a major reason behind the constant string of Boeing failures. Those new 737MAX's sitting around waiting for buyers are going to be a burden on Boeing for years to come.

(Written on 12/23/2021)(Permalink)

Kudos to the flying skills of the pilot and co-pilot, who could ditch a B737 into the sea off Hawaii with malfunctioning engines, and survive the ditching - in pitch black conditions, at 0230 HRS!

(Written on 10/07/2021)(Permalink)

Flying from NM to Chicago, "using rivers and highways as navigational aids", seems to indicate Collier is lacking in formal navigational skills - not to mention serious deficiencies in many of his other piloting and judgement skills. A guy who doesn't even ensure he has a constant means of communication and backup, on a cross-continental trip, is not someone you'd ever want to fly with. I'm amazed this guy has lived as long as he has.

(Written on 07/29/2021)(Permalink)

Vigilantism is illegal and a crime, because it is viewed as arming yourself with a lethal weapon or weapons, and carrying out an act of revenge, with a severe outcome for the wrongdoer, way out of proportion to the crime committed. But a citizens arrest is legal in every country, and passengers stopping an out-of-control airline passenger from going beserk, and restraining them, is not vigilantism. Maybe the article writer needs to refer to a good dictionary before they get carried away with hype?

(Written on 06/17/2021)(Permalink)

Boeings corporate behaviour over the last decade or more clearly displays the American corporation mantra of profit before anything else, and a total lack of corporate ethics and morals, in the pursuit of money, and more money. This total lack of ethics and morals in the corporations of America is a corrosive rot that is undermining Americas power and standing in the world. It is the equivalent of a major termite infestation in a timber-framed house - whereby the house looks superb from the street, but where it will crumble into ruins when some pressure is applied, such as strong winds. The strong winds are blowing on the House of Boeing and I can see a lot of crumbling into termite dust coming for that House. Boeings deceitful, self-serving, greedy, and morally-bankrupt corporate behaviour, should be held up as a classic example of what not to do, in any future "corporate ethics and morals" training. Unfortunately, I don't think anything will change in the corporations of America

(Written on 06/10/2021)(Permalink)

How is this design going to deal with the potentially serious collision potential with small boats? Someone is forgetting water bodies are full of boats, at the best of times. How are the designers going to deal with prop blast and noise issues? Prop blast will throw up a lot of spray over unsuspecting spectators. Aircraft noise is amplified close to water level. Then there's the ocean swell factor, as distinct from wave height. Sorry, I won't be holding my breath for the spectacular success of this idea.

(Written on 05/13/2021)(Permalink)