Air Passengers Showed Signs of Meningococcal Disease
777’s Power Loss Still Baffles Aviation Experts
Chinese River System Bubbles Red With Pollution
Missing Items from Bags Totals $31 Million Over Three Years
Coconut Biofuel Better Than Basic?
ON-BOARD PASSENGER SHOWED SIGNS OF MENINGOCOCCAL DISEASE – Stuff (NZ)
A young woman on an Air New Zealand flight showed signs of meningococcal disease on Monday, and she is in critical condition at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. The flight from Auckland to Perth was diverted to Adelaide when she began showing symptoms on board. Western Australia Health Department director of disease control Paul Van Buynder said no known cases of transmission of meningococcal disease on flights have been known, and he believed it was doubtful that other passengers would contract the disease.
Link: Stuff (NZ)
777’S POWER LOSS STILL BAFFLES AVIATION EXPERTS – USA Today
Although passenger planes are not supposed to lose power in mid-flight, British Airways Boeing 777’s energy cut out when it approached Heathrow Airport on January 17. The plane’s two massive jet engines wouldn’t produce enough thrust, even though both the autopilot and two pilots executed commands. This plane crash has mystified pilots, experts and investigators. What is most alarming is not this elusive accident but the potential impacts; in this era, few aircraft crash, and this jetliner failed in a way that never should happen. Although experts say it is too early to indict the aircraft, details of the crash suggest the possibility that designers may have overlooked a vulnerability in the engines, the fuel system or the electronics. “If you can’t say what happened, you can’t say it won’t happen again,” said Michael Barr, who teaches aviation safety at the University of Southern California.
Link: USA Today
CHINESE RIVER SYSTEM BUBBLES RED WITH POLLUTION – Associated Press
Pollution has caused a major river system in central China to turn red and bubbly, and authorities have had to shut off water supplies to 200,000 people and close schools. Some communities located along tributaries of the Hanjiang River resorted to using emergency water sources, and at least 60,000 people drank bottled water or used limited underground sources. Officials said they discovered Dongjing River was polluted Sunday. Tests revealed that the water was polluted with ammonia, nitrogen, and permanganate, a chemical used in metal cleaning, tanning and bleaching. The source of the pollution currently is unknown.
Link: Associated Press
MISSING ITEMS FROM BAGS TOTALS $31 MILLION OVER THREE YEARS –Fox News
Do you trust that your checked bags will miraculously appear on the baggage carousel after your flight, with all of your precious items untouched? You may want to question ever checking bags, because according to federal records obtained by FOX 4 News, travelers have reported tens of millions of dollars in items missing from their luggage. In numerous cases, a passenger’s bag never even arrives. Even if the bag does arrive, travelers have reported items being stolen out of their bags. A rarely released Transportation Security Administration database detailed that in a three-year period, nearly 42,000 travelers have reported items as lost from their luggage at an estimated value of more than $31 million.
Link: Fox News
COCONUT BIOFUEL BETTER THAN BASIC? – InformationWeek
A Virgin Atlantic 747 flew from Heathrow to Amsterdam on Sunday, but instead of running solely on jet fuel, it topped off with oil of 150,000 coconuts. Although biofuels reduce petroleum-based fuels and emit fewer toxins in the air, an “odor of pina colada [hung] over the economy cabin.” The composition of a biofuel may or may not be beneficial to the environment. Some promising biofuels are derived from wood waste and agricultural waste. “Three of the 747’s four tanks were filled with normal jet fuel while its fourth carried a mixture that was 80 percent jet fuel and 20 percent coconut and babassu palm oil,” reported the Guardian. Unfortunately, Food-based bio-fuels have been shown to “release 17 to 420 times more CO2 than the annual greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions these biofuels provide by displacing fossil fuels.” Critics also say that if we resort to embracing biofuels, we will cause crop displacement, deforestation, and increased emissions.
Link: Information Week
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