HURRICANE Irene to reach NEW-YORK

A pilot risking his life onboard a 53d Weather Reconnaissance Squadron WC-130J Weatherbird weather reconnaissance aircraft, observed the hurricane in the eye of the storm and reported winds at around 100mph today:

New-York braces for what could be the most destructive hurricane since 1938 maybe 1821. South and North Carolina are beginning to feel the effects of Irene. As showed in the videos hereafter, Irene might cause widespread damage particularly by flooding well beyond the coastal cities such as Virginia Beach; Norfolk; Atlantic City, as well as Kill Devil Hills, the site of the Wright Brothers National Memorial close to Kitty Hawk:

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Rio-Paris Flight 447 Crash Analysis

Special thanks to Thierry Hermas who teaches English radiotelephony at the French Air Force Academy (EOAA Salon de Provence). Indeed, he has analyzed, and compiled some extracts of the Air France Flight 447 reports issued by the BEA (Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’analyses pour la sécurité de l’aviation civile – Flight safety investigations and analyses bureau www.bea.aero) for training purposes.

CLICK HERE (updated):                        

Images and publications of Rio-Paris crash
 
 
 

Another update – 2012 FINAL REPORT OF RIO-PARIS FLIGHT 447

 
 
 

In addition to this document, Mr Hermas suggested two videos about the Rio-Paris crash which happened on June 1, 2009. The video hereafter is the first of a series of four:

The second video is available here: http://www.france24.com/en/20110527-air-france-flight-rio-paris-pilots-crash-brazil-airbus

Here is another video about a few extracts of the cockpit audio transcript translated into English:

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Solid-as-a-rock A380 aircraft struck… by lightning!

It is not uncommon for aircraft to be struck by lightning but this super heavy Emirates Airbus A380 got hit by a jagged bolt of lightning right over the pilot’s seats.

A huge amount of electric energy must have passed through the airframe of the aircraft during its approach at London Heathrow last week. Amazingly the commercial aircraft escaped damage, and nobody was hurt.

Is it any wonder this airplane may sustain such a stress in a clap of thunder? The size and the nature of the A380 airframe seems to be the right solution to such hazards. Thanks to its thick metal structure, the plane behaved as a perfect Faraday cage:

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CLIMATE AND WEATHER

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Amazing topic: U.S. DRONES sent to research HURRICANES

© BBC reports that small UAVs would be sent off US shore to research hurricanes. The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) has not cleared those drones to fly over CONUS (Continental USA) so far: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7421297.stm

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