Fire mishap averted at power plant

https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/jharkhand/fire-mishap-averted...

Tags

~

Transformer down, fire reported in Memorial Park

A transformer sparked a fire in Memorial Park Tuesday morning. Posted: March 26, 2019

 https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/hfd-transformer-down-fire-...

 

 

HOUSTON — Smoke can be seen coming from Memorial Park in west Houston.

Firefighters with the Houston Fire Department say a transformer started the fire. They are on the scene working to put it out.

The location is at Memorial Loop and West Memorial Loop. At this time, no injuries have been reported.

Details are very limited.."

~

Power outage strikes downtown Boise

The outage affected hundreds of customers and traffic signals in the downtown area.

 https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/power-outage-strikes-downto...

 

BOISE, Idaho — Hundreds were without power after an outage hit downtown Boise Thursday afternoon.At around 1 p.m., a total of 513 customers were affected, according to Idaho Power. The outage also affected traffic signals in the area, causing slowdowns throughout downtown.  Power was fully restored to customers by late Thursday afternoon. There is no word on what caused the outage.

~

Utility pole fire burns half an acre, causes power outage at CBA

 https://www.syracuse.com/crime/2019/03/utility-pole-fire-burns-half...

 

 DEWITT, N.Y. -- A utility pole fire burned half an acre of vegetation and caused a power outage at Christian Brothers Academy on Thursday afternoon, according to the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office.

The fire was called into the Onondaga County 911 Dispatch Center at 2:39 p.m. on Thursday (Mar 28), according to 911 dispatch logs.

An arrester on the utility pole exploded and, when it landed, grass caught fire, deputies said.

~

Equipment failure causes power outage in SE Cedar Rapids

 https://www.kcrg.com/content/news/Alliant-3000-customers-without-po...

 

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Alliant Energy said a failure at a substation on Mt. Vernon Road caused a power outage on Cedar Rapids SE side Thursday morning (Mar 28).

The outage began just before 8:30 a.m., when more than 3,000 customers were affected, according to Alliant's website. By 10:30 a.m., just under 1,200 customers were still without power.

Alliant said crews were working to reroute power to affected customers.

~

Power outages across Regina and province slowly being resolved

 https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/power-outages-across-regina-n...

 

 

 Typically outages are caused by one of three things: weather, aging infrastructure or the environment — things like trees or animals, Cherry said.

"We're investing a lot of money on an annual basis [on infrastructure], that's why sometimes, our rates have to go up," Cherry said. "We're trying to improve or replace some of that aging infrastructure."  

Cherry said crews found two lines down near the intersection of Winnipeg Street and 14th Avenue. He said there was also a pole fire at Osler Street and 11th Avenue.

"There were also a couple of transmission lines that went down in the northwest part of the city, as well," Cherry said, stating that substations in the city were causing some of the issues.

As of Wednesday morning, Cherry said it's unclear just how many homes were affected.

"SaskPower doesn't know for certain whether the power is out till people call in and tell us," he explained.

Up to date information on the outages across the city can be found on SaskPower's website or by calling 306-310-2220.

~

Parkside Jr. High expected to reopen Monday after electrical fire

 https://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/parkside-jr-high-expected-to-...

 

 

NORMAL — Parkside Junior High School is expected to be ready for students' return from spring break after an electrical fire at the school Wednesday morning. Utility crews are working to repair the damage caused by the fire that began outside the building at 101 N. Parkside Road. 

Neighbors reported the fire just after 5 a.m. Flames, estimated to rise 20 feet according to a witness, were seen in the main bus duct that feeds electricity into the building.

"The original piece of equipment from 1974, the bus duct (the main electricity feed) — that's completely ruined," said Joe Adelman, director of operations for the McLean County Unit 5.

The blaze did not reach the inside of the school. The roof was inspected for damage from burning debris, but Unit 5 officials said none was found.

No injuries were reported, and classes and school operations were not interrupted since the district is on spring break this week. There was no immediate information on what caused the fire.

Workers from Corn Belt Energy and Illinois Prairie Electric were called to the school to assess the damage and begin repairs. Three large transformers were removed from a concrete pad adjoining the school. One transformer was heavily damaged with signs of smoke on its exterior.

A school maintenance worker said trucks removed food stored in the school's freezers early Wednesday morning. There had been no assessment if computers or servers in the school were damaged.

https://offgridsurvival.com/trump-signs-executive-order-to-protect-...

Trump Signs Executive Order to Protect US from EMP attacks

March 26, 2019

The Trump administration has signed a historic executive order to strengthen the country’s critical infrastructure against electromagnetic pulse attacks. The EO, titled “Executive Order on Coordinating National Resilience to Electromagnetic Pulses” is the “first ever to establish a comprehensive policy to improve resilience to EMPs,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders explained.

“Today’s executive order – the first ever to establish a comprehensive policy to improve resilience to EMPs – is one more example of how the administration is keeping its promise to always be vigilant against present dangers and future threats,” she said.

This comes after DHS issued a dire warning last December, admitting that the federal government was not prepared for the chaos that would follow an EMP attack and warning the public to prepare for up to 6 months without power.

The Executive Order signed by Trump on Tuesday directs federal agencies to identify pieces of critical infrastructure that could be impacted by an EMP attack. National security adviser John Bolton will be overseeing the order’s implementation.

The Executive Order Reads (and can be seen on the White House Website HERE)

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1.  Purpose.  An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) has the potential to disrupt, degrade, and damage technology and critical infrastructure systems.  Human-made or naturally occurring EMPs can affect large geographic areas, disrupting elements critical to the Nation’s security and economic prosperity, and could adversely affect global commerce and stability.  The Federal Government must foster sustainable, efficient, and cost-effective approaches to improving the Nation’s resilience to the effects of EMPs.

Sec. 2.  Definitions.  As used in this order:

(a)  “Critical infrastructure” means systems and assets, whether physical or virtual, so vital to the United States that the incapacity or destruction of such systems and assets would have a debilitating impact on security, national economic security, national public health or safety, or any combination of those matters.

(b)  “Electromagnetic pulse” is a burst of electromagnetic energy.  EMPs have the potential to negatively affect technology systems on Earth and in space.  A high-altitude EMP (HEMP) is a type of human-made EMP that occurs when a nuclear device is detonated at approximately 40 kilometers or more above the surface of Earth.  A geomagnetic disturbance (GMD) is a type of natural EMP driven by a temporary disturbance of Earth’s magnetic field resulting from interactions with solar eruptions.  Both HEMPs and GMDs can affect large geographic areas.

(c)  “National Critical Functions” means the functions of government and the private sector so vital to the United States that their disruption, corruption, or dysfunction would have a debilitating effect on security, national economic security, national public health or safety, or any combination thereof.

(d)  “National Essential Functions” means the overarching responsibilities of the Federal Government to lead and sustain the Nation before, during, and in the aftermath of a catastrophic emergency, such as an EMP that adversely affects the performance of Government.

(e)  “Prepare” and “preparedness” mean the actions taken to plan, organize, equip, train, and exercise to build and sustain the capabilities necessary to prevent, protect against, mitigate the effects of, respond to, and recover from those threats that pose the greatest risk to the security of the Nation.  These terms include the prediction and notification of impending EMPs.

(f)  A “Sector-Specific Agency” (SSA) is the Federal department or agency that is responsible for providing institutional knowledge and specialized expertise as well as leading, facilitating, or supporting the security and resilience programs and associated activities of its designated critical infrastructure sector in the all-hazards environment.  The SSAs are those identified in Presidential Policy Directive 21 of February 12, 2013 (Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience).

Sec. 3.  Policy.  (a)  It is the policy of the United States to prepare for the effects of EMPs through targeted approaches that coordinate whole-of-government activities and encourage private-sector engagement.  The Federal Government must provide warning of an impending EMP; protect against, respond to, and recover from the effects of an EMP through public and private engagement, planning, and investment; and prevent adversarial events through deterrence, defense, and nuclear nonproliferation efforts.  To achieve these goals, the Federal Government shall engage in risk-informed planning, prioritize research and development (R&D) to address the needs of critical infrastructure stakeholders, and, for adversarial threats, consult Intelligence Community assessments.

(b)  To implement the actions directed in this order, the Federal Government shall promote collaboration and facilitate information sharing, including the sharing of threat and vulnerability assessments, among executive departments and agencies (agencies), the owners and operators of critical infrastructure, and other relevant stakeholders, as appropriate.  The Federal Government shall also provide incentives, as appropriate, to private-sector partners to encourage innovation that strengthens critical infrastructure against the effects of EMPs through the development and implementation of best practices, regulations, and appropriate guidance.

Sec. 4.  Coordination.  (a)  The Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (APNSA), through National Security Council staff and in consultation with the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), shall coordinate the development and implementation of executive branch actions to assess, prioritize, and manage the risks of EMPs.  The APNSA shall, on an annual basis, submit a report to the President summarizing progress on the implementation of this order, identifying gaps in capability, and recommending how to address those gaps.

(b)  To further the Federal R&D necessary to prepare the Nation for the effects of EMPs, the Director of OSTP shall coordinate efforts of agencies through the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC).  The Director of OSTP, through the NSTC, shall annually review and assess the R&D needs of agencies conducting preparedness activities for EMPs, consistent with this order.

Sec. 5.  Roles and Responsibilities.  (a)  The Secretary of State shall:

(i)   lead the coordination of diplomatic efforts with United States allies and international partners regarding enhancing resilience to the effects of EMPs; and

(ii)  in coordination with the Secretary of Defense and the heads of other relevant agencies, strengthen nuclear nonproliferation and deterrence efforts, which would reduce the likelihood of an EMP attack on the United States or its allies and partners by limiting the availability of nuclear devices.

(b)  The Secretary of Defense shall:

(i)    in cooperation with the heads of relevant agencies and with United States allies, international partners, and private-sector entities as appropriate, improve and develop the ability to rapidly characterize, attribute, and provide warning of EMPs, including effects on space systems of interest to the United States;

(ii)   provide timely operational observations, analyses, forecasts, and other products for naturally occurring EMPs to support the mission of the Department of Defense along with United States allies and international partners, including the provision of alerts and warnings for natural EMPs that may affect weapons systems, military operations, or the defense of the United States;

(iii)  conduct R&D and testing to understand the effects of EMPs on Department of Defense systems and infrastructure, improve capabilities to model and simulate the environments and effects of EMPs, and develop technologies to protect Department of Defense systems and infrastructure from the effects of EMPs to ensure the successful execution of Department of Defense missions;

(iv)   review and update existing EMP-related standards for Department of Defense systems and infrastructure, as appropriate;

(v)    share technical expertise and data regarding EMPs and their potential effects with other agencies and with the private sector, as appropriate;

(vi)   incorporate attacks that include EMPs as a factor in defense planning scenarios; and

(vii)  defend the Nation from adversarial EMPs originating outside of the United States through defense and deterrence, consistent with the mission and national security policy of the Department of Defense.

(c)  The Secretary of the Interior shall support the research, development, deployment, and operation of capabilities that enhance understanding of variations of Earth’s magnetic field associated with EMPs.

(d)  The Secretary of Commerce shall:

(i)   provide timely and accurate operational observations, analyses, forecasts, and other products for natural EMPs, exclusive of the responsibilities of the Secretary of Defense set forth in subsection (b)(ii) of this section; and

(ii)  use the capabilities of the Department of Commerce, the private sector, academia, and nongovernmental organizations to continuously improve operational forecasting services and the development of standards for commercial EMP technology.

(e)  The Secretary of Energy shall conduct early-stage R&D, develop pilot programs, and partner with other agencies and the private sector, as appropriate, to characterize sources of EMPs and their couplings to the electric power grid and its subcomponents, understand associated potential failure modes for the energy sector, and coordinate preparedness and mitigation measures with energy sector partners.

(f)  The Secretary of Homeland Security shall:

(i)    provide timely distribution of information on EMPs and credible associated threats to Federal, State, and local governments, critical infrastructure owners and operators, and other stakeholders;

(ii)   in coordination with the heads of any relevant SSAs, use the results of risk assessments to better understand and enhance resilience to the effects of EMPs across all critical infrastructure sectors, including coordinating the identification of national critical functions and the prioritization of associated critical infrastructure at greatest risk to the effects of EMPs;

(iii)  coordinate response to and recovery from the effects of EMPs on critical infrastructure, in coordination with the heads of appropriate SSAs;

(iv)   incorporate events that include EMPs as a factor in preparedness scenarios and exercises;

(v)    in coordination with the heads of relevant SSAs, conduct R&D to better understand and more effectively model the effects of EMPs on national critical functions and associated critical infrastructure — excluding Department of Defense systems and infrastructure — and develop technologies and guidelines to enhance these functions and better protect this infrastructure;

(vi)   maintain survivable means to provide necessary emergency information to the public during and after EMPs; and

(vii)  in coordination with the Secretaries of Defense and Energy, and informed by intelligence-based threat assessments, develop quadrennial risk assessments on EMPs, with the first risk assessment delivered within 1 year of the date of this order.

(g)  The Director of National Intelligence shall:

(i)   coordinate the collection, analysis, and promulgation, as appropriate, of intelligence-based assessments on adversaries’ capabilities to conduct an attack utilizing an EMP and the likelihood of such an attack; and

(ii)  provide intelligence-based threat assessments to support the heads of relevant SSAs in the development of quadrennial risk assessments on EMPs.

(h)  The heads of all SSAs, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall enhance and facilitate information sharing with private-sector counterparts, as appropriate, to enhance preparedness for the effects of EMPs, to identify and share vulnerabilities, and to work collaboratively to reduce vulnerabilities.

(i)  The heads of all agencies that support National Essential Functions shall ensure that their all­hazards preparedness planning sufficiently addresses EMPs, including through mitigation, response, and recovery, as directed by national preparedness policy.

Sec. 6.  Implementation.  (a)  Identifying national critical functions and associated priority critical infrastructure at greatest risk.

(i)   Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the heads of SSAs and other agencies as appropriate, shall identify and list the national critical functions and associated priority critical infrastructure systems, networks, and assets, including space-based assets that, if disrupted, could reasonably result in catastrophic national or regional effects on public health or safety, economic security, or national security.  The Secretary of Homeland Security shall update this list as necessary.

(ii)  Within 1 year of the identification described in subsection (a)(i) of this section, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the heads of other agencies as appropriate, shall, using appropriate government and private-sector standards for EMPs, assess which identified critical infrastructure systems, networks, and assets are most vulnerable to the effects of EMPs.  The Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide this list to the President, through the APNSA.  The Secretary of Homeland Security shall update this list using the results produced pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, and as necessary thereafter.

(b)  Improving understanding of the effects of EMPs.

(i)    Within 180 days of the identification described in subsection (a)(ii) of this section, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the heads of SSAs and in consultation with the Director of OSTP and the heads of other appropriate agencies, shall review test data — identifying any gaps in such data — regarding the effects of EMPs on critical infrastructure systems, networks, and assets representative of those throughout the Nation.

(ii)   Within 180 days of identifying the gaps in existing test data, as directed by subsection (b)(i) of this section, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the heads of SSAs and in consultation with the Director of OSTP and the heads of other appropriate agencies, shall use the sector partnership structure identified in the National Infrastructure Protection Plan to develop an integrated cross-sector plan to address the identified gaps.  The heads of agencies identified in the plan shall implement the plan in collaboration with the private sector, as appropriate.

(iii)  Within 1 year of the date of this order, and as appropriate thereafter, the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the heads of other agencies and the private sector, as appropriate, shall review existing standards for EMPs and develop or update, as necessary, quantitative benchmarks that sufficiently describe the physical characteristics of EMPs, including waveform and intensity, in a form that is useful to and can be shared with owners and operators of critical infrastructure.

(iv)   Within 4 years of the date of this order, the Secretary of the Interior shall complete a magnetotelluric survey of the contiguous United States to help critical infrastructure owners and operators conduct EMP vulnerability assessments.

(c)  Evaluating approaches to mitigate the effects of EMPs.

(i)    Within 1 year of the date of this order, and every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Secretaries of Defense and Energy, and in consultation with the Director of OSTP, the heads of other appropriate agencies, and private-sector partners as appropriate, shall submit to the President, through the APNSA, a report that analyzes the technology options available to improve the resilience of critical infrastructure to the effects of EMPs.  The Secretaries of Defense, Energy, and Homeland Security shall also identify gaps in available technologies and opportunities for future technological developments to inform R&D activities.

(ii)   Within 180 days of the completion of the activities directed by subsections (b)(iii) and (c)(i) of this section, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the heads of other agencies and in consultation with the private sector as appropriate, shall develop and implement a pilot test to evaluate available engineering approaches for mitigating the effects of EMPs on the most vulnerable critical infrastructure systems, networks, and assets, as identified in subsection (a)(ii) of this section.

(iii)  Within 1 year of the date of this order, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the heads of relevant SSAs, and in consultation with appropriate regulatory and utility commissions and other stakeholders, shall identify regulatory and non regulatory mechanisms, including cost recovery measures, that can enhance private-sector engagement to address the effects of EMPs.

(d)  Strengthening critical infrastructure to withstand the effects of EMPs.

(i)    Within 90 days of completing the actions directed in subsection (c)(ii) of this section, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Secretaries of Defense and Energy and in consultation with the heads of other appropriate agencies and with the private sector as appropriate, shall develop a plan to mitigate the effects of EMPs on the vulnerable priority critical infrastructure systems, networks, and assets identified under subsection (a)(ii) of this section.  The plan shall align with and build on actions identified in reports required by Executive Order 13800 of May 11, 2017 (Strengthening the Cybersecurity of Federal Networks and Critical Infrastructure).  The Secretary of Homeland Security shall implement those elements of the plan that are consistent with Department of Homeland Security authorities and resources, and report to the APNSA regarding any additional authorities and resources needed to complete its implementation.  The Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Secretaries of Defense and Energy, shall update the plan as necessary based on results from the actions directed in subsections (b) and (c) of this section.

(ii)   Within 180 days of the completion of the actions identified in subsection (c)(i) of this section, the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretaries of Homeland Security and Energy, shall conduct a pilot test to evaluate engineering approaches used to harden a strategic military installation, including infrastructure that is critical to supporting that installation, against the effects of EMPs.

(iii)  Within 180 days of completing the pilot test described in subsection (d)(ii) of this section, the Secretary of Defense shall report to the President, through the APNSA, regarding the cost and effectiveness of the evaluated approaches.

(e)  Improving response to EMPs.

(i)    Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Homeland Security, through the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, in coordination with the heads of appropriate SSAs, shall review and update Federal response plans, programs, and procedures to account for the effects of EMPs.

(ii)   Within 180 days of the completion of actions directed by subsection (e)(i) of this section, agencies that support National Essential Functions shall update operational plans documenting their procedures and responsibilities to prepare for, protect against, and mitigate the effects of EMPs.

(iii)  Within 180 days of identifying vulnerable priority critical infrastructure systems, networks, and assets as directed by subsection (a)(ii) of this section, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretaries of Defense and Commerce, and the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, shall provide the Deputy Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism and the Director of OSTP with an assessment of the effects of EMPs on critical communications infrastructure, and recommend changes to operational plans to enhance national response and recovery efforts after an EMP.

Sec. 7.  General Provisions.  (a)  Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i)   the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii)  the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b)  This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c)  This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

DONALD J. TRUMP

THE WHITE HOUSE,
March 26, 2019.

The Departments of Homeland Security, Defense, Energy, Commerce and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence are among some of the agencies that will be involved with protecting the country from an EMP attack as mandated in the executive order. For more information on preparing for EMP attack, check out our article here.

Major Airlines Hit With System-Wide Computer Outages 4-1-2019

https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/delta-united-southwest-airline/20...

Southwest Flight Makes Emergency Landing In Oakland

 https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/southwest-flight-makes-emerge...

OAKLAND (CBS SF) — A Southwest Airlines flight heading to Las Vegas was forced to make an emergency landing in Oakland early Monday(Apr 1) after smoke was detected in the cockpit, authorities said.

Flight 2541 left Oakland at 8:42 a.m. and was not in the air long before the problem was detected on the Boeing 737-700 over the Central Valley.

The jet returned to Oakland International and arrived safely at 9:49 a.m.

No injuries were reported and crews were trying to determine the source of the smoke.

Southwest said the passengers would be transferred to other later flights.

~

Flight Track Log (SWA2541)

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWA2541/history/20190401/1535Z/...

Cockpit odor spurs American Airlines emergency landing in NC

  WILMINGTON — Possible electrical fumes in the cockpit spurred an American Airlines flight to make an emergency landing in North Carolina.

Authorities tell news outlets that American flight 809 from Philadelphia to Orlando landed Tuesday afternoon    (Apr 2) at Wilmington International Airport. Deputy Airport Director Gary Broughton said the flight crew detected the odor in the cockpit of the Airbus A321 and deployed oxygen masks before asking to be diverted to Wilmington.

The aircraft had 178 passengers and a crew of six on board.

The plane taxied to the gate and passengers were allowed to leave the aircraft through the jet bridge. Emergency personnel were deployed but no injuries were reported.

An American Airlines maintenance crew was inspecting the aircraft Tuesday afternoon.

https://www.fayobserver.com/news/20190403/cockpit-odor-spurs-americ...

Flight Track Log 

American Airlines 809

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAL809/history/20190402/1445Z/K...

Firefighters battle blaze at LG&E substation outside New Albany

 http://www.wave3.com/2019/04/05/fire-blazing-new-albany-power-subst...  

https://www.mwakilishi.com/article/kenya-news/2019-04-09/kq-on-the-...

KQ on the Spot as Its Johannesburg-Bound Flight Made Emergency Landing in Tanzania After Catching Fire

Tue, 04/09/2019 @ 10:37am

Israeli Airline Arkia Makes Emergency Landing in Barcelona Following Engine Explosion

 https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/israel-news/1714420/israeli-ai...

 Israeli airline Arkia turned around one of its planes, flight IZ272, from Barcelona to Tel Aviv, after an explosion was heard 10 minutes after take-off. The flight, which was being operated by the Italian charter company Neos, experienced a malfunction in one of its engines and had to make an emergency landing.

The flight returned to Barcelona airport and landed safely without any injuries. Passengers who were on the flight reported that they heard an explosion immediately after takeoff.

Ynet News reported that passenger Yisrael Zeri, a Municipal Council member for Ramat Gan city hall, was on the plane and said: “Immediately after take-off, we heard a number of explosions and we felt moderate turbulence. At one point, passengers who sat near the windows on the left-hand side of the plane began to scream and said that they saw fire coming from one of the engines. People began to panic. The airline attendants also began to become stresses at a certain point. When a number of passengers began to cry the crew announced that they were going to conduct a regular landing back in Barcelona.”

A spokesperson from Arkia issued a statement following the landing: “An Italian Boeing plane that conducted the flight on behalf of Arkia from Barcelona to Israel returned to Barcelona after its take-off due to a malfunction that took place in one of its engines. The plane conducted a normal landing in Barcelona. The passengers disembarked and Arkia is working on finding alternative flights to bring them to Israel as fast as possible.”

Posted: April 14, 2019 6:00 pm  (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

~

ZetaTalk Explanation 5/21/2016

http://www.zetatalk.com/ning/21ma2016.htm

"Explosions happen when the jet engines have fuel aflame that cannot vent, as the jet blades are stopped.."

Scare on JetBlue flight prompts emergency landing in Orlando, Passengers stranded at OIA for hours

 https://www.clickorlando.com/travel/scare-on-jetblue-flight-prompts...

 ORLANDO, Fla. - A JetBlue flight made an emergency landing late Monday (Apr 15) at Orlando International Airport after there was an issue aboard the plane.

Flight 1126, traveling from Fort Lauderdale to Raleigh, North Carolina, diverted to Orlando because of an apparent issue with the air conditioning or cabin pressure.

Passengers said they noticed a burning smell shortly after takeoff.

The plane safely landed, but passengers had to wait at OIA for hours before taking off just before 5 a.m. Tuesday.

News 6 has called JetBlue for comment but has not heard back.

'Smoky odor' forces Delta flight to make emergency landing at SFO

https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/plane-emergency-landing-san-fr...

 A plane departing San Francisco International Airport Friday morning (Apr 19) was forced to return shortly after takeoff, said officials.

Delta Flight 1359 was en route to John F. Kennedy International Airport just before 9 a.m. when the Boeing 757-200 turned back due to a maintenance issue, said SFO spokesman Doug Yakel. A spokesperson for the airline explained a "smoky odor" was detected in the cockpit after takeoff. The plane turned around out of an abundance of caution.

Photo: Screenshot / Flightradar24

Updated: 10:20 am PDT, Friday, April 19, 2019

8 firefighters hurt in explosion at APS substation in Surprise

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/firefighters-hurt-battling-tra...

 Eight firefighters were injured Friday night (Apr 19) in an explosion at an Arizona Public Service facility in Surprise.Four Peoria firefighters were the most seriously hurt, with three flown to Maricopa County Medical Center's burn unit in Phoenix, said Michael Selmer, a Peoria Fire Department spokesman. One was in critical condition. The fourth was taken to a West Valley hospital.

In addition, four other firefighters for the city of Surprise were taken to a hospital for evaluation of less serious injuries, said Battalion Chief Julie Moore of the Surprise Fire Department.

The explosion occurred at the APS McMicken Energy Storage facility near Grand Avenue and Deer Valley Road in Surprise on Friday evening. The facility houses utility-sized batteries on the site used in the storage and distribution of solar energy, according to the APS website.

Firefighters were called to the substation about 6 p.m., in response to reports by a passer-by of smoke coming from the site, Moore said.

Peoria firefighters responded along with Surprise crews, treating the call as a hazardous-materials response.

A utility-sized lithium battery at the location was evaluated for hazardous chemical levels, Selmer said. While entering the facility, an explosion occurred, he said.

"They're trying to figure out what caused this,'' he said. 

He said Peoria firefighters sustained chemical burns and chemical-inhalation burns. None were identified late Friday.

"I think right now, the mood is somber because it's our firefighters,'' Selmer said, during a briefing outside Maricopa Medical Center in Phoenix.

Numerous firefighters, including many from Phoenix, gathered at the hospital to show support for their fellow first responders.

APS officials said firefighters were called to the location for what they described as an equipment failure issue at the substation.

The substation includes a large, utility-scale battery, officials said.

"Our first priority and concern is for the first responders. We are going to cooperate fully with an investigation to find out what went wrong,'' said APS spokesman Alan Bunnell.

Multiple fire department units still were at the scene late Friday night.

Moore said crews would be at the scene for several hours investigating the site along with APS officials..:

Updated 11:45 a.m. MT April 21, 2019 

2 of the Peoria firefighters hospitalized after APS battery explosion discharged

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/peoria-breaking/2019/04/...

Passengers Sent to Hospital After Spirit Plane Reports Unknown Odor

 https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/passengers-sent-to-hospital-a...

 Spirit Airlines media relations manager Derek Dombrowski released a statement to TravelPulse regarding Wednesday’s incident:

Flight 301 with scheduled service Wednesday from Baltimore to Fort Lauderdale turned back shortly after takeoff due to an unknown odor presenting onboard. No Guests reported any medical issues. Our crew of seven was checked out as a precaution.

We apologize for the inconvenience this caused our Guests, who were booked on later flights. The aircraft in question was taken out of service for inspection.

Several passengers on a Spirit Airlines flight that made an emergency landing in Maryland Wednesday had to be taken to the hospital after an unknown odor was detected onboard.

According to CBS Baltimore, the Spirit flight departed from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport en route to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida when the incident occurred.

Shortly after takeoff at around 7 a.m. local time, the captain of the flight declared an alert for “major difficulties” and turned the plane around for an emergency landing in Maryland.

After the flight landed safely, it was met by members of the BWI Marshall Airport Fire and Rescue Department and Anne Arundel County emergency crews, with seven people needing to be transported to local hospitals.

Officials have not released the conditions of those impacted or if any flight crew members were sickened, but the plane was taken out of service while the incident is being investigated.

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/NKS301/history/20190424/1045Z/K...

AUSTRALIA Every international airport in the country has been affected by system outage.

An IT problem is causing chaos at Australia's international airports, with significant delays in processing inbound and outbound passengers sparking long queues.

Key points:
Passengers in Sydney have reported delays of almost two hours to clear immigration in Sydney
The IT problem has plagued every international airport in Australia
Brisbane Airport said the problem was affecting all electronic passport gates
Passengers have been posting photos of long queues from the international terminals in Sydney — where people were forced to wait for around 90 minutes — and Melbourne.

However, every international airport in the country has been affected.

In a statement, the Australian Border Force (ABF) said it was working with the Department of Home Affairs to resolve an "IT systems outage".

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-29/it-problem-sparks-delays-at-...

A Boeing 737-800 operated by El Al was forced to make an emergency landing at Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport Monday morning, after the plane suffered a mechanical failure.

https://www.airlive.net/incident-el-al-boeing-737-800-was-forced-to...

 The plane, which had been carrying 138 people, most of them teens on a youth trip to Poland ahead of Holocaust Remembrance Day, was en route to Warsaw when the pilot reported a mechanical failure onboard the plane.

Ben Gurion International Airport declared a state of emergency as the plane was forced to turn back make an emergency landing there. All other landings and takeoffs at Ben Gurion were halted.

Airport officials reported Monday morning (April 29, 2019) that LY563 successfully completed the emergency landing, returning safely to Ben Gurion with no injuries among the passengers or crew.

~

Engine problems force emergency landing for flight out of Columbia  Posted on 28 April 2019

https://www.komu.com/mobile/story.cfm?id=100564-engine-problems-for...

COLUMBIA - A SkyWest flight out of Columbia was diverted to Bloomington, Illinois, Sunday night amid concern about an engine, airline officials said.

Passenger Charlie Fowler said the crew on board United Airlines flight 5228 went immediately into emergency mode.

"We practiced brace positions and the flight attendant, Andy, was yelling 'head down stay down' over and over again," he said.

Fowler said the woman behind him was crying. Another woman called her husband to tell her she loved him.

"Head down, stay down:" Passenger recounts scare on diverted flight

https://www.komu.com/mobile/story.cfm?id=100566-head-down-stay-down...

 Passenger Charlie Fowler said the pilot announced: "We lost one of the engines."

"I don’t know what happened to it, but one of the engines was completely dead,” Fowler said. 

He said people were "freaking out."

“I was looking out the window, which wasn't the best idea because the plane was shaking like crazy. The wings were shaking, the woman next to me kept holding my hand, no idea who she was,” he said.

Fowler said winds were very rough.

At one point we dipped really hard, which was not a lot of fun. Once the turbulence start happening, people started crying. The woman next to me texted her husband, ‘plane's not doing well, I love you’.”

Fowler said he was one row behind the exit row and saw the flight attendant approach.

"So, she came over and told the people in front of me that there was a strong possibility they would have to take the windows off and shove the door out and do the whole emergency landing thing,” he said.

The attendant walked down each aisle and made sure everyone knew how to get in brace position.

“At one point though, the flight attendant, who did a great job, sat down and strapped herself in and she yelled ‘brace, brace, brace. Heads down, stay down.’ She screamed that for five minutes until we landed and came to a complete stop," Fowler said.

The pilot tried to redirect to Peoria but apparently couldn't land there so had to reroute again to Bloomington, Fowler said.

“The landing was really rough, worse than I expected”

When the plane touched down, passengers burst into applause, Fowler said.

“Getting off the plane took a while because everyone was hugging the pilot and the flight attendant," he said.

Fowler said he's impressed with how the staff handled everything.

“Really happy to be on the ground, happy that our pilots knew what they were doing," he said.

Syracuse, N.Y. -- A plane that made an emergency landing in Syracuse Thursday was headed to Toronto when smoke began to fill the cockpit.

The American Airlines flight with 39 people on board took off from LaGuardia Airport in New York City Thursday morning (May 2) and was headed to Toronto when the flight crew noticed smoke in the cockpit, said Jennifer Sweetland, director of marketing, communications and air service development for Syracuse Hancock International Airport.

The pilot declared an emergency and diverted the plane to Syracuse.

Sweetland said airport officials were alerted when the plane was eight minutes out from Syracuse.

Rescue crews were standing by as the plane landed safely shortly before 12:30 p.m. Sweetland said the smoke dissipated by the time the plane landed and at no time entered the passenger cabin.

American was making arrangements to fly another plane into Syracuse to take the passengers to Toronto, she said. The cause of the smoke was not immediately known, she said.

 https://www.syracuse.com/news/2019/05/plane-that-made-emergency-lan...

Cockpit Fumes Force Jetliner's Emergency Landing At LAX

Passengers received quite a scare when the oxygen masks dropped, and their Spirit Airlines jetliner was forced to land right after takeoff.

https://patch.com/california/los-angeles/cockpit-fumes-force-jetlin...

 LOS ANGELES, CA — A Spirit Airlines jetliner was forced to make an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport Friday shortly after taking off Friday morning (May 3)  due to "fumes in the cockpit and cabin."

According to the Federal Aviation Administration Airbus, flight 630 to Denver, landed without further incident just before 10 a.m. No passengers were injured, but they got quite a scare.

According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, the oxygen masks in the airplane deployed, and firefighters were waiting for the plane when it landed safely on Runway 25 Left. Each passenger was evaluated by paramedics, and "no patients are currently requesting transport," the LAFD reported.

The source of the fumes remained under investigation.

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/NKS630/history/20190503/1546Z/K...

Friday 03-May-2019, 08:47AM PDTLos Angeles Intl - LAX

Denver Intl - DEN

Diverted

Aircraft Type- Airbus A321 (twin-jet) (A321) 

~

GoAir Flight Makes Emergency Landing At Hyderabad
https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/goair-flight-makes-emergenc...
 A GoAir flight to Patna made an emergency landing in Hyderabad today, nearly 30 minutes after it took-off from Bengaluru, due to a technical snag, one person aware of the development told BloombergQuint.

The flight G8 373—an A320Neo model—with 180 passengers on board made an emergency landing at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at 10.40 a.m. because there was an unusual disturbance in the aircraft, the person said requesting anonymity.

While GoAir confirmed the emergency landing of the aircraft due to technical glitches, its spokesperson said all the passengers were safe. They were accommodated on an alternative flight to Patna, the spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg Quint.

But the technical issues were not related to the engine, the spokesperson later told mbergQuint over the phone. The flight was not having a Pratt & Whitney engine, the spokesperson said without giving any further details. The Pratt & Whitney engine-run aircraft have been facing glitches with several instances of mid-air shutdowns and in-flight vibrations.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation had temporarily grounded A320 Neos in 2018 but was gradually lifted after Airbus and Pratt & Whitney assured of fixing the problems. InterGlobe Aviation-operated IndiGo and GoAir operate Pratt & Whitney engine-powered A320 planes.

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/GOW373/history/20190503/0350Z/V...

GoAir 373 - Friday 03-May-2019, 09:16AM IST Bengaluru Int'l - BLR

Lok Nayak Jaya Prakash Narayan (Patna) - PAT

Diverted

Aircraft Type- Airbus A320 (twin-jet) (A320) 

Flight from Portland makes emergency landing at LAX

https://www.kptv.com/news/flight-from-portland-makes-emergency-land...

 PORTLAND, OR (KPTV) – An Alaska Airlines flight from Portland to Orange County made an emergency landing at the Los Angeles International Airport Friday evening after crew members reported a strong plastic smell coming from the back galley.

The Airbus A320 landed at LAX just after 7:45 p.m. (May 10) out of an abundance of caution, according to an Alaska Airlines spokesperson. The plan had 146 passengers and five crew members on board.

Some crew members were evaluated by medical personnel as a precaution and three passengers were checked out by medics, but opted not to receive additional care, according to the spokesperson.

Alaska says there was no smoke on the flight deck and oxygen masks were not deployed. The airline has removed the plane from service while maintenance technicians inspect it.

~

SpiceJet Bengaluru-Delhi Flight Makes Emergency Landing In Nagpur

The airline's New Delhi-bound flight SG 8720 from Bengaluru was diverted to Nagpur after the pilot reported some issue to the ATC and sought a diversion.

 https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/india-news-spicejet-beng...

 Two of the SpiceJet's Boeing passenger planes- one from Mumbai and other from Bengaluru-
suffered mid-air technical glitches, forcing their pilots to terminate journeys with one flight landing back in Mumbai and second diverted to Nagpur Saturday (May 11) .

SpiceJet flight SG-611, which departed from Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport for Chennai around 7.30 am, returned to the city airport due to a mid-air technical glitch after being airborne for about 16 minutes, a source said.

A SpiceJet spokesperson confirmed the return of its Chennai flight to Mumbai due to a "technical" issue.

"The aircraft has already departed back for its destination around 10 am after the engineers rectified the glitch," the spokesperson said.

In a similar incident, the airline's New Delhi-bound flight SG 8720 from Bengaluru was diverted to Nagpur after the pilot reported some issue to the ATC and sought a diversion.

"SpiceJet flight SG 8720 operating on Bangalore-Delhi route was diverted to Nagpur due to a technical issue. Passengers were served refreshments at Nagpur. An alternative aircraft was sent to Nagpur and the passengers have now boarded the flight to Delhi," the airline said in a statement.

The spokesperson, however, did not share the number of passengers on board the two Boeing 737 planes.

Power outage across states as power grid collapses, Transmission Company messages Nigerians

 The collapse of the national electricity grid has left many states in the dark

- 11 distribution companies were affected by the collapse

 There is electricity outage across some states in the country following the collapse of the national electricity grid.

Daily Trust reports that the collapse is coming a day “after the national grid rose to 5,114 megawatts”.

The collapse has affected 11 Distribution Companies

Oyebode Fadipe who is the spokesman of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) said the collapse reduced its allocation to 20 MW.

He said: “In the circumstance, we are unable to service our customers. We apologise for the inconvenience this may be causing our customers,” it told customers across Kogi, Abuja, Nasarawa and Niger States in a statement.

Also, the Kaduna Electric said the interrupted power supply in Kaduna, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara states where it operates.

It said: “At about 2:33PM today, 8 May 2019 the national grid suffered system collapse, consequently, power supply to all our franchise states was interrupted.”

“Normal supply shall be restored as soon as the grid is back up. We regret any inconvenience this may cause all our customers.”

Meanwhile, Professor Adesoji Adesina, a popular chemical engineer said that it may take Nigerian power sector another 100 years to be able to provide steady power supply.

The don said this while delivering the First Nigerian National Merit Award Winner’s Lecture at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Tribune reports.

According to him, if the country keeps relying on fossil energy resources as it has been doing over years, enjoying stable power supply is not possible.

He said there is the need to diversify the country's energy sources into areas like wind and solar, as the nation as been grouped as underdeveloped on human capacity because of his unreliable energy.

“And if the current attitude is maintained, we will need about 100 years to be in the same position that high human development countries are today,” he pointed out.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng. We have upgraded to serve you better

Fashola EXCLUSIVE Interview: How Nigeria Can Have Uninterrupted Power Supply - on Legit TV

Source: https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/power-outage-across-states-as-...

Maracaibo, VENEZUELA, power lines catch fire.  Locals, still in denial about Planet X, blame it on government incompetence.

Passengers hear 'loud bang' as plane's engine shuts down, flight diverted

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2019/05/13/qantas-passen...

Passengers aboard a Saturday (May 11) overnight Qantas flight from Tokyo bound for Sydney heard a loud bang when the Boeing 747-400 plane they were traveling on experienced a failure of one of its engines.

Qantas flight 26 took off at 9:54 p.m. according to Flight Aware 

and was in the air for five hours when one of its engines shut down. The aircraft remained in flight for another two hours with three of its four engines in operation.

“In line with standard procedures, the pilots shut down the engine and the flight diverted to Cairns," Debbie Slade, Qantas fleet safety captain, said in a statement sent to USA Today. “While customers may have heard a loud bang, there was never a safety risk with the flight. These aircraft are designed to safely operate on three of the four engines.”

The plane was diverted to Cairns International Airport at 5:10 a.m. Sunday, three hours ahead of its scheduled landing at its intended destination of Sydney Airport. 

Slade added passengers were informed that the cause of the discord was the shutdown of one of 747's four engines. 

One passenger, Desmon Du Plessis, described the moment the engine malfunctioned to The Cairns Post: “I was sitting at the window and there was an incredibly loud bang and when I looked out there was an orange flame and then sparks, it was like white."

“The aircraft had a normal landing and engineers are inspecting the aircraft," Slade noted in her statement.  

~

Easyjet flight makes emergency landing at Birmingham Airport due to 'technical issue'

Newcastle bound flight landed mid-destination following problem

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/easyjet-flight-...

An Easyjet flight was forced to make an emergency landing at Birmingham Airport after developing a 'technical' problem.

The Bristol bound aircraft had taken off from Newcastle Airport at 6am on Monday (May13) when passengers were told they were about to land mid-destination.

The fight was met by West Midlands Fire Service crews as a precaution. Passengers were led off the plane and completed their onward journey to Bristol by coach.

The airline confirmed the incident and said at ‘no point was the safety of passengers and crew compromised.’

An EasyJet spokesman said: “EasyJet can confirm that flight EZY565 from Newcastle to Bristol diverted to Birmingham due to a technical issue.

“Upon landing the aircraft was met by the fire brigade as a precaution only.

“All passengers were disembarked normally and engineers are investigating. Passengers were transported to Bristol by coach.

“At no point of was the safety of the passengers and crew compromised and the diversion was a precautionary measure only.

“The safety of its passengers and crew is easyJet’s top priority and easyJet operates its fleet of aircraft in strict compliance with all manufacturers’ guidelines.

“We apologise for any inconvenience experienced due to the diversion and resulting delay.”

One passenger, who did not want to be named, said: “I heard someone mentioning smoke in the cockpit but other than that we weren’t told what was happening and couldn’t smell smoke of anything.

~

JetBlue blames 'global' system outage for check-in problems, long lines at airports

https://www.foxnews.com/travel/jetblue-blames-global-system-outage-...

JetBlue has confirmed that a “global” computer system outage was to blame for delayed check-ins and frustratingly long lines at airports where the carrier flies.

“Systems are recovering after a global Sabre outage impacting multiple airlines,” JetBlue wrote in a statement shared with Fox News on Tuesday morning (May 14). “JetBlue customers may experience longer lines in some airports this morning. We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience.”

Sabre, a Texas-based company that provides booking and reservation services for several carries, claims its systems are now in “recovery” mode.

"Sabre experienced a technical issue that impacted some of our customers this morning,” the company said in a statement. “We are now in recovery and airlines are returning to normal operations. We apologize for any inconvenience."

Sabre also experienced a similar outage in late March and late April, which temporarily delayed passengers and resulted in nationwide delays across multiple major airlines, including American and Alaska Airlines. That outage, too, was resolved within a few hours of systems going offline, though Sabre did not confirm whether those technical outages were related to Tuesday morning’s.

This time, however, a representative for American Airlines confirmed to Fox News that the outages experienced by JetBlue were not affecting American.

This time, however, a representative for American Airlines confirmed to Fox News that the outages experienced by JetBlue were not affecting American.

And while JetBlue said passengers at multiple airlines may be experiencing longer lines, passengers at JFK in New York City appeared to be affected moreso than others.

Aeroflot Superjet 100 encounters another mid-air incident

 A little over a week after Aeroflot Superjet 100 caught fire in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport, killing 41 person onboard, another Aeroflot SSJ 100 aircraft encounters mid-air incident, making successful emergency landing  in Moscow.

An Aeroflot Superjet 100-95 was en route from Moscow to Samara (Russia) when some 30 minutes into the flight it turned back and landed in Sheremetyevo International Airport (SVO) on May 13, 2019.  The reason for the turnaround and subsequent emergency landing was the loss of cabin pressure, Aviation Herald reported, also noting that no one was injured during the incident.

The incident occurred at a time when Superjet 100s planes are already questioned for their safety. While there are currently no strong indication that Aeroflot Superjet 100 crash landing in Sheremetyevo on May 5 was due to aircraft failure, the reliability of Superjets is being questioned nevertheless.

On the one hand, there is the history of Superjets, ranging from unreliability reputation, problems like lack of spare parts, failure to entrench other than Russian markets, all the way to the deadly crash during a demonstration tour in 2012.

On another hand, reactions by airlines after May 5 accident also do not hint trust in the jet. A day after Aeroflot’s SSJ-100 crash-landed with flames in Sheremetyevo, Yamal Airlines announced cancelling its planned purchase of ten SSJ-100s.

Vasily Kryuk, the general director of the carrier, denied the decision was related to safety concerns, telling Russian news agency TASS that the underlying reason for cancellation was SSJ-100 maintenance costs that are too high. The airline currently has 16 Superjets, 13 of which are in service, based on planespotters.net data.

Meanwhile, Aeroflot has cancelled at least 50 SSJ 100 flights from May 5 to May 14, Kommersant calculated, also adding that these cancellations "cannot be called anything out of the ordinary," according to their industry source.

Aeroflot is the be the biggest Superjet 100 operator in the world, as it has 49 aircraft of the type in its fleet, based on planespotters.net data. That is a little under half of all active Superjet 100-95s,currently standing at 123 aircraft globally.

Source: https://www.aerotime.aero/aerotime.team/22641-aeroflot-superjet-100...

Is it man-made HPM or a cover story for EMP from Planet X?

16 May 2019 U.S. Air Force has deployed 20 missiles that could zap the military electronics of North Korea or Iran with super powerful microwaves, rendering their military capabilities virtually useless with NO COLLATERAL DAMAGE.  

The microwave weapons are fitted into an air-launched cruise missile and delivered from B-52 bombers. With a range of 700 miles, they can fly into enemy airspace at low altitude and emit sharp pulses of high power microwave (HPM) energy that fry computer chips, disabling any electronic devices targeted by the missiles with causing any collateral damage.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7037549/Air-Force-deployed...

NewGen Airways Boeing 737-800 made an emergency landing in Bangkok after smoke filled the cabin on takeoff 

https://www.airlive.net/incident-newgen-airways-boeing-737-800-made... 

The Boeing 737-800 (reg. HS-NGE) (Flight #3865) returned to Bangkok after smoke filled the cabin shortly after departure. (Posted May 19, 2019)

YouTube Video:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WdeeH7rp5g

United Airlines Flight Engine Catches Fire Mid-Air, Plane Returns To Airport 

https://www.ibtimes.com/united-airlines-flight-engine-catches-fire-...

 A United Airlines flight from Honolulu to Majuro, Marshall Islands, was diverted back to the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, Hawaii, after it faced some issue with one of its engines Sunday (May 26).

The incident occurred shortly after Flight 132 took off from the airport at 7:37 a.m. HST (1:37 p.m. EDT) with 142 passengers on board. Travelers were supposed to fly five hours over open waters to their destination. An airline spokesperson told Fox/CW-affiliated Khon2 the flight experienced a mechanical issue with one of the engines a little while after taking off and as a result, returned to the airport. The statement did not go into details about the issue faced by the plane’s engine.

The plane landed safely and all the passengers on board were met by emergency crews. There were no injuries reported.

Passenger Josh Ley, who was sitting in a window seat behind the left wing, witnessed the incident and also recorded a video of flames shooting out of the wing. The video was obtained by the local news station.

"Had fire and smoke coming out the back for like a few seconds, like two spurs of fire," Ley said. "Then next thing you know we were staying at the same elevation, circling around for almost an hour before we landed again. It was about an hour of just trying to figure out what's going on.”

While some passengers were rebooked on the next flight out, others were told they might need to wait until the end of the week to get to Majuro. "They set me up at a hotel with taxi and food vouchers. They rescheduled me for Friday," Ley said. The flight-tracking website FlightStats confirmed that United Airlines flight 132 was diverted back to Honolulu. An alternate plane, carrying some of the passengers of the canceled flight, reached the Amata Kabua International Airport, Majuro, at 9:37 a.m. local time Monday (5:37 p.m. EDT, Sunday).

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/UAL132/history/20190526/1735Z/P...

Cathay Pacific 105, 

 https://flightaware.com/live/flight/CPA105/history/20190523/1610Z/V...

Trump: electromagnetic systems may not work as well during wartime.

5-28-2019 President Donald Trump told U.S. troops stationed in Japan he plans to order traditional steam powered catapults aboard American warships instead of newer electromagnetic systems that he said may not work as well during wartime.

Trump polled the sailors and Marines on the USS Wasp on steam versus electric catapults Tuesday during a visit to the the Yokosuka naval base south of Tokyo, the biggest overseas U.S. naval installation.

The tour came at the end of the president’s four-day state visit to Japan, a key military ally. The troops’ cheers were audibly larger for steam catapults -- used to launch aircraft off navy ships -- and Trump took note.

“We’re spending all that money on electric and nobody knows what it’s going to be like in bad conditions," he said. "So I think I’m going to put an order -- when we build a new aircraft carrier, we’re going to use steam."

The U.S. Navy intends to buy two Ford-class aircraft carriers Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said earlier this year. The Ford has long been a source of frustration for Trump, who has bashed the carrier’s Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, or EMALS, which is replacing the steam catapults.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-28/trump-says-u-s-a...

https://simpleflying.com/united-airlines-hawaii-engine-fire/

United Airlines Boeing 737 Engine Fire Prompts Hawaii Emergency Landing

May 29 2019

A United Airlines flight traveling from Hawaii was forced to return to Honolulu when a fire broke out in the engine. Flight UA132 was heading for Majuro, the capital of the Marshall Islands, on Sunday when flames started shooting out of the engine. The flight landed safely back at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport; no injuries were reported.

There are some things you hope never happen to you on a plane. Hostage situations, severe turbulence, snakes… but something which has to be super scary for any passenger is to look out of the window and see flames shooting out of the engine.

That’s exactly what happened to passengers on a United Airlines flight last Sunday, leaving many stranded in Hawaii for almost a week.

What happened?

The United Airlines flight from Honolulu to Majuro, Marshall Islands, took off at 07:37 local time on Sunday 26^th May. 141 passengers and eight crew were reported to be on board the Boeing 737-800, registration N37281.

The aircraft took off as normal, but moments into the flight as the aircraft headed out over the water, something went wrong. Passengers report seeing flames shooting out of the left hand engine, in two bursts.

According to flight data, the aircraft then circled over the ocean for some time. Presumably the flight crew were performing tests on the engine to decide whether to abort the trip. Clearly the eventually decided that it could not go ahead. The aircraft landed back at Honolulu almost exactly two hours later, at 09:35.

The flight was met by emergency crews. However, no injuries were reported. Khon 2 reports that an airline spokesperson said the flight experienced a ‘mechanical issue’ with one of the engines. Detail of the nature of the incident was not reported.

Information on Flight Radar shows the flight cancelled, in addition to the three next hops which would have been using the same aircraft. At this time, the same trip programmed for June 2^nd is still on the schedule, although it’s not clear whether the same 737 (N37281) will be used.

Eyewitness report

Passenger Josh Ley was filming their flight when the incident occurred. He was reported by the IBTimes explaining what happened:

“Had fire and smoke coming out the back for like a few seconds, like two spurs of fire,” Ley said. “Then next thing you know we were staying at the same elevation, circling around for almost an hour before we landed again. It was about an hour of just trying to figure out what’s going on.”

He went on to say that the pilot told passengers that a compressor on one of the engines had failed. Ley continued:

“They checked out the plane to make sure that we were safe to arrive at the gate. They had to cool down the [brakes]. They gave us the go-ahead to come back to the gate. We waited at the gate for a little while. Finally, we got the notice that our flight was canceled.”

Khon2 news agency reported on the incident:

Some passengers were booked onto the next flight out, which left at 09:37 on Monday. However, as there was not room for all of them, a number were told they would need to wait until Friday for a connection to Majuro. Ley has told reporters that they’ve been provided with hotel accommodation and food vouchers until the flight leaves.

It’s not the first time that a 737 has been reported to have suffered an engine fire. A Utair flight just last month was videoed with flames spewing from the engine. Despite the reassurances of crew members that all was well, and it was ‘normal’, passengers begged to differ, with three even trying to exit the plane via the wing emergency exit.

Passengers get scare when Stockton-bound plane fills with smoke

https://www.recordnet.com/news/20190608/passengers-get-scare-when-s...

STOCKTON — Passengers on a flight from Las Vegas to Stockton got a scare on Saturday when the presence of smoke forced their plane to return to the airport.

Patricia Clark and her husband, who were in Las Vegas to celebrate their wedding anniversary, were aboard an Allegiant Air flight that departed at 11:48 a.m. when after about 5-10 minutes in the air, smoke could be seen inside the aircraft, she said.

It wasn’t thick, but it was present and it smelled like something was burning, Clark said from Las Vegas on Saturday afternoon while she waited for a return flight home.

According to a flight tracker, the aircraft involved was an Airbus A319 originally scheduled to land in Stockton at 1:05 p.m.

In a written statement, Sonya Padgett with Allegiant said that shortly after leaving the airport, Allegiant Flight 63, with 154 passengers and crew on board, experienced a mechanical issue.

“Out of an abundance of caution, an emergency was declared and the pilot returned to the airport,” according to the statement. “The aircraft landed safely and without incident. It taxied to the gate under its own power and passengers deplaned normally.”

Padgett said there were no injuries and a replacement aircraft completed the flight to Stockton.

Chris Jones, chief marketing officer for the McCarran International Airport, said the plane had to turn around and return after there was an issue with smoke in the cockpit.

There was no information provided about the cause of the smoke.

For Clark and some of her fellow passengers, the ordeal was frightening.

Several people were so scared that they screamed, she said. They kept pushing the buttons to call the flight attendants. And people were still crying once they were back at the airport, she added.

“It was very terrifying to be up in the air and the plane is smoking,” she said. “It was horrible.”..."

Posted Jun 8, 2019 at 8:06 PM ~

~

Alaska Airlines flight makes emergency landing in Portland after 'strong smell' detected

https://www.king5.com/article/news/alaska-airlines-flight-makes-eme...

Flight makes emergency landing at Cheyenne Regional Airport

https://www.wyomingnews.com/news/local_news/flight-makes-emergency-...

CHEYENNE – Pilots of a Delta Airbus A321 made an emergency landing at Cheyenne Regional Airport on Friday afternoon, leaving airport staff scrambling to assist more than 200 passengers and crew members for at least nine hours.

Around 3 p.m., pilots detected rising temperatures in the cargo department of a plane headed from Salt Lake City to Detroit, and deployed the aircraft’s fire extinguishing bottles.

“As soon as they did that at 35,000 feet, they knew they needed to land at an airport quickly” said Cheyenne Regional Airport director Tim Barth. “And, we were it. I got a call around 3:15 p.m. as I was leaving. They said ‘we’ve got an inbound Delta Airbus that’s on fire,’ which got my attention.”

It’s still unclear whether fire was found on the plane, but passengers re-boarded to retrieve belongings after it was cleared by firefighters. No injuries were reported.

“The fire department did have some higher readings, but not to indicate it was unsafe,” Barth said. Others indicated it may have been an electrical malfunction.

But passengers headed east were in good spirits following the incident.

“I’d never heard of Cheyenne before this,” said Mark Galsworth. “But we’re making the best of it, the only thing missing is maybe some beer.”

There was no beer, but Delta did give airport staff the company credit card to arrange catering through Little America.

“They’ve been taking care of us,” said Detroit resident Yolanda Screws.

“They even brought in two different meals. We can’t leave the terminal unless we want to book another flight or drive down to Denver,” Screws said.

Still, many were shaken following the abrupt landing.

“It was nerve wracking for sure,” said Jason Plaisted, who’s traveling to New York. “Especially when you’re an hour into the flight and, all of a sudden, they’re telling you it’s an emergency. No one really got upset or panicked, but we descended from 30,000 or so feet in what felt like a corkscrew, which is gut wrenching. It was a really fast landing, I’d say less than 15 minutes.”

Airport managers said Friday’s group was the largest they’ve seen in decades.

“The seating area of the terminal has a capacity of roughly 225-250,” Barth said. “And, if this terminal wasn’t here tonight, we would have had to call Laramie County and the city to enact a county-wide emergency plan to handle this.”

Around 9 p.m., passengers were told to expect another flight out of Cheyenne around midnight, the same time Cheyenne’s twice-daily SkyWest flight from Dallas was expected to arrive.

“They’re sending a Boeing 757 to pick up passengers,” Barth said. “I’m hoping SkyWest gets here before Delta does because we cant fit both those airplanes on this runway. We might have to park on the taxiway and make everyone walk out to it.”

Now, Delta will send mechanics and parts to repair the grounded aircraft.

“On top of this, we’ve had three weather-related diversions here today,” Barth said.

~

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/breaking-mass-power-cut-hi...

Massive power cut hits all of Argentina and Uruguay leaving 48m without electricity

Parts of Brazil and Paraguay are also reportedly affected by the outage which has caused trains to be halted

A massive power cut has hit Argentina and Uruguay and is believed to have left 48million people without electricity.

The outage - thought to be the first of its kind - has caused trains to be halted and failures with traffic signalling, according to reports.

Major electricity supplier Edesur Argentina said in a tweet: "A massive failure in the electrical interconnection system left Argentina and Uruguay without power."

A spokesperson for the company, Alejandra Martínez, told Infobae: "Never has anything like this happened before."

The power cut, thought to have originated in Argentina, has also affected parts of Brazil and Paraguay, reports say.

It is believed to have happened at around midday (GMT), which is 7am local time, and to have affected 48million, the BBC reports.

The dramatic video above shows the power cutting out on a crowded train in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and it appears people were forced to get out and walk in the dark.

The power cut has affected all of Argentina

The power cut is thought to have originated in Argentina

Initial investigations indicate the blackout could have been caused by an imbalance between supply and demand of energy, Infobae reports.

The Energy Secretary told them that "a collapse of the Argentine Interconnection System (SADI) produced a massive power outage throughout the country that also affected Uruguay".

This comes as people in parts of Argentina were preparing to head out to the polls for local elections.

Images have emerged online of darkened streets

A darkened city - Buenos Aires in Argentina

Images of darkened streets have emerged online, with people still able to take to social media to report the incident.   

One student tweeted that she was going to get up and study before the lights went out.

"How weird is this world," another wrote, commenting on the massive power cut, as another said: "I don't understand how something like this (could) happen."

Some of the affected provinces include Santa Fe, San Luis, Formosa, La Rioja, Chubut, Cordoba and Mendoza, reports said.

EPEC Cordoba, the Provincial Energy Company of Córdoba, tweeted: "At this time, work is being made to determine the reason for the failure and to be able to restore the supply in the shortest possible time."

UTE, the National Administration of Power Plants and Transmissions, tweeted:  "At 7.06 a defect in the Argentine network affected the interconnected system leaving the entire national territory without service, as did several provinces of the neighboring country."

It added: "The system is already being lifted from scratch. There are already cities on the coast with service and work is still being carried out towards the general restoration."

The outage comes amid the Copa América football championship held in Brazil.

We'll be bringing you the very latest updates, pictures and video on this breaking news story.

Solar flare, aging infrastructure or Russia: Who gets blamed when the US has a massive power outage?

The New York Times has once again plumbed the bottom-feeding depths of journalism with an uncritical story on how the US hacked Russia’s power grid – without Trump’s knowledge. What could possibly go wrong?

Imagine the following scenario. You are home alone on a Friday evening, relaxing with your favorite TV series when suddenly the lights go out. Using the wall as your guide, you struggle to the kitchen to find some candles. On the way, you glance out the window. A mild panic takes hold as your brain processes the shocking scene: from your view atop a New York City high-rise not a single visible light can be seen aside from the twinkling of car headlights far below. The Big Apple, home to over 8.5 million people, has been plunged into a metallic sea of darkness.

In an effort to comprehend what has happened, you begin to ponder apocalyptic plot-lines borrowed from a Mad Max flick. Did the planet’s power grid finally get fried by one of those solar hiccups we’ve been conditioned to fear? Did that damn rogue asteroid final impact the earth? Did WWIII begin and nobody tell you? And undoubtedly you will hypothesize along the way that America’s arch nemesis, Russia, has been playing with the power switch.

And who would blame you? After all, for almost three years we’ve been bombarded with fake news about ‘Russiagate’ and meddling Russians. And just a few days earlier the New York Times – the hallowed ‘paper of record’ – reported that the United States had planted “crippling malware” inside of Russia’s power grid “with an aggressiveness that had never been tried before.” What would compel the saintly Americans to do such an insane thing? Why, because the Russians started it, of course.

https://www.rt.com/op-ed/462145-nyt-power-grid-attack-russia/

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/15/us/politics/trump-cyber-russia-g...

Flybe plane declares mid-air emergency on Glasgow to Southampton flight

The plane, flight BE 881 operated by Nordica, was scheduled to land at Southampton Airport before was forced to turn back and land at Glasgow Airport.

It was due to arrive at Southampton at 8.15am. Flybe has confirmed that there was a technical fault with the plane. 

One Twitter user declared the flight the "worst journey ever" and said the emergency landing was due to an electrical fault plus problems with the engine.

A Flybe spokesperson said: "Flybe can confirm that the aircraft operating the above flight landed safely at Glasgow Airport having returned from airborne following a technical fault. The pilot followed all standard procedures and it landed without further incident.

"As is standard procedure, the aircraft was met by the airport’s emergency service vehicles.

"All 59 passengers disembarked as normal when the aircraft arrived on stand and will be re-accommodated on the next available flight.

"The safety of its passengers and crew is the airline’s number one priority and the airline apologises for any inconvenience experienced."

Posted June 22, 2019 : www.dailystar.co.uk

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/BEE881

~

British Airways flight declaring mid-air emergency inbound to London Heathrow

CT substation explosion leaves 2 electricians injured

 CAPE TOWN - Two electricians have suffered burns following an explosion at a substation in Vredehoek.

The men were trying to restore power to the area on Saturday (June 22).

This after a number of suburbs including Kensington, Delft and Maitland suffered power outages due to strong winds and heavy rain on Friday night.

ER24 spokesperson Ross Campbell said: “The two men believed to be in their 30s sustained burns while opening an electrical box. One suffered serious injuries and was tried with advanced life support interventions while the other suffered moderate injuries. Both were taken to a private hospital in the are for further care. The exact cause of the explosion is not known yet to ER24, but fire and electrical departments, as well as SAPS, were on the scene for further investigation.”

https://www.msn.com/en-za/news/featured/ct-substation-explosion-lea...

~

Engine failure on Air Canada flight leads to emergency landing at YVR

 An Air Canada flight bound from Vancouver to Anchorage, Alaska, returned mid-flight on Sunday after engine trouble.

Flight AC 538 departed Vancouver International Airport at 1:10 p.m. Sunday (June 23) and was scheduled to make a three-hour flight to Anchorage, according to flight records.

Just over halfway into the trip, the twin-engine aircraft turned around and returned to YVR.

YVR spokeswoman Andrea Pham saidthe flight landed safely.

In a prepared statement, Air Canada said the flight had 112 passengers and had returned to Vancouver after an engine was shutdown.

“Aircraft are designed to fly on one engine and our pilots are trained for such situations,” the airline said.

Flight Aware shows that the plane, an Airbus 320 aircraft, touched down around 3:06 p.m. in Vancouver.

https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/air-canada-flight-to-ancho...

~

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/UAL155/history/20190623/2230Z/P...

Lexington-bound flight makes emergency landing in Tennessee after smoke reported in plane

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/latest-news/article231976227.html

A Lexington-bound American Airlines flight had to make an emergency landing in Tennessee Wednesday morning after crew members reported smoke in the cockpit, according to Tri-Cities Airport.

Flight No. 4890 from Charlotte to Lexington landed safely at the Blountville, Tenn., airport at around 10:06 a.m. Wednesday (June 26) with 52 passengers and four crew members on board, the airport said. No injuries were reported and the plane’s passengers departed into the concourse.

Airport first responders were on scene when the plane landed and the Sullivan County Fire Department and EMS crews also responded, according to Tri-Cities Airport.

American Airlines said it will rebook passengers from the flight, which had a “mechanical issue.”

~

Outage in Netherlands knocks out emergency services for hours. Officials have ruled out a cyber attack.

 The Dutch were given a frightening lesson about society's reliance on technology. A major telecommunications outage knocked Netherland's version of 911 offline for a few hours on Monday (June 24), reported Reuters. The outage originated on Royal KPN's network and impacted both landlines and mobile phones. It's unclear what caused the event, though KPN has ruled out a security breach. The network went offline at around 3:45 pm in the Netherlands, and was restored roughly four hours later.

Public officials immediately flocked to social media to warn Dutch residents of the outage. In case an emergency hit, people were instructed to go to the nearest hospital or fire station directly rather than call a dispatch operator. Temporary mobile phone numbers were soon given out for emergency services. Police could even be reached by email or Whatsapp. Other emergency services in the country asked residents to reach out to them on Twitter or Facebook.

The nationwide outage is the largest in recent memory for the Netherlands, a country of 17 million. Fortunately for Dutch emergency service providers, staying connected to the public was relatively easy. The Netherlands has the highest levels of at-home internet access in Europe; currently a whopping 98 percent of Dutch residents have internet access at home. As concerning as such a widespread outage is, there may be no better country to which it could have happened.

https://www.engadget.com/2019/06/24/outage-in-netherlands-knocks-ou...

~

Crews moving patients stuck at hospital in power outage

https://www.chron.com/news/article/Crews-moving-patients-stuck-at-h...

RENTON, Wash. (AP) — Authorities say fire crews are working to move patients at a suburban Seattle hospital after a power outage stranded them on upper floors.

Renton Fire says at about 6 p.m. Wednesday (June 26) numerous patients who are unable to move on their own were stranded and that some were stuck in elevators at Valley Medical Center in Renton. 

Fire officials say crews were working to get patients to the ground floor of the hospital.

Puget Sound Energy at about 6 p.m. reported power outages in Renton that were affecting nearly 1,850 customers.

No further information was immediately available.

~

Telecom outage in U.S. leaves passengers stranded at Porter Airlines in Toronto

https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/canada-news-pmn/telecom-outag...

TORONTO — Porter Airlines says a telecom outage in the United States has affected their website, including passenger processing and reservation systems.

In a tweet issued late Wednesday afternoon (June 26), the airline says it is unable to make bookings and/or change flights at this time.

Billy Bishop Airport tweeted that Porter Airlines is unable to check-in passengers for trans-border flights, and passengers can expect “significant” delays.

It says domestic passengers will still be checked in manually, but to expect delays.

~

'Network outage' affects flights, check-in for Spirit Airlines in Boston

https://www.wcvb.com/article/spirit-airlines-planes-sitting-on-tarm...

BOSTON — Spirit Airlines planes were seen sitting on a tarmac for prolonged periods of time Wednesday (June 26) amid what airline officials described as a "network outage."

Spirit spokesman Stephen Schuler said the issue was isolated to Boston Logan International Airport and did not impact any other airports.

In addition to the planes seen waiting on the tarmac, Schuler said the airline was having difficulty with the systems used for check-in and baggage.

"Our guest service agents are using manual processes to check in guests and bags, as our IT team works to address the issue on-site. We are advising any guests traveling out of Boston today to arrive early for their flights, and we apologize for any inconvenience," Schuler said.

The airline confirmed that service was restored around 5 p.m.

~

Transformer Fire in Mountainside Causes Power Outages

https://www.tapinto.net/towns/westfield/articles/transformer-fire-i...

MOUNTAINSIDE, NJ - A Transformer fire at a PSE&G substation on Globe Avenue in Mountainside has been contained, according to a release from Union County First Alert. 

Residents of the area can expect a loss of power throughout the night as crews work to isolate the transformer and replace it.  

Posted: June 26, 2019 at 8:20 PM

~

Transformer Fire in Red Bank

https://www.tapinto.net/categories/news/articles/transformer-fire-i...

RED BANK, NJ: 8:10pm The borough is reporting a transformer fire in the vicinity of South Street and East Bergen Place.

RB Fire Department is on the scene.."

~

Large parts of Abergele was left without power after an explosion at a local power substation.

The outage affected hundreds of homes in the area and businesses including Threeways, Shell, McDonald's and the leisure centre

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/explosion-saw-mcd...

Witnesses described hearing a "massive bang" coming from the Threeways area of the town just before the power went out at around 8pm on Monday (June 24).

Businesses including McDonald's , the Shell fuel station, the Leisure Centre and the Threeways garage were also believed to be affected by the outage.

Fire engines were called to the scene close to the Kinmel Manor after the blast, which left the area without power for several hours.

A spokesperson for North Wales Fire and Rescue Service said: "We were called to an electrical incident in Abergele at 8.02pm.  One appliance from Abergele attended the scene, which was an electrical fault.

"There was a small grass fire as a result of the fault, which was out on arrival.  We then liaised with Scottish Power who were also at the scene."

Scottish Power have since confirmed that the power cut was caused by a network fault. 

A spokeswoman for SP Energy Networks said: "We were made aware of a circuit failure near to the St George Road substation.

"Engineers reported back to confirm the issue was caused by an overhead network fault - a problem with the overhead powerlines.."

~

Israel Hit by Mysteriously Recurring GPS Disruptions in Its Airspace

International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations announced that 'many' pilots had lost satellite signals during navigation and landings at Ben Gurion

26.06.2019

https://www.haaretz.com/amp/israel-news/israel-says-gps-mysteriousl...
Israel is experiencing unexplained GPS disruptions in its airspace in the past month, but "measures are in place to allow safe landings and takeoffs" at its main international airport, the government said on Wednesday.

The announcement by the Israel Airports Authority (IAA) followed a report on Tuesday by the International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations (IFALPA) that "many" pilots had lost satellite signal from the Global Positioning System around Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport.

Confirming there had been GPS disruptions for approximately the past three weeks, an IAA statement said these affected only airborne crews and not terrestrial navigation systems. An aviation source told Haaretz the interruptions occur only during daytime, but "do not put pilots and passengers at risk."

Pilots use GPS for navigation within the Israeli airspace, and for takeoff and landing. The source said pilots have alternative instrument landing and navigation systems that are not reliant on the GPS to work. Another source said the announcement was meant to notify incoming flights to turn off GPS systems, and use the alternative instruments, as long as the interruptions continue.

‘Unusual Odor’ Forces Spirit Flight to Return to Atlantic City

Well, nobody seems to know—or nobody is saying—what the “unusual odor” was onboard a Spirit Airlines flight on Saturday.

This much we do know—it stunk enough for the flight to make an emergency landing.

Flight 341 indeed made a return to Atlantic City International Airport on Saturday morning (June 29) , barely 30 minutes after taking off en route to Tampa.

“The airfield closed for 15 minutes to respond to the alert,” South Jersey Transportation Authority spokesman Mark Amorosi said. “The aircraft taxied under its own power back to the airport gate.”

The flight, scheduled for a 6:25 a.m. takeoff, departed at 6:28 and landed back at Atlantic City at 7:08.

But nobody is saying what the stench was, although Spirit spokesman Stephen Schuler insisted it was not 

“Reports of smoke in the cabin and cockpit are unfounded and inaccurate,” Schuler said. “No guests reported any injuries, and we are working now to get them to their final destinations. Out of an abundance of caution, the flight attendants are being evaluated by medical personnel. We apologize for any inconvenience.”

All passengers were transferred to another plane and the flight eventually took off at 6 p.m. on Saturday night.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/%E2%80%98unusual-odor%E2%80%9...

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/NKS341/history/20190629/1025Z/K...

Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp are DOWN for thousands worldwide as people report issues posting content, logging in and even being locked out

• UK, US and Europe appear to be hardest hit in the latest in a string of outages
• Reported Instagram issues include posting, seeing stories and loading content
• Facebook users say they are having trouble logging in and accessing their feeds
• WhatsApp users can't send or receive messages and a small number can't log-in

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7209513/Instagram-u...

Passenger describes hearing 'boom' before Delta flight makes emergency landing due to engine failure

 https://abcnews.go.com/Travel/passenger-describes-hearing-boom-delt...

 Travelers aboard a Delta plane flying from Atlanta, Georgia, to Baltimore, Maryland, had a frightening midair moment when their flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Raleigh due to a possible engine issue.

Delta 

 flight 1425 left around 12:48 p.m. Monday (July 9) from Hartsfield-Jackson International and was bound for Baltimore-Washington International, when about an hour after takeoff, the flight crew reported an issue with one of the plane's engines.

"We are declaring an emergency. We will need crews out there on the rollout," a pilot could be heard telling air traffic controllers on LiveATC.

In a statement, Delta said the flight crew had received "an indication of a possible issue with one of the aircraft’s engines."

Video taken by a passenger showed a metal part bouncing inside one of the engine. Delta said it was a contained failure of the left engine and that the part was the nose cone. An orange glow could be seen around the still spinning shaft in the passenger video.

"The captain came on the loudspeaker and said that we had lost an engine and that they were making preparations to have an emergency landing," Jose Bahamonde-Gonzalez told ABC News affiliate WMAR-TV in Baltimore.

There were 148 passengers on board.

"After we heard the boom, we just saw all this smoke come up into the cabin and that's when we really started freaking out. ... It started slowing down a little bit and it was getting hot. The air cut off," passenger Avery Porch told WMAR-TV. "I was about to be the first person to jump off."

Tyler Kreuger, Porch's boyfriend, said that even though he had no service midair, he still texted his parents: "I love you."

In video taken by a passenger inside the cabin, flight attendants could be heard quickly giving instructions, telling passengers to put their heads down and brace for landing, as the plane neared Raleigh.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the flight attendants will come through ... and make sure we are prepared for landing. Fasten your seat belts, loosen your collars, remove ties, scarves and eyeglasses," a flight attendant could be heard telling passengers. "I was about to be the first person to jump off".

The aircraft -- a 32-year-old MD-88 with the engines mounted on the fuselage near the tail -- made an emergency landing at Raleigh-Durham International around 2:27 p.m., according to FlightAware.

The plane landed safely in Raleigh as fire and rescue teams waited on the tarmac. There were no reported injuries.

In a statement, Delta apologized to travelers for the inconvenience. WMAR-TV said passengers were given a $30 food voucher to use while they waited for their next flight.

Passengers made it to Baltimore hours later.

~

 Photo: Flickr/redlegsfan21

~

Transformer fire in NYC causes major power outage

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NBFVyrWn88

A major power outage is being reported in a large part of Manhattan in New York City. Get the latest details in our LIVE BREAKING NEWS COVERAGE. It is not clear what is causing the Manhattan blackout. Areas affected reportedly include the Upper West Side, Midtown, and Columbus Circle

Indigo flight develops snag, returns to Goa airport

https://www.canindia.com/indigo-flight-develops-snag-returns-to-goa...

 Panaji, July 15 (IANS) An Indigo flight to Ahmedabad from Goa had to return to the Dabolim international airport on Monday evening and make an emergency landing following snag in one of the engines, said an official.

“One of the engines of Indigo Airlines flight 6E162 developed a snag midair, following which the pilot adopted emergency protocol and flew back to the Goa airport,” a spokesperson for the Goa airport said.

There were around 180 passengers onboard and all of them landed safely at around 5 pm, the spokesperson added.

~

https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/en/news-page/news-nation/e...

https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/wisconsin/2019/07/19/two-...

Gov. Evers declares state of emergency as thousands in Madison are without power after explosion, fires at substations

Published 8:30 a.m. CT July 19, 2019

MADISON - Just under 6,000 people in Madison remain without power in the middle of a heatwave after an explosion and fires broke out at two Madison Gas and Electric power stations Friday.  

Gov. Tony Evers declared a state of emergency in Madison and Dane County.

“With the power outages and the extreme heat, I have directed all state agencies to provide assistance and authorized Maj. Gen. Don Dunbar, Wisconsin’s adjutant general, to activate the National Guard to assist local authorities if needed. Keeping folks safe remains our top priority as we continue to manage and respond to this situation.”

Black smoke filled the sky over Madison's isthmus and knocked out power across downtown, closing streets and snarling traffic. 

Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway warned downtown Madison residents mid-day power might not be restored by nightfall.

MG&E president and CEO Jeff Keebler said a mechanical issue likely caused the first and larger fire in a substation across the street from a generating plant just off East Washington Avenue — a main thoroughfare on Madison's isthmus.

“We don’t know whether the fire caused the explosion or the explosion caused the fire," Keebler said at a news conference.

The cause of the second fire at a substation not owned by MG&E near the University of Wisconsin-Madison's campus is unknown.

Keebler said the company is conducting a damage assessment but hopes to restore power within hours.

As of 1 p.m., just under 6,000 people were still without power on what is likely to be the hottest day of the year. That was down from about 12,000 earlier in the day.

The temperature in Madison was forecast to hit 93 on Friday, with the heat index — what it feels like when the temperature is combined with humidity — forecast to be as high as 105 degrees. 

But Keebler said MG&E officials had no reason to believe the cause of the fires were due to customers using air conditioners more than on cooler days. 

Cooling centers are open across the city, including at the UW-Madison's Kohl Center. 

Excessive heat is of particular concern at two assisted living facilities for senior citizens in downtown Madison.

Lisa Olsen, program and events manager at the Capitol Lakes Retirement Center, said the building has backup generators it is using for health services.The building was cool as of Friday morning, but workers said if the outage lasts six hours or more, residents could have problems with the heat.

"People are running around like crazy trying to help everyone who needs it right now," Olsen said. "We have staff checking on independent-living residents."

The mayor said taking care of people at the senior centers was a top priority and the city would move residents to other locations if necessary. State officials have offered to assist if help is needed, she said.

Rhodes-Conway told residents to treat intersections like four-way stops when traffic lights are out. She urged people to drink water and stay up to date by following news outlets and checking www.cityofmadison.com/poweroutage.

“You’ve got to stay cool, you've got to stay hydrated and you’ve got to stay connected," she said.

One UW Health's urgent care centers on Madison's east side was closed because of the power outage, according to UW Health spokeswoman Toni Morrissey. 

Dane County relocated its 911 center because of the outage, but no 911 calls were missed, according to county officials.

The power outages prompted Gov. Evers to close state offices and the Capitol. City and Dane County closed many of their offices.

State government websites, including for the court filing system and the Department of Motor Vehicles, were down as of mid-day Friday. 

The largest fire and explosion occurred at the substation at 702 E. Main Street, near East Washington Avenue. The substation is co-owned by MG&E and American Transmission Co., Keebler said.

The second fire was at a substation owned by ATC near UW-Madison's Ogg Hall. It was put out quickly. 

UW-Madison spokeswoman Meredith McGlone said the fire did not affect campus buildings and power remained on throughout Friday. 

Madison Fire Chief Steven Davis said 40 firefighters were sent to the downtown substation at about 7:40 a.m. It took 15 to 20 minutes to "de-energize" the substation and after that the fires was put out in five to seven minutes using foam, he said.

Firefighters are investigating the cause in conjunction with MG&E, he said

Plane makes emergency landing in Christchurch with smoke in cockpit

 Fire crews are working to find out what caused smoke in the cockpit of a passenger plane.

An Air New Zealand plane has had to make an emergency landing at Christchurch Airport.

A Fire and Emergency spokesman says it landed safely and all passengers have disembarked.

An Air New Zealand spokesperson said Flight NZ5751 from Christchurch to Dunedin returned to Christchurch after a smoke indicator warning light illuminated.

The aircraft landed safely shortly before 2.40pm and customers were immediately disembarked onto the tarmac as a precaution.

The aircraft is now being checked following the incident.

Last week an Air New Zealand Q300 aircraft from Wellington to Christchurch shut down an engine after smoke was seen coming from it.

Passengers were reported to be praying on the flight after hearing a loud bang seeing smoke.

Posted July 22, 2109: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=...

Widespread blackout hits Venezuela, government blames 'electromagnetic attack'

CARACAS (Reuters) - More than half of Venezuela’s 23 states lost power on Monday, according to Reuters witnesses and reports on social media, a blackout the government blamed on an “electromagnetic attack.”

It was the first blackout to include the capital, Caracas, since March, when the government blamed the opposition and United States for a series of power outages that left millions of people without running water and telecommunications.

The blackouts exacerbated an economic crisis that has halved the size of the economy.

Venezuelan Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said the outage on Monday was caused by an “electromagnetic attack,” without providing evidence. He added that authorities were in the process of re-establishing service.

Blackout in Caracas, Venezuela July 22, 2019. REUTERS/Manaure Quintero      

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-power/widespread-black...