Northern Sweden plane crash: Here’s what we know so far

Posted on July 16, 2019 by Writer

What happened?

A small aircraft, GippsAero GA8 Airvan, took off from Umeå airport in northern Sweden at 1.33pm on Sunday, July 14th.

At 2.12pm the air control tower received an accident alert. The plane crashed on the island Storsandskär in the Ume river, two kilometres from the edge of the runway at Umeå airport.

The accident is the fifth deadliest plane crash in Sweden in terms of civilian aircraft fatalities, and the deadliest in the past three decades.

The approximate location of the crash.

Who were the victims?

Nine people were on board the plane at the time of the crash, including the pilot and eight members of the local skydiving association, and they all died in the crash.

Work is still underway to formally identify the passengers. The national forensic medicine agency has said it hopes for this to be complete by the end of the week, but according to the list of passengers the nine included seven men and two women.

They were all Swedish citizens from Västerbotten and Norrbotten counties and one of them was a dual Swedish-American citizen, according to the list of passengers.

READ ALSO: What caused the tragedy that killed nine people in Sweden?


A sign for the skydiving association, Umeå Fallskärmsklubb. Photo: Erik Abel/TT

What has the investigation found so far?

The Swedish Accident Investigation Authority is in Umeå to investigate the cause of the crash, which was still unknown by Tuesday morning.

The aircraft model is usually almost nine metres from nose to tail, with a single engine and a propeller. 

At a

Article source: https://www.thelocal.se/20190715/what-we-know-about-the-fatal-plane-crash-in-northern-sweden-so-far

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Statues, education center honor Neil Armstrong at museum

Posted on July 16, 2019 by Writer

WAPAKONETA, Ohio (AP) — New statues of astronaut Neil Armstrong were unveiled and an education center was dedicated in his name on Sunday as his Ohio hometown continued celebrating its native son’s history-making moon mission 50 years ago this month.

Republican Gov. Mike DeWine and other officials gathered at the Armstrong Air and Space Museum in Wapakoneta for the unveiling Sunday of a bronze life-sized statue of Armstrong as a test pilot. Another statue of him outside the museum as a boy sitting on a bench while holding a model airplane also was unveiled Sunday.

There was also a ribbon-cutting to dedicate the Armstrong STEM Inspiration Center at the museum. That center is intended to promote science, technology, engineering and math learning.

The governor told those gathered at the museum that they were there to honor a courageous Ohioan “who inspired us 50 years ago and a man who continues to really inspire us today.”

DeWine said the events were not only about honoring the past, but also about looking to the future.

He said the hope and belief is that the new education center “will inspire young people, maybe future Neil Armstrongs, young people who have an interest in science and math, and maybe that will spark something special in them when they come in here.”

One of Armstrong’s sons, Mark Armstrong, also talked of the importance of inspiring young people.

“You’re just looking to make one connection with someone, a little boy or a

Article source: https://www.10tv.com/article/statues-education-center-honor-neil-armstrong-museum-2019-jul

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William F. Vogelsang – WISC – Channel3000.com – WISC

Posted on July 15, 2019 by Writer

William F. Vogelsang

William F. Vogelsang

Dr. William F. Vogelsang, Professor Emeritus of Engineering Physics at University of Wisconsin, quietly passed away Tuesday, June 9, 2019, at age 90.

Bill was born September 12, 1928 in Lincoln, Nebraska to Ferd and Lula Vogelsang. He grew up building model airplanes, playing clarinet in the band, going to Colorado, and reading. His favorite childhood activities were enjoyed his whole life. Helping with the family ice making business was also an important part of his early life.

After earning a BS from Nebraska Wesleyan, an MS from Miami University of Ohio, and a PhD from the University of Pittsburgh, Bill, as a senior scientist, spent seven years as part of a team at Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory working the design and development of the first nuclear reactors used on U.S. submarines and aircraft carriers. Subsequently, Bill had a long, fulfilling career at the UW. He was a valued

Article source: https://www.channel3000.com/obituaries/william-f-vogelsang/1095294545

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Southwest Airlines puts new pilot training, promotions on hold with 737 Max still grounded

Posted on July 15, 2019 by Writer

Southwest had 34 Boeing 737 Max jets when the FAA grounded the planes in March, but was scheduled to get another 44 planes during 2019. The Max line makes up the entirety of Southwest’s fleet growth plans since Southwest operates Boeing 737s exclusively.

The airline already canceled flights scheduled on Boeing 737 Max jets through Oct. 1, although Gary Kelly told employees in a company-wide message that it could take “well beyond” that to get the aircraft back into service.

The FAA grounded the Boeing 737 Max jets on March 13 following crashes of planes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed 346 people. The crashes were linked to a software system meant to compensate for bigger engines on the new model planes, but when paired with a faulty sensor led to the two crashes.

Boeing has not given any guidance for when the planes will be ready to fly again, but the FAA identified another software problem in June that needed to be fixed. 

On Sunday, American Airlines said it was taking its 24 737 Max jets off its schedules through Nov. 2, resulting in another 115 cancellations a day, two months later than previously announced. 

American Airlines spokeswoman Leslie Scott said the company has not cut back on hiring or delayed promotions because of the 737 Max grounding.

Article source: https://www.dallasnews.com/business/southwest-airlines/2019/07/15/southwest-airlines-puts-new-pilot-training-promotions-hold-737-max-still-grounded

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Inside the Combined Aerospace Operations Centre

Posted on July 15, 2019 by Writer

Shortly after midnight on Thursday, May 30, the phones in the Royal Canadian Air Force Combined Aerospace Operations Centre (CAOC) in 1 Canadian Air Division (1 CAD)/Canadian NORAD Region Headquarters at 17 Wing Winnipeg, Man., started ringing. A massive forest fire over 3,300 hectares in size was bearing down on the Pikangikum First Nation, a community of 3,800 people in northwestern Ontario only accessible by air or water, and the provincial government was starting to fear for their safety.

CH-147 Chinooks and CH-146 Griffons standby at Williams Lake Airport for a possible evacuation of the Williams Lake region during Operation Lentus in British Columbia in 2017. Cpl Gabrielle DesRochers PhotoCH-147 Chinooks and CH-146 Griffons standby at Williams Lake Airport for a possible evacuation of the Williams Lake region during Operation Lentus in British Columbia in 2017. Cpl Gabrielle DesRochers Photo
CH-147 Chinooks and CH-146 Griffons stand by at Williams Lake Airport for a possible evacuation of the Williams Lake region during Operation Lentus in British Columbia in 2017. Cpl Gabrielle DesRochers Photo

The request for military assistance wasn’t yet official, but the staff in the CAOC that night immediately began searching for resources. At 424 Rescue and Transport Squadron at 8 Wing Trenton, Ont., technicians began stripping a CC-130H Hercules of its air droppable search and rescue (SAR) kit and configuring the

Article source: https://www.skiesmag.com/features/inside-the-combined-aerospace-operations-centre/

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Altman’s determination got him to space

Posted on July 15, 2019 by Writer

PEKIN — Few Americans have seen Earth from space, have been a stunt pilot and have a school named after themselves. Pekin native Scott Altman happens to be able to say he has.

From a very young age, Altman wanted to be a pilot. According to his father, Fred Altman, Scott really like the television show “Sky King.” While he and wife, Sharon, were toilet training their then 3-year-old son, he earned stickers. Once he earned seven stickers they gave Scott a choice of new cowboy boots or a ride in an airplane, because the genre of his favorite show was a western but involved airplanes, too. Without hesitation, Scott chose the airplane ride.

“He’s always wanted to be a pilot,” said Fred. “Always.”

As a child, Altman built model airplanes and looked up to pilots. He also ran on the cross country team and played basketball.

“I learned the value of teamwork from my coach Marshall Stoner,” Altman said. “He would tell us, ‘You’re better together than you are apart,’ and that was true then and it applied to other parts of life.”

Altman attended Edison Junior High School and graduated from Pekin Community High School in 1977. He wanted to join the United States Air Force Academy to become a pilot. Altman was disappointed to learn that his sitting height was too tall for him to qualify. His 6-foot-4-inch frame had him sitting at 39 1/2 inches. The limit for pilots in the Air Force is 38 1/2 inches for

Article source: https://www.reviewatlas.com/news/20190714/altmans-determination-got-him-to-space

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Electric Airplanes Start to Take Off

Posted on July 15, 2019 by Writer

A five-passenger airplane took flight near Los Angeles recently with one important modification: an electric motor.

The nearly 50-year-old plane, retrofitted by California-based startup Ampaire, still used a normal combustion engine to spin a propeller in its nose for the test flight. But engineers replaced a second engine with the electric motor, which powered a propeller in the back of the plane.

“It’s…

Article source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/electric-switch-old-planes-get-makeovers-in-race-for-the-skies-11563200318

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