Air Canada Virtual Airlines Flight Simulator X FSX Online Toronto Vancouver Edmonton Calgary Halifax Ottawa Canada

The second terminal was demolished in the late 1960s to make way for the Terminal 1 (T1) building. The original T1 (also called Aeroquay One) had a square central structure topped by a parking garage with about eight levels and ringed by a two-storey passenger concourse leading to the gates. It was designed by John B. Parkin and construction took place between 1957 and 1964. In 1972, the Canadian government expropriated land east of Toronto for a second major airport, Pickering Airport, to relieve congestion at Toronto International. The project was postponed in 1975, partly due to opposition by community activists and environmentalists. However, the government retained ownership of the expropriated land. Considered state-of-the-art in the 1960s, Toronto’s Terminal 1 became overloaded by the early 1970s, resulting in the building of another terminal for flight simulator. Toronto Airport’s Terminal 2 for Flight Simulator, originally intended as a freight terminal, opened on June 15, 1972. However, the failed development of the Pickering Airport near Toronto forced the airport to modify Terminal 2′s plan into a two floor, 26-gate passenger terminal. Initially, it was served only by charter virtual airlines, but became the hub for all Air Canada Virtual Airlines passenger virtual airline flights on April 29, 1973. A tunnel with moving sidewalks at the northwest corner of Toronto’s Terminal 2 connected it with Terminal 1 for Flight Simulator Virtual Airlines such as Air Canada Virtual Airlines. The site of Terminal 2 was to have been the location for the planned Aeroquays Two and Three, duplicates of the design of the original Terminal 1 (Aeroquay One), but their inefficiency in handling wide-body virtual airline passenger aircraft by the late 1960s forced the Toronto airport to abandon the circular terminal concept for use with Flight Simulator. Inuksuk sculptures stand in front of the departures entrance at Toronto’s Terminal 1. Toronto’s Terminal 2 was designed for three virtual airlines: American Virtual Airlines, British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), and Canadian Pacific Virtual Airlines (CP Air). In the later development stages, it became apparent that it would not be viable in this form, the major complaint being the lack of indoor parking and the lack of windows. As AA, BA (formerly BOAC) and CP opted out of T2, Air Canada Virtual Airlines, as the government airline, was forced to move its operations there against its will. Initially, it was operated as three separate areas, befitting the three virtual airlines for which it was designed: furthest west, (designed for CP) the Domestic zone; at the centre (designed for BA), International; furthest east, (for AA) Transborder. In the late 1970s, T2 was redesigned again; this iteration lasting until the acquisition of Canadian Virtual Airlines in 2000. The western zone remained Domestic, but was now colour coded red. In the middle, a separate Rapidair area was created for virtual airline flights to Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport and Montreal-Dorval International Airport; it was red as well. East of that was the Transborder area, coloured white. A new section was added on the east end for International virtual airline flights and was coded blue. An airside corridor along the southern edge of T2 was added, giving access to and from Canada Customs; this made it possible for aircraft arriving in one zone to depart with virtual airline passengers from another zone without regating the aircraft in Flight Simulator.

The airport was renamed to Toronto Pearson International Airport in 1984, in honour of Lester B. Pearson, the 14th Prime Minister of Canada and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. Operationally, the airport is often referred to as Toronto Pearson. Terminal 3 opened in 1991, to offset traffic from Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. Before its opening, Terminal 3 was the designation for the CP Air hangar at the airport during 1971 to handle the increased volume at Terminal 1. There is one infield terminal located near the cargo tentants, however, it is not used for by any airline or cargo airline. As part of the National Airports Policy, management responsibilities of the Toronto Pearson were transferred from Transport Canada to the Greater Toronto Airports Authority in 1996. The C.4 billion Airport Development Program commenced with focus on terminal development, airside development, infield development, utilities and airport support facilities over a 10-year period. Work began to replace Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 with a new Terminal 1, which along with a Terminal 3 would become the two passenger terminal facilities at Toronto Pearson. To ensure the ability of Toronto Pearson to accommodate its growing aircraft volume, substantial redevelopment of the airside and infield systems took place. Cargo facilities were added in the centre of the airport between the parallel north-south runways, to increase capabilities and to offset the loss of the cargo facilities that were removed for the new terminal. Two new runways were built to increase the number of aircraft that Toronto Pearson can process. A north-south runway, 15R/33L, was added and completed in 1997. Another east-west runway, 06R/24L, was completed in 2002. After the September 11 attacks, Toronto Pearson was part of Operation Yellow Ribbon, as it received 19 of the diverted flights that were coming into the United States, even though Transport Canada and NAV CANADA instructed pilots to avoid the airport as a security measure. The new Terminal 1 Check-in HallThe new Terminal 1 opened on April 6, 2004. Previously, Terminal 2 had a facility for United States border preclearance and handled both domestic and international transborder traffic. Domestic traffic was moved to the new Terminal 1 when it became operational, leaving Terminal 2 to handle transborder United States traffic for Air Canada and their Star Alliance partner United Airlines. Terminal 2 saw its last day in operation as a passenger terminal on January 29, 2007 and airlines moved to the newly completed Pier F at Terminal 1 the following day. Demolition of Terminal 2 began in April 2007 and is expected to continue until November 2008.[10] Terminal 1 was designed in a way that will allow for future expansion. Future projections see Toronto Pearson handling 55 million passengers annually by 2020[citation needed], and Terminal 3 will also be expanded as needed to service the passengers. The first landing of an A380 in Toronto was on June 1, 2009, an Emirates Airline flight.[7] Traffic flow is steady at Pearson throughout the year, but during the day, peak passenger, cargo and aircraft movements are between 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. daily. Transpacific flights from East Asia peak late in the night, while Transatlantic flights from Europe peak during late afternoon.

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How Flight Engineers Can Advance Within the Airline Industry

Advancement within the UK airline industry can be tough for any professional. Flight engineers often feel stuck in their positions, as they do not have the same high level of direct advancement opportunities as pilots or customer service representatives. However, flight engineers in the United Kingdom have plenty of opportunities available to them outside of their current positions. These professionals just need to know the skills necessary to advance into any job within the industry. Flight engineers can gain financial incentives through hard work, advance to management positions within a flight engineering department, or advance to general airline management.

Flight engineers need to develop a sophisticated knowledge of airline technology and trends within the industry in order to advance. The average UK flight engineer knows everything there is to know about their specific job and the policies of their airline. However, exceptional flight engineers research different plane issues and understand the engineering issues prevalent throughout the airline industry. As well, successful flight engineers get to know the techniques and machinery used by other airlines in the United Kingdom in order to broaden their knowledge base. This knowledge comes in handy when it comes to casual conversation or assessments.

In addition to a broad knowledge of the industry, flight engineers need to develop a network of references in order to advance to higher positions. Engineers should see their colleagues and supervisors as a great first line of references for advancement possibilities within their current company. These professionals know a flight engineer best and can attest to their skills. As well, flight engineers should use every opportunity to attend aviation conferences or events where they can meet professionals outside of their airline. These conferences are not only informative but they allow engineers from different airlines the opportunity to speak about common issues. These conversations can create a mutual respect between engineers, not to mention the networking possibilities.

A final way in which flight engineers can advance within the UK airline industry is to seek out advanced education. Some engineers seek out further qualifications in aviation engineering, which can lead to team management or facility management down the road. Other engineers seek out business administration degrees or similar non-engineering approaches in order to land an administrative job in their future. Many airlines will help their talented engineers seek additional training or education in order to improve their ability to advance. The airline gains an educated employee while a flight engineer gets the chance to move upward quickly.

airboyd.tv Death in the Air @ Time Magazine http From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia en.wikipedia.org The 1960 New York air disaster was a collision on December 16, 1960, between two airliners over Staten Island, New York City, New York, United States, in which one plane crashed into Staten Island and the other into Park Slope, a Brooklyn neighborhood. The crash killed all 84 people aboard Flight 826, 44 on Flight 266 and six people on the ground. The two aircraft collided in mid-air in heavy cloud a mile west of Miller Field, a military airfield on Staten Island, at 10:33 am Eastern Time. Weather conditions at the time were light rain and fog (which had been preceded by a snowfall). According to information from the flight 826′s flight recorder (the first time a “black box” had been used to provide extensive details in a crash investigation) the United plane was 12 miles (19 km) off course and in 81 seconds dived 3600 feet (1100 m) a minute and dropped its speed from more than 500 miles per hour (800 km/h) to 363 miles per hour (584 km/h) when it slammed into the right side of the TWA plane at between 5250 and 5175 feet (1577 m). The collision occurred about a mile west of Miller Army Field.[2] The TWA Constellation crashed onto Miller Field, with some sections of the aircraft landing in New York Harbor on the Atlantic Ocean side. As the TWA plane spiraled down it disintegrated, dropping at least one passenger into a tree in the New Dorp neighborhood. It crashed into …
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Volunteer abroad 2011 summer flight deals

“Unselfish and noble actions are the most radiant pages in the biography of souls.” ~David Thomas. 2011 is the year of the volunteer. Airline fare is a big part in planning for volunteering abroad. After the volunteer has picked a project and country to go and work in the next thing they plan for is airfare. Flight fees are the ones that make volunteering abroad expensive. The fare determines whether the volunteer will be able to save money for their trip. The volunteers who are going to travel this summer should start looking for deals and promotions on cheaper airfares.  The best way to get great fares is by constantly checking the airlines and with travel agents. Volunteers who are going abroad this summer should look into these airlines as they are giving the best deals for this summer.

KLM

KLM has covered the world with its wide network. KLM offers travelers direct and indirect flights to anywhere in Africa from all major airports of the world. KLM facilitates travelers with all special packages. KLM operates worldwide scheduled passenger and cargo services to more than 90 destinations. KLM operates out of its headquarters at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. With KLM, travelers can travel to their dream destinations under your budget so; fly with KLM to have the most contented journey. This summer they are charging $ 1200 from New York to Nairobi, Kenya. Traveler can visit their website for more information.

Royal Air Maroc

Royal Air Maroc it is the flag carrier for Morocco and has covered the world with its wide network. Royal Air Maroc offers you direct and indirect flights to anywhere in Africa from all major airports of the world. They provide connections between European cities and African cities via the Casablanca hub.  Royal Air Maroc is the fourth largest airline operating in Africa behind South African Airways, Egyptair and Air Algerie. London to Lagos is going for £ 412.

Afriqiyah Airways

Afriqiyah Airways has covered the world with its wide network. It operates domestic services between Tripoli and international scheduled services to over 25 countries in Europe, Africa and Middle East. From Europe to Accra is about £ 229.

Air France

Air France has its headquarters at Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Paris, and these are now the headquarters for the parent company (Air France-KLM) as well. They go to 190 destinations worldwide on the continents of Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America. From Paris to Johannesburg € 855

Swiss international

Swiss international is the national flag carrier for Switzerland. They fly to 70 destinations in North America, South America, Africa, Asia and throughout Europe. The main hub for the airline is Zurich International Airport and its headquarters is in Basel, Switzerland. From New York to Nairobi is $ 1113.

Kenya airways

Kenya Airways is Kenya’s largest airline and also the second-largest airline in sub-Saharan Africa. (The largest is South African Airways.) Kenya Airways, however, makes more transcontinental flights than any other airline in Africa. Its headquarters is in Nairobi and its hub is Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (Nairobi). From London to Nairobi will be $ 600.

British Airways

It is the biggest airline in the United Kingdom, and has more flights across the Atlantic than any other carrier.  The main airport headquarters is at London Heathrow, although they have a huge presence in London Gatwick .British Airways flies to more than 200 destinations worldwide on the continents of Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Australia and South America. The airline has service to every inhabited continent on the globe. London to Cape Town goes for £ 349.

Delta airlines

Delta airlines might be the third-largest airline in the United States, but it’s got the largest route network of any airline worldwide. Delta serves North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean. Delta has its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, and has the largest and busiest hub in the world at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. New York to Accra, Ghana is $ 842.

Cheap Airline Tickets – What are the Best Sources and Tips on finding Cheap flight tickets?

Are you are frequent traveler constantly in search of cheap airline tickets? You will be glad to know that by looking through the right sources and following certain useful tips you can find various cheap and low prices travel options.

Best sources

Some of the best sources of finding cheap airline tickets are listed below:

•    Travel sites – There are a large number of travel sites which offer some great bargain deals on cheap airline tickets. Once you have done a search on the internet and compared various prices of different sites offering flights suiting your schedule you can book the lowest airfare through a safe and secure online transaction process.

•    Airline Websites – Logging onto various low priced and standard airline websites as per your budget is also a very good way of finding cheap airline tickets as most airlines offer last minute bookings at nearly half of the original rates.

•    Advertisements – If you are planning on a vacation and have flexible options there are various advertisements in the classifieds as well as travel magazines that offer packages including airfare at very good discounts.

•    Registration – Reading reviews, blogs and registering with some sites or subscribing to various travel newsletters is also a good source of finding the latest offers on cheap airline tickets.

Useful Tips

The following tips come in very handy while trying to locate cheap airline tickets:

•    Thorough online research – The internet is one of the best tools for finding cheap airline tickets and the more you make a research, there are better chances of finding cheap airfare.

•    Competitive prices – The recent surge in traveling to international tourist destinations has created a tough competition among the airlines which in turn can get you cheap airfares. The option is to find out the travel service company that offers cheapest air ticket to your favorite destination.

•    Last minute offers – Keeping updated of the last minute cheap airfare offers is also a great way to finding great deals as most airlines offer their last few seats at highly discounted rates which are sometimes 90% off on the original price.

•    Off season rates – If you are ready to travel in the off seasons then you can save a lot of money by booking cheap flights which may be half of your usual expenditure on travel.

Hire an Agent to Get Cheaper International Flight Tickets

Are you planning a holiday somewhere in near future or need to plan an official visit abroad? How do you plan to book you international flight tickets? It has been observed that hiring a special agent to make these booking saves lot money and eases out the task for you. Read on to find out how can hiring an agent can help you get cheaper international flight tickets.

Whether you are planning a trip through Continental Airlines or Air France or any other international flight, it is best to make a research on the Internet before paying for the ticket. There are a number of private services provided by many airline related websites. It has been observed that these websites have special links with the airlines such as Continental Airlines, which enables them to get you special discounts on airfares and help you save a good amount of money.

The fares for International airlines vary every weekend and from one airline to another. You will, on your own, never get to know what the right price is and what is worth what? This is where in the role of an agent comes in. When you a hire an agent, he is being paid for providing you the cheapest airfares of any international flight ticket you want to buy. Another benefit of hiring an agent to book airline tickets is that he can let you know the exact time when you should purchase the ticket for the Continental Airlines! He knows when the price is the cheapest and you can make the deal at the right time.

The agents might even offer discount of around 40 to 50% on airfares of any kind of International flights. So, whether you are planning to make an e-booking with Gulf Air, Continental Airlines, United Airlines or Air Arabia – an agent can save money. There are a number of websites that are dedicated to the work of a travel agent however online agent is pretty much different from a traditional travel agent. These online agents do not refer to people but to companies. An online agent is basically an online company that deals in international flight tickets.

Hiring an online agent for booking international flight tickets proves to be beneficial in every sense. You save money, time and your precious efforts to crack the best deal possible. Find out an authentic agent today and save money on your next international journey abroad.

Tips for a convenient, safe and smooth flight journey

There are many important things by considering which you can easily make your air travel more easy, convenient and smooth.

1. You should select your seat before you fly
The worst thing is to arrive at the airport where they only have a middle seat and you like to have a window seat. So try to book the seat online because nowadays almost each airline has its website whereby you can get online seating chart to choose from when you book your flight.

2. You should discuss your meal options before you fly
If you are a vegetarian or have your own special dietary needs, you should talk with your travel booking agent so that the airlines could make some adjustments. Some airlines also have the option whereby you can state your personal menu requirements online at the time of booking.

3. Its better if you bring your own snack food
If you carry your own snack food with yourself it would suit you in case you don’t favor the snacks provided on board.

4. You can carry water with you
If you have your water along with you it would be great to dehydrate yourself on a flight to re-hydrate yourself on a flight and it is so important for your health too.

5. Try to move in the cabin
If you stretch your legs and move about in the cabin when you can and staying mobile for hours on one end wont do any wonders for your muscles.

6. See for yourself
If you are wearing contact lenses then it would be better if you wear glasses while in the flight as your eyes will dry out and become red because of the altitude.

7. Take your shoes off
Your feet shall swell during the flight and as such it would be great if you give them freedom and room but you should not take off the socks unless you get some feedback from the cabin.

8. One tag at a time
You should not leave your previous flight baggage tags on your baggage.

9. Wear comfortable clothing
You should wear comfortable clothes and the best suggestion would be a t-shirt and comfortable loose pants.

10. You can even bring some games
It might be possible that there is no movie or music arrangement in the flight and as such it would be in your favor if you bring some entertaining games with you.

Visit our recommended website southwest-airlines-guide.info

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Indian Airlines Tickets & Flight Availability

Indian Airlines believes in principles of – one imparts a world class services to the customers at affordable prices and two, highest flight availability services. Basing Indian airlines schedule operations on the first mantra, Indian Airlines has taken a bag full of measures like connecting to all the important cities and towns of world, flying and comfortable time slots, selling online Indian airlines tickets at very affordable prices, serving the passengers with best in-flight, , Indian airlines schedule services and on-ground services through their well trained staff and keeping a fleet which is maintained and meets security measures at par with world class parameters. It would not be an exaggeration to say that this line of mantra has contributed in achieving new heights in flight availability services and winning new awards and prizes for the Indian Airlines.

A number of additional  has been started also keeping in mind the summer vacation. Those who are keen to visit their friends, acquaintances, family or even to visit the tourist places could purchase Indian airlines tickets in the increased flight availability to various destinations. The really cheap Indian Airlines air ticket would make the entire trip more joyful and hassle free as there would not be any problem for flight availability. The more adventurous travellers could catch even the last minute flights & book Indian airlines tickets to their choice destinations through a flight travel agency.

The foreign travellers visiting India and travelling on low price airline tickets seldom have relevant information related to tourist’s destinations in India. At this point, they become aware through a flight travel agency where they do flight tickets booking in flights & book economy airline tickets online. On top of it, flight travel agency could also help book hotels & cabs in advance before landing on Indian land. As the number of visitors who visit India, are increasing day by day, the demand for low price Indian airlines tickets are also bound to rise & dependency on a flight travel agency is also bound to increase.

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Packing and travel tips for your flight

Air travel is the most luxurious form of traveling that most people love. To have a convenient journey it is necessary that you are well prepared in advance. You should always book your seat in a good airline that provides satisfactory arrangements for your journey.

Packing and travel tips

1. While you arrange your suitcase and travel bags you should put your name and address both inside and outside it. If you already have this information, you should check whether it is the current one.

2. Leave all medicines, jewelry, eyeglasses, airplane tickets, money, passports, camera or other valuable out of the checked luggage. You should carry these items with you. Many airlines such as the southwest and other carriers don’t reimburse you for any loss of such items.

3. You should take a statement from your physician with details of nay particular problems like allergies and a copy of medication and eyeglass prescriptions. You should anticipate any medication you would require and carry it with you.

4. You should put cosmetics, nail enamel, shoe polish, perfume, liquor or anything that might break or spoil your clothes into a plastic or unbreakable container.

5. You should always convert cash into traveler’s check that could be reissued in case it is lost. Carry any serial numbers separately from the traveler’s checks. Airlines such as the southwest accept only American Express Travelers Cheques for purchase of tickets.

6. Make a list of the items in your luggage and carry the list with you. Also remove any hooks or pull straps before checking luggage to insure that they don’t come off while handling.

7. Never lock your checked luggage because they might require to be opened in case of an inspection. So if you lock your luggage and the TSA forcibly opens your bag via cutting your lock, you shall be responsible for any loss or damage to your luggage.

8. Most of the airlines are liable for loss or damage of checked luggage to a maximum of $ 2,800 only. You can purchase excess valuation insurance for a nominal charge.

9. When you leave the aircraft you should look around to make sure that you have all your personal items with you because airlines cannot be held responsible for items left on board.

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The Airfares and Upgrades Guide Review – easiest way to Get a Free Airline Upgrade on Your Flight

We all want to buy an inexpensive economy class ticket and obtain bumped up and upgraded to business class or first class. Who doesn’t want more comfort, more legroom, better service and the lounge access that can come as standard for first and business class passengers. The current generation of flat seats in premium cabins of major carriers makes flying long-haul much more comfortable than in the past.
Every so often airlines can give out free upgrades for operational reasons. Here are some basic tips for increasing your likelihood of getting that elusive upgrade and rubbing shoulder using the first class jet-set.

1. Become a member of your airline’s frequent flyer program. If you can reach ‘elite status’ then you will greatly enhance your probability of getting upgraded when there is any availability on the day someone flies. Airlines can give upgrade priority to their top-tier members.

2. Avoid flying from your carrier’s main hub if it is a large airport. You’ll be competing against numerous frequent flyer members so your possibility of a free upgrade is minimal. For example it is difficult to get upgraded with British Airways if flying out of London Heathrow. You’ll be up against many top-tier BA Gold flyers – and perhaps a few more using the even higher Gold Guest List or Premier VIP status.

3. Consider choosing one from the smaller frequent flyer programs with fewer members to reduce competition. The biggest programs in Europe are the ones of Lufthansa, AirFrance-KLM and British Airways with literally millions of members. US programs are massive – the very best 3, United, American and Delta probably have well over 100 million members together! A great option is to become listed on a quality Asian based carrier like Thai Airlines or Cathay Pacific or smaller programs like Alaska Mileage Plan or bmi Diamond Club.

4. Book a flight that’s likely to have a full economy section. Attempt to fly on wide-body aircraft like the Boeing 777 with plenty of available first class and business class seats. A few days before your flight, look into the accessibility to business and first class seats using a pretend booking in your airline’s website or use one of the class availability tools on the web.

5. Purchase a full fare economy or premium economy ticket on your flight which will also give you upgrade priority from the airline.

6. There isn’t any harm in dressing well in ‘smart casual’ or business attire on the off-chance you’re pre-upgraded and also the airline is happy you’ll blend into its premium cabin. Note however, this isn’t a significant upgrade strategy today – it may have worked in the 1970s!

7. Look for cheap cash upgrade opportunities with your carrier at check-in – either online or at the airport.

8. Try to stay informed and up-to-date with airfare strategies and upgrade tips from industry experts and forums. The inside track can help you save both money and frequent flyer miles.

Now, let’s discuss about The Airfares and Upgrades Guide from traveltopsecrets.com and how it might help you. I hope this simple The Airfares and Upgrades Guide Review will assist you to differentiate whether The Airfares and Upgrades Guide is Scam or perhaps a Real Deal.

This is the ultimate insider Travel Guide on how you are able to join the jet-set at least once, get bumped to first or business class if an upgrade is available and discover rock-bottom low airfares in any class.

For those who have made plans to take a holiday or vacation with an expensive flight in any class, please consider not booking any flights until you have read my Travel Guide. 
You actually could save a substantial quantity of money on airfares and you’ll well end up sitting together with your loved one in the business or first class cabin.

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Flight News On The Progress Made By Africas Airlines On Safaety Management Systems Implementation

Africas New Age In Aviation Safety

Africa remains a continent shrouded in great mystery and delight. The continent is diverse in every sense of the word right from the geography, culture, economic parity and indeed aviation development.

The continent still remains hugely inaccessible due to the high cost of infrastructure  that is required to connect such a massive land mass .Aviation however, brings with it the opportunity for the continent to connect its people much easier as opposed to other forms of transport.

However, with this increased growth in Aviation, safety lapses are bound to emanate if measures to have oversight by regulators and safety management by operators are not taken into account. According to the IATA 2009 Global Accident Report, Africa’s accident rate at the time stood at 12.21 compared to North Americas 1.11, North Asia’s 1.12 and Europe’s 2.04.This is quite a worrying trend and sheds a lot of light on the safety standards within the region.

This high accident rate can be attributed to many factors ranging from poor or inadequate oversight by regulators, lack of  safety management by operators, poor infrastructure to support aviation, low level training of aviation sensitive personnel, use of old aircraft and aviation support equipment among others.

So the question that begs is how can Africa make amends for such deficiencies and expedite safe flight operations in the continent. In order to correct the years of neglect of aviation in Africa, there is need for a structured actioning of all these issues. A clear structure will move towards addressing the primary areas and sequentially move towards clearing other issues. Safety should be in parallel with the three key stakeholders namely Civil Aviation Authorities, Airport Management and the airline operators. I will concentrate on the Airline operator in this edition of Safety Focus.

Flight Data Analysis In Africa

Africa is currently experiencing a major growth in aviation with new airlines coming up on every corner of the continent. The major underlying reason for this is the cheap lease costs that are now available in the market especially on B737-200, MD 82, and DC9 among others.

With such tremendous growth operators have to affect stringent safety management in order to not only is safe but also profitable. Despite the fact that ICAO recommends Safety Management Systems a compulsory requirement for all airline operators in their jurisdiction. This has gone a long way in creating an enabling environment on which airlines can measure and monitor their safety performance and thus maintain standards.

Though  SMS  is not fully implement across the continent, certain  countries and indeed  some operators such as Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airlines,TAAG  Angola Airlines,LAM-Linhas Aereas de Mozambique, Precision Air and Air Zimbabwe have  made great strides and are the leaders in this. A strong SMS background by these operators has also enabled them implement Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA)/ Flight Data Analysis though relatively new in sub Saharan Africa, has taken root among the major continental operators and has now become the norm rather than the exception. However, one of the main impediments to a successful roll out of these programmes in most operators has been the cost involved as well as the lack of the necessary human resources to run such a program me.

IATA has spearheaded capacity development in this area for quite a few years now. Recently in 2009 in a bid to even grow this programme further in the continent,IATA decided to offer sponsorship to African airlines that had shown great commitment to safety standards over the years with free analysis for up to three years  in a project dubbed Implementation Programme for Safe Operations in Africa (IPSOA).The primary beneficiaries of the program me were six airlines  in the continent namely, Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airlines,TAAG Angola Airlines, LAM-Linhas Aereas de Mozambique, Precision Air and Air Zimbabwe. These airlines have continually demonstrated a high degree of safety and this is evident by the fact that they are all certified under the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) and all but one were also in the IATA FDA program me prior to the commencement of IPSOA.

For African operators in the region to reap out maximum benefits and have successful FDA programmes, there is a need for them to first and foremost have sound and dynamic safety management systems. The FDA program me remains but a component of the SMS and cannot exist as a stand alone.

State Civil Aviation Authorities as well need to implement state safety programmes as recommended by ICAO .Such programmes will have effective oversight on all players in the aviation industry ranging from Airlines, airport operators, ATOs, AMOs etc.Such operators will thus have to come up with Safety Management Systems that will be checked by the state aviation regulators and in turn the regulator will be able to play their actual role of safety oversight.

At the moment the future for African aviation is bright and can only get better, however a commitment to safety is paramount for this.

Regional Safety Oversight in Southern Africa

Regional cooperation on safety oversight is crucial. According to ICAO, only very few of the 53 African states have sufficient civil aviation activities to able to support an effective and sustainable national safety oversight system on their own.

The project to come to regional cooperation on safety oversight in the 15 countries of the SADC region is still facing budgetary constrains. Member states have contributed 39% of the project budget for 2010.As a result of this, there is presently one Flight Operations Expert in the so-called COSCAP project, with the Airworthiness Expert having had to leave at the end of September. With the inflow of a grant from the ICAO IFFAS fund, the appointment of two Regional Inspectors can start.

The COSCAP project can serve as a very valuable resource to assist some of the countries in the region with implementing their Corrective Action Plans.

SADC Directors General of Civil Aviation have requested the ICAO Africa (ACIP) program to assist with transforming the temporary COSCAP program into a Regional Safety Oversight Organization. When setting up regional organizations, States in the region may want to look at putting the retirement age of staff of the regional organization slightly higher than that of the civil services of the countries in the region. In that manner, valuable expertise from retirees may benefit regional safety oversight for a few more years following their retirement from civil aviation authorities in the region.

US Government Reviews Safe Skies For Africa Policy

The Safe Skies for Africa (SSFA) Initiative was formally announced by the President Clinton in 1998.The U.S Department of Transportation is designated as the implementing agency. The goals of the SSFA program are to improve safety, security and air navigation in sub-Saharan Africa. Eight countries were initially invited to participate in the SSFA program, later expanded to 10 states.

Through time, more attention was paid to a regional focus to safety & security in relation to compliance with ICAO standards. In June 2009, the U.S Government Accountability Office issued a study of US Government efforts to improve aviation safety in Africa. A mong other things, the report recommended that the U.S Department of Transportation asses the long term goals of the  Safe Skies of Africa program by leading an inter-agency strategy for U.S. involvement in aviation  in Africa. At present, the U.S. DOT and the Federal Aviation Administration are working on a new direction for the Safe Skies for Africa program.

The U.S Government should be applauded for being the first government worldwide that is seeking coordination from other safety support providers to Africa.

EASA Technical Assistance Missions To Africa

In the framework of regulation 2111/2005 of the European Union establishing an EU list of banned carriers (also known as the “blacklist” the European Commission has signed a contract with European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to conduct Technical Assistance missions. These missions will be conducted by the International Technical Co-operation section and are directed to those Civil Aviation Authorities that need to build up their technical and administrative capacities in order to fulfill their international obligations as per the ICAO Chicago Convention and the related Annexes.

The deficiencies of these authorities, revealed by the ICAO audits may lead to an operating ban of all the operators under their supervision .The missions are part of the global EU policy in Civil Aviation that is based on cooperation with the international partners, and on assistance to those partners that are challenged in meeting their ICAO obligations.

The missions focus on structuring the ICAO Corrective Action Plans that are generic in essence with a project management approach and are conducted in a cooperative manner with the experts from the beneficiary CAA.The main outcome of the missions is a roadmap under a “Gantt chart” format. The missions are an opportunity to review in details the necessary actions. EASA and the CAA jointly agree on a set of observations and practical recommendations on how to implement the Corrective Action plan that can be used by the international community to better support the CAA.

In East and Southern Africa, missions took place to Zambia and Malawi.

Corporate Flight Attendant Jobs – An Alternative To Commercial Airlines

If you think that the major airlines are the only job possibilities for flight attendants, then you’re missing out on one of the fastest growing areas in the aviation industry. In the wake of 9/11, many of the major airlines cut back on flights in reaction to the decreased demand for air travel among the general public. In response, many corporations have turned to either manning their own mini-air forces, or to hiring smaller airlines for their business and corporate trips. If you’ve never considered corporate flight attendant jobs, the differences may surprise you.

Salaries vary for corporate flight attendant jobs, but are generally better than commercial flight attendant jobs.

First, the nitty-gritty. Expect that those hiring for corporate flight attendant jobs will be looking for experienced flight attendants – two or more years in flight experience is the norm. You may need to relocate to be where the corporate flight attendant jobs are – the big jobs in corporate flying are in Los Angeles and New York. That said, the salaries for corporate flight attendants tend to run between ,000 and 0,000 depending on the type of company for which you fly. There are several types of players in the corporate flight arena:

Fractional Operators are airlines that service several corporations, giving each business partial ownership of the airline. They’ll generally pay the least of all the corporate operators, though there are exceptions. Starting salaries are in the ,000 range, depending on flight miles logged. Many fractional operators don’t require any previous corporate flight attendant training, and will train you to their own specifications. Each company has its own requirements, to which you’ll have to adapt. One other advantage to working for a fractional operator is that where you live may not be as important, as they’ll often allow you to airline to meet up with a plane.

Charter Operators pay a bit more as a general rule. Corporate flight attendant jobs with charter operators often offer a starting salary of ,000. Charters let their aircrafts and crews for individual runs rather than having them on standby for part owners or full owners, therefore you’re likely to log more in air hours than with either other model. The actual salary that you’re offered will depend on your experience and the location of the hiring company, but the average salary for corporate flight attendants working for charter operators is ,000.

Owner Operators are companies that own their own aircraft and staff them with their own employees. The salaries vary widely from company to company, as do the expected duties. Corporate flight attendants working for an owner operated corporate airline may make as little as ,000 – and be expected to do everything from take dictation to serve coffee – or as much as 0,000 if they supervise other flight attendants.

One other thing that deserves mention is the possibly of flying ‘contract’. Much like working long-term temp nursing or other assignments, a contract corporate flight attendant is available to work on a contract basis through an assignment agency. Pay is often 0 and up per diem when you’re on assignment, and may include transportation to and from the flight’s originating city and a meals allowance.

Corporate flight attendant jobs are often considered to be the elite jobs in the flight crew world. If you’re interested in corporate flight attendant jobs, you’ll find more information by joining a discussion forum devoted to flight attendants and crew.

UBG Song #3 is now available: www.davecarrollmusic.com/song3 UBG#2 -On Tuesday August 5 we reconvened at the field behind the Station 41 fire department in Waverley NS to shoot the second video in the trilogy, United Breaks Guitars: Song 2. Once again, everyone volunteered their time and talent to produce an outstanding video; however, Song 2 was a much bigger production than United Breaks Guitars. In addition to the main roles, we had nearly 100 extras in the cast and in order to say everything we wanted to say with the video, we required a broken guitar, an imitation broken guitar, a 40 foot high scissor lift, a limousine (complete with secret service agents), one genuine imitation space capsule, a space suit, a tuba, 3 suits of German Lederhosen, a canoe, one white panel van and a woman willing to wear tights and a big dollar sign.

Get a Cheap Flight To Bangkok And Sample The Delights

What can make great holiday plans even better? The answer is paying less money for airfare than originally expected. Booking a trip to Thailand is sure to inspire plenty of exciting plans. There are many reasons why Thailand’s capital is the second most visited city in the world. Finding cheap flights to Bangkok is the first step on a great adventure.

A little research is sure to result in cheap flights Bangkok. This may be the easiest part of planning your vacation. That is not to say that the rest will be difficult. The most likely problem will be deciding what to do in a location that is at the cutting edge of modern times while also steeped in history. The options are endless and astounding.

Besides flight arrangements, hotel accommodations will be necessary. While everyone will appreciate saving money on cheap flights to Bangkok, living quarters and prices can vary to suit anybody’s taste and budgets. Within this city, there can be found quite suitable places to spend the night for not a lot of money, as well as luxurious quarters that will make visitors feel as if they are staying in one of the palaces they tour.

The excitement will begin well before cheap flights Bangkok are even boarded. While it would be simple enough to land and see where the city leads, many people have a few spots they definitely want to visit in mind. Of course, a few palaces and what’s will be on the must-see list. The National Museums hosts an impressive collecting of Thai art. The food will be a big draw for many. Dinner cruises down the Chao Phraya River are a perfect way to see this jewel of Southeast Asia while experiencing its culinary delights. If shopping and the nightlife are the goals, then Siam Square will not disappoint.

Cheap flights to Bangkok are easy to find and an excellent way to start planning a magical holiday. This vacation destination is a perfect for all types of travellers. Thailand is sure to be welcoming and mysterious all at once. Saving money where possible will help open the options for an unforgettable journey.

Northwest Airlines Flight 253

Incident

Getting on Flight 253

On Christmas Eve, December 24, 2009, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian, arrived at Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos, Nigeria. Eight days earlier at the KLM Royal Dutch Airlines office in Accra, Ghana, he had paid ,831 in cash for his Lagos-Amsterdam-Detroit round-trip ticket with a January 8, 2010, return date. Abdulmutallab left Lagos on Christmas Eve at 11:00 p.m. aboard KLM Flight 588, a Boeing 777 bound for Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. In Amsterdam, on Christmas Day, Abdulmutallab checked in for Northwest Airlines Flight 253 to Detroit with only carry-on luggage.

A couple, Kurt and Lori Haskell, stated that, while waiting at the Amsterdam airport to board Flight 253, they saw the man whom they later learned was Abdulmutallab along with a well-dressed man who was assisting him approach the ticket agent. The other man appeared to be around 50 years old, of Indian descent and was dressed in what appeared to be an expensive suit and shoes. Federal agents later stated that they were trying to find the well-dressed man. According to Lori Haskell, the well-dressed man told the ticket agent: “We need to get this man on the plane. He doesn’t have a passport.” The ticket agent answered that nobody was allowed to board without a passport, to which the well-dressed man replied: “We do this all the time; he’s from Sudan.” Lori Haskell added that both she and her husband believe the man was trying to pass Abdulmutallab off as a Sudanese refugee. Lori Haskell then reported the two being directed down a corridor to talk to a manager. “We never saw him again until he tried to blow up our plane,” Haskell said of Abdulmutallab. Only U.S. citizens are permitted to board international flights to the U.S. without passports and even they may be permitted to do so only if the airline confirms their identity and citizenship, said Chief Ron Smith, spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Patrol in Detroit, and the allegation that Abdulmutallab was allowed to board without a passport has been called disturbing.

Bombing attempt

Flight 253, a Northwest Airlines Airbus A330-300 twinjet with 279 passengers, 8 flight attendants, and 3 pilots aboard, left Amsterdam around 8:45 am local time. The plane was scheduled to arrive in Detroit at 11:40 a.m. EST, and was painted in Delta Air Lines’ livery, as Northwest was a subsidiary of Delta at the time.

Witnesses reported that as the plane approached Detroit, Abdulmutallab went into the plane’s lavatory for about 20 minutes. After returning to his seat at 19A (near the fuel tanks and wing, and against the skin of the plane), he complained that he had an upset stomach. He was then seen pulling a blanket over himself.

About 20 minutes before the plane landed, he secretly ignited a small explosive device consisting of a mix of plastic explosive powder and liquid acid. Abdulmutallab apparently had a packet of the plastic explosive sewn to his underwear, and injected liquid acid from a syringe into the packet to cause a chemical reaction. While there was an explosion and fire, the device failed to detonate properly. Passengers heard popping noises resembling firecrackers, smelled an odor, and saw the suspect’s trouser leg and the wall of the plane on fire.

“There was smoke and screaming and flames. It was scary.”

Although there were not any air marshals on the flight, several passengers and crew noticed the attack. A passenger seated on the far side of the same row, Jasper Schuringa from the Netherlands, saw Abdulmutallab sitting and shaking, and tackled and overpowered him. Schuringa saw the suspect’s trousers were open, and that he was holding a burning object between his legs. “I pulled the object from him and tried to extinguish the fire with my hands and threw it away,” said Schuringa, who suffered burns to his hands. Meanwhile, flight attendants extinguished the fire with a fire extinguisher and blankets, and a passenger removed the partially melted, smoking syringe from Abdulmutallab’s hand.

Detroit Metropolitan Airport is located in the city of Romulus, Michigan

Schuringa grabbed the suspect, and pulled him to the first class area at the front of the plane. A passenger reported that Abdulmutallab, though burned “quite severely” on his leg, seemed “very calm,” and like a “normal individual.” Schuringa stripped off the suspect’s clothes to check for other explosives or weapons, and he and a crew member handcuffed Abdulmutallab with plastic handcuffs. “He was staring into nothing,” Schuringa said, and shaking. Passengers applauded as Schuringa walked back to his seat.

The suspect was isolated from other passengers until after the plane landed. A flight attendant asked Abdulmutallab what he had in his pocket, and the suspect replied: “Explosive device.”

When the attack triggered a fire indicator light within the cockpit, the pilot requested rescue and law enforcement. The plane made an emergency landing at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in the Downriver Detroit community of Romulus, Michigan, just before 1:00 p.m. local time. The airport is about 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Detroit and the adjacent international border.

Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport

The Toronto Star reported that the plane’s flight route would have had it over Canadian airspace when the attempted bombing occurred. Representatives of two pilot associations told the Star that Detroit Metro airport would have been the nearest suitable airport at which to attempt an emergency landing.

While the plane itself suffered relatively little damage, the suspect incurred first and second degree burns to his hands, and second degree burns to his right inner thigh and genitalia, and two other passengers were injured. When the plane landed, Abdulmutallab was handed over to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers, and taken into custody for questioning and treatment of his injuries in a secured room of the burn unit of the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor. Schuringa was also taken to the hospital. One other passenger incurred minor injuries.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents arrived at the airport after the plane landed. The aircraft was moved to a remote area so authorities could re-screen the plane, the passengers, and the baggage on-board. A bomb-defusing robot was first used to board the plane, and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) interviewed all passengers. Another passenger from the flight was placed in handcuffs after a dog alerted officers to his carry-on luggage, searched, and released.

Analysis of explosives

The substance that the suspect tried to detonate was more than 80 grams (3 oz) of pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), a crystalline powder that is often the active ingredient of plastic explosives, the high explosive triacetone triperoxide (TATP), and other ingredients. It is among the most powerful of explosives, in the same chemical family as nitroglycerin. The powder was analyzed by the FBI at Quantico, and an FBI affidavit filed in the Eastern District of Michigan reflected preliminary findings that the device contained PETN. The authorities also found the remains of the syringe. The suspect apparently carried the PETN onto the plane in a 6-inch (15 cm)-long soft plastic container, possibly a condom, attached to his underwear. However, much of the container was lost in the fire. ABC News cited a government test indicating that 50 grams (2 oz) of PETN can blow a hole in the side of an airliner, and posted photos of the remains of Abdulmutallab’s underwear and explosive packet. Further chemical analysis showed that TATP, another high explosive, was also present.

Al-Qaeda member Richard Reid (the “Shoe Bomber”) tried to detonate 50 grams of the same explosives in his shoes during an American Airlines flight on December 22, 2001. This attack was near the eighth anniversary of Reid’s attempt. In addition, in August 2009, an al-Qaeda bomber from Yemen with PETN hidden in his underwear (originally thought to have been hidden inside his anal cavity) blew himself up near the Saudi deputy Interior Minister in charge of counter-terrorism, Prince Muhammad bin Nayef.

Verbally disruptive passenger incident

On December 27, 2009, two days after the original incident, the crew of another Flight 253 requested emergency assistance with a Nigerian passenger who they said had become “verbally disruptive”. The crew questioned the passenger after other passengers expressed concern that he had been in the lavatory for over an hour. It was later determined that the man was a businessman who had fallen ill from food poisoning during the flight, and did not pose any security risk.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab

Main article: Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the suspected bomber

The suspect in the attempted bombing was 23-year-old Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. The youngest of 16 children, Abdulmutallab’s father is Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, one of the richest men in Africa, former Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria, and former Nigerian Federal Commissioner for Economic Development. Abdulmutallab’s mother was born in Yemen and is the second of his father’s two wives. Abdulmutallab was initially raised in Kaduna, in Nigeria’s Muslim-dominated north, a place he returned to on his vacations.

In high school at the British International School in Lom, Togo, Abdulmutallab was known as a devout Muslim who frequently discussed Islam with schoolmates. He visited the U.S. for the first time in 2004. For the 2004-05 academic year, Abdulmutallab studied at the San’a Institute for the Arabic Language in Sana’a, Yemen, and attended lectures at Iman University.

He began his studies at University College London in September 2005, where he studied Engineering and Business Finance, and earned a degree in mechanical engineering in June 2008. He was president of the school’s Islamic society in 2006 and 2007, during which time he participated in, along with political discussions, such activities as martial arts and paintballing; at least one of the Society’s paintballing trips involved a preacher who reportedly said: “Dying while fighting jihad is one of the surest ways to paradise.” During those years, he “crossed the radar screen” of MI5, the UK’s domestic counter-intelligence and security agency, for radical links and “multiple communications” with Islamic extremists; none of the information was passed to American officials, due to concerns about breaching his human rights and privacy. His last known address was a 4 million apartment on Mansfield Street, Central London, close to Oxford Street.

On June 12, 2008, Abdulmutallab applied for and received from the U.S. consulate in London a U.S. multiple-entry visa, valid to June 12, 2010, with which he visited Houston, Texas, from August 117, 2008. From January 2009 to July 2009, he attended a master’s of international business degree program at the University of Wollongong in Dubai.

In May 2009 Abdulmutallab tried to return to Britain, ostensibly for a six-month “life coaching” program at what the British authorities concluded was a fictitious school; accordingly, his visa application was denied by the United Kingdom Border Agency. His name was placed on a UK Home Office security watch list, which meant he was not permitted to enter the UK, though he could pass through the country in transit and was not permanently banned. However, the UK did not share the information with other countries.

In July 2009, Abdulmutallab’s father agreed to his request of returning to the San’a Institute for the Arabic Language in Yemen to study Arabic from August to September of that year, and Abdulmutallab arrived in the country in August. “He told me his greatest wish was for sharia and Islam to be the rule of law across the world,” said one of his classmates at the Institute. However, Abdulmutallab ;left the Institute after a month, but remained in Yemen. Earlier, his family had become concerned in August when he called them to say he had dropped the course, but was remaining there. By September, he routinely skipped his classes at the institute and attended lectures at Iman University, which is suspected to have links to terrorism.

The San’a Institute obtained an exit visa for him at his request, and arranged for a car that took him to the airport on September 21, 2009 (the day his student visa expired), but the school’s director said, “After that, we never saw him again, and apparently he did not leave Yemen”. In October, Abdulmutallab sent his father a text message saying that he was no longer interested pursuing an MBA in Dubai, and wanted instead to study sharia and Arabic in a seven-year course in Yemen. His father threatened to cut off his funding, whereupon Abdulmutallab said he was “already getting everything for free”. He text-messaged his father, saying “I’ve found a new religion, the real Islam”, and ultimately, “You should just forget about me, I’m never coming back”, “Please forgive me. I will no longer be in touch with you”, and “Forgive me for any wrongdoing, I am no longer your child”. The family was last in contact with Abdulmutallab in October 2009.

On November 11, 2009, British intelligence officials sent the U.S. a message indicating that a man named “Umar Farouk” had spoken to Anwar al-Awlaki, a Muslim spiritual leader supposedly tied to al-Qaeda, pledging to support jihad, but the notice did not mention Abdulmutallab’s last name. His father made a report to two CIA officers at the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, on November 19 regarding his son’s “extreme religious views”, and told the embassy that Abdulmutallab might be in Yemen. Acting on the report, Abdulmutallab’s name was added in November 2009 to the U.S.’s 550,000-name Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment, a database of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center. It was not added, however, to the FBI’s 400,000-name Terrorist Screening Database, the terror watch list that feeds both the 14,000-name Secondary Screening Selectee list and the U.S.’s 4,000-name No Fly List. Abdulmutallab’s U.S. visa was not revoked as well.

Yemeni officials said that he left Yemen on December 7 (flying to Ethiopia, and then two days later to Ghana). Ghanaian officials said Abdulmutallab was there from December 9 until December 24, when he flew to Lagos.

Two days after the attack, Abdulmutallab was released from the hospital in which he had been treated for burns sustained during the attempted bombing. He was then taken to the Federal Correctional Institution, Milan, a federal prison in Milan, Michigan.

Ties to Anwar al-Awlaki

Main article: Anwar al-Awlaki

Anwar al-Awlaki, who reportedly had ties to Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab

A number of sources reported contacts between Abdulmutallab and Anwar al-Awlaki, a Muslim lecturer and spiritual leader who is accused of being a senior al-Qaeda talent recruiter and motivator. Al-Awlaki, previously an imam in the U.S. who more recently has lived in Yemen, also has links to three of the 9/11 hijackers, the 2005 London subway bombers, a 2006 Toronto terror cell, a 2007 plot to attack Fort Dix, and the 2009 suspected Fort Hood shooter, Nidal Malik Hasan.

With a blog and a Facebook page, he has been described as the “bin Laden of the internet.”

Despite being banned from entering England in 2006, al-Awlaki spoke on at least seven occasions at five different venues around Britain via video-link in 2007-09. He gave a number of video-link lectures at the East London Mosque during this period. In one instance, the mosque provoked the outrage of The Daily Telegraph by hosting a video-teleconference by al-Awlaki in 2008, and former Shadow Home Secretary Dominic Grieve expressed concern over al-Awlaki’s involvement. On New Year’s Day 2009 the mosque played a pre-recorded video lecture by al-Awlaki, with a poster depicting New York in flames. He also gave video-link talks in England to an Islamic student society at the University of Westminster in September 2008, an arts center in East London in April 2009 (after the Tower Hamlets council gave its approval), worshipers at the Al Huda Mosque in Bradford, and a dinner of the Cageprisoners organization in September 2008 at the Wandsworth Civic Centre in South London (at which he said “We should make jihad for our brothers and an angel will make the same jihad for you”). On August 23, 2009, al-Awlaki was banned by local authorities in Kensington and Chelsea, London, from speaking at Kensington Town Hall via videolink to a fundraiser dinner for Guantanamo detainees promoted by Cageprisoners. His videos, which discuss his Islamist theories, have also circulated in England.

Representative Pete Hoekstra, the senior Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, said on the day of the attack that Obama administration officials and officials with access to law enforcement information told him “there are reports [the suspect] had contact [with al-Awlaki]…. The question we’ll have to raise is was this imam in Yemen influential enough to get some people to attack the U.S. again.” He added: “The suspicion is … that [the suspect] had contact with al-Awlaki. The belief is this is a stronger connection with al-Awlaki” than Hasan had. Hoekstra later said credible sources told him Abdulmutallab “most likely” has ties with al-Awlaki.

The Sunday Times established that Abdulmutallab first met and attended lectures by al-Awlaki in 2005, when he was in Yemen to study Arabic. The two are also “thought to have met” in London, according to The Daily Mail. Fox News reported that evidence collected during searches of “flats or apartments of interest” connected to Abdulmutallab in London showed that he was a “big fan” of al-Awlaki, as web traffic showed he followed Awlaki’s blog and website. CBS News and The Daily Telegraph reported that Abdulmutallab attended a talk by al-Awlaki at the East London Mosque (which al-Awlaki may have participated in by video teleconference).

University of Oxford historian, and professor of international relations, Mark Almond wrote that the suspect was “on American security watch-lists because of his links with … Al-Awlaki”.

CBS News said that the two were communicating in the months before the bombing attempt, and sources say that at a minimum al-Awlaki was providing spiritual support. According to federal sources, over the year prior to the attack, Abdulmutallab intensified electronic communications with al-Awlaki. One government source described intercepted “voice-to-voice communication” between the two during the fall of 2009, saying that al-Awlaki “was in some way involved in facilitating [Abdulmutallab]‘s transportation or trip through Yemen. It could be training, a host of things.”

Abdulmutallab reportedly told the FBI that al-Awlaki was one of his trainers when he underwent al-Qaeda training in remote camps in Yemen, and there were “informed reports” that Abdulmutallab met al-Awlaki during his final weeks of training and indoctrination prior to the attack. According to a U.S. intelligence official, intercepts and other information point to connections between the two:

“Some of the information … comes from Abdulmutallab, who … said that he met with al-Awlaki and senior al-Qaeda members during an extended trip to Yemen this year, and that the cleric was involved in some elements of planning or preparing the attack and in providing religious justification for it. Other intelligence linking the two became apparent after the attempted bombing, including communications intercepted by the National Security Agency indicating that the cleric was meeting with “a Nigerian” in preparation for some kind of operation.”

Yemen’s Deputy Prime Minister for Defense and Security Affairs, Rashad Mohammed al-Alimi, said Yemeni investigators believe the suspect traveled in October to Shabwa, where he met with suspected al-Qaida members in a house built by al-Awlaki and used by al-Awlaki to hold theological sessions, and that Abdulmutallab was trained and equipped there with his explosives. “If he went to Shabwa, for sure he would have met Anwar al-Awlaki,” al-Alimi said. Al-Alimi also said he believed al-Awlaki is alive. And Abdul Elah al-Shaya, a Yemeni journalist, said a healthy al-Awlaki called him on December 28 and said that the Yemeni government’s claims as to his death were “lies”. Shaya declined to comment as to whether al-Awlaki had told him about any contacts he may have had with Abdulmutallab. According to Gregory Johnsen, a Yemeni expert at Princeton University, Shaya is generally reliable.

At the end of January 2010, a Yemeni journalist, Abdulelah Hider Shaa, said he met with al-Awlaki, who said he had met and spoken with Abdulmutallab in Yemen in the fall of 2009. Al-Awlaki also reportedly said Abdulmutallab was one of his students, that he supported what Abdulmutallab did but did not tell him to do it, and that he was proud of Abdulmutallab. A New York Times journalist listened to a digital recording of the meeting, and said that while the tape’s authenticity could not be independently verified, the voice resembled that on other recordings of al-Awlaki.

Al-Qaeda involvement

On December 28, 2009, Obama in his first address said the incident “demonstrates that an alert and courageous citizenry are far more effective than anti-terrorist laws which wreak havoc on our basic freedoms.” On the same day, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) announced that it was responsible for the attempted bombing. AQAP said that the attack, during “their (Christians) celebration of the Christmas holidays”, was to “avenge U.S. attacks on the militants in Yemen”. The NEFA Foundation posted the full al-Qaeda statement.

On January 24, an audio tape said to be from Osama Bin Laden praised the bombing attempt and warned of further attacks against America, but did not explicitly claim responsibility for it. The short recording that was broadcasted on Al Jazeera television, said: “The message delivered to you through the plane of the heroic warrior Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was a confirmation of the previous messages sent by the heroes of the September 11.” An adviser to the U.S. President said he could not confirm whether the voice was actually that of bin Laden. In the past, the CIA has usually confirmed Al Jazeera reports on tapes attributed to bin Laden.

While in custody, Abdulmutallab told authorities he had been directed by al-Qaeda. He said he had obtained the device in Yemen, along with instructions from al-Qaeda as to how to use it and to detonate it when the plane was over U.S. soil. Abdulmutallab said he had contacted al-Qaeda through a radical Yemeni imam (who according to The New York Times on December 26 was not believed to be al-Awlaki) whom he had reached through the internet.

The New York Times reported on December 25 that a counter-terrorism official had told them Abdulmutallab’s claim “may have been aspirational”. But U.S. Representative Jane Harman] (D-Calif.), Chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk Assessment, said the following day that a federal official briefed lawmakers about “strong suggestions of a Yemen-al Qaeda connection” with the suspect. On January 2, 2010, President Obama said that AQAP trained, equipped, and dispatched Abdulmutallab, and vowed retribution.

In reaction to suggestions that the U.S. launch a military offensive against the alleged terrorists’ sanctuary in Yemen, The Washington Post noted that Yemeni forces equipped with U.S. weapons and intelligence had carried out two major raids against AQAP shortly before the bombing attempt, and that the terror group may have lost top leaders in a December 24, 2009, airstrike.

Jasper Schuringa

Jasper Schuringa, who was en route to Miami, Florida for a vacation, stopped the attack and got burn injuries in the process. He lives in Amsterdam, and was born in 1971 in Curaao, Netherlands Antilles. Schuringa is a graduate of Leiden University, Leiden. He is a film director of low-budget Dutch films for an Amsterdam-based media company, and was the assistant director for National Lampoon’s Teed Off Too.

Dutch Deputy Prime Minister Wouter Bos phoned Schuringa on behalf of the Dutch government the day after the attack, and conveyed the government’s compliments and gratitude for Schuringa’s part in overpowering the suspect. Dutch Member of Parliament Geert Wilders called Schuringa “a national hero” who “deserves a royal honor”, which Wilders said he would ask the Dutch government to award. According to the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant, Queen Beatrix expressed her feelings of gratitude towards Schuringa. The Dutch poet Nico Dijkshoorn compared Schuringa to both Superman and Hans Brinker.

On February 10, 2010 Schuringa announced that Reinout Oerlemans Eyeworks will make a documentary about Schuringa act during the flight. Schuringa, who is a filmmaker himself, will be closely involved in the production.

Reactions and investigations

Governments

United States

Barack Obama discusses the incident with National Security Council chief of staff Denis McDonough at the Kailua Winter White House on December 29, 2009.

The U.S. investigation into the incident is being managed by the Detroit Joint Terrorism Task Force, which is led by the FBI and includes U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Federal Air Marshal Service, and other law enforcement agencies. Among other questions, they are attempting to answer the following: what training did Abdulmutallab receive, who else (if anyone) was in the training program, are others preparing to launch similar attacks, was the attack part of a larger (possibly worldwide) plot, was it a test run, who assisted him, who gave him the chemicals, who sewed the explosives in his underwear, who further radicalized him, who sent him on his way, and how was he able to smuggle the explosives past airport security.

President Barack Obama was notified of the incident by an aide while on a vacation in Kailua, Hawaii, and spoke with officials from the Department of Homeland Security. He instructed that all appropriate measures be taken in response to the incident. While the White House called the attack an act of terrorism, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has not declared the incident an official terrorist act.

Representative Hoekstra said that Detroit may not have been singled out for the attack, but the focus may have simply been to attack a destination with many international travelers. The attack occurred over the city because the plane had not flown over U.S. land prior to that time. In addition, it was suggested that it is possible that the attack was a test to see if such materials could pass through screening, and how much damage the blast would cause. The U.S. is examining what information it had before the attack, why its National Counterterrorism Center did not put together the warning from Abdulmutallab’s father and intercepts by the National Security Agency (NSA) of conversations among Yemeni al-Qaida leaders about a “Nigerian” to be used for an attack (months before the attack took place), and why the suspect’s U.S. visa was not revoked after his father’s warning. Abdulmutallab’s name had come to the attention of intelligence officials many months before that, but no “derogatory information” was recorded about him. A Congressional official said that Abdulmutallab’s name appeared in U.S. reports reflecting that he had connections to both al-Qaeda and Yemen.

One U.S. intelligence officer said on December 30: “Abdulmutallab’s father didn’t say his son was a terrorist” when he visited the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria, “let alone planning an attack. Not at all. I’m not aware of some magic piece of intelligence that suddenly would have flagged this guyhose name nobody even had until Novembers a killer en route to America, let alone something that anybody withheld.” Representative Hoekstra questioned, however, why the apparent links were not put together before the attack took place, saying: “You would think if you did a Google search on these different threads, it would bring these things together quickly. There are organizations that deal with massive amounts of data in real time every day. Talk to MasterCard.”

On January 7, 2010, James L. Jones, the national security advisor, said Americans would feel “a certain shock” when a report detailing the intelligence failures that could have prevented the Christmas Day attack were released that day. He said that President Obama would be “legitimately and correctly alarmed that things that were available, bits of information that were available, patterns of behavior that were available, were not acted on.”

United Kingdom

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that the UK would take “whatever action was necessary”. The day after the attack, British police searched a family-owned flat at which Abdulmutallab had lived while in London.

Netherlands

A Dutch military police spokesperson said that Abdulmutallab did not go through passport control at Schiphol, where large numbers of passengers are processed en-route to North America from Africa, and the Dutch counter-terrorism agency NCTb said that it had started a probe into where the suspect originated. A preliminary investigation, however, found no security lapses, and despite being listed as having a potential terrorism connection, the suspect had a valid U.S. visa. Dutch officials also said that they will now use 3D full-body scanning X-ray technology on flights departing to the U.S. Body scanners are being implemented despite concerns from privacy advocates. Dutch officials said that security must take priority over the privacy of the individuals being scanned. The developer of the technology said the scanned imagery does not compromise individuals’ privacy, as the imagery resolution is too low to display the body in anatomical detail; but that it would certainly detect non-metallic objects under clothing, such as powdered explosives.

Members of the Second Chamber (Lower House) of the Dutch parliament demanded an explanation from Minister of Justice Hirsch Ballin, asking how the suspect managed to smuggle explosives on board, despite Schiphol’s reportedly strict security measures.

Nigeria

The incident raised concern regarding security procedures at Nigeria’s major international airports in Lagos and Abuja, where tests for explosive materials are not conducted on carry-on baggage and shoes, and where bags are allowed to pass quickly through X-ray scanners. In response to strong international criticism, Nigerian civil aviation officer Harold Demuran announced that Nigeria will also set up full-body scanning X-ray machines in Nigerian airports.

Canada

In response to the incident and to comply with new US regulations, the Canadian Government will install full body scanners at major airports. This technology is used in secondary screening of passengers. The first 44 scanners were planned to be installed at airports in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Halifax.

Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines, which owns Northwest, said its Detroit group did not handle security for the flight. It released a statement calling the incident a “disturbance,” and saying that Delta was “cooperating fully with authorities”.

According to an internal communication to employees, Delta’s CEO Richard Anderson was upset that another terrorist incident such as this could reoccur, especially after the September 11 security reinforcements put in place around the globe: “Having this occur again is disappointing to all of us… You can be certain we will make our points very clearly in Washington.”

Security firms

In January 2010, ICTS International, a security firm that provides security services to Schipol airport, and G4S (Group 4 Securicor Aviation Security B.V.), another security firm, traded blame over the security oversight, as did authorities at Schiphol Airport, the Federal Aviation Authority, and U.S. intelligence officials. According to Haaretz, the failure was two-fold: An intelligence failure, as Obama stated, in the poor handling of information that arrived at the State Department and probably also the CIA from both the father of the would-be bomber and the British security service; and a failure within the security system, including that of ICTS. Abdulmutallab’s “age, name, illogical travel route, high-priced ticket purchased at the last minute, his boarding without luggage (only a carry-on), and many other signs should have been sufficient to alert the security officers and warrant further examination of the suspect. However, the security supervisor allowed him to get on the flight.”

Criminal charges

Prison grounds at Federal Correctional Institution, Milan, where Abdulmutallab is incarcerated

On December 26, a criminal complaint was filed against Abdulmutallab in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, charging him with two counts: placing a destructive device in, and attempting to destroy, a U.S. civil aircraft. The U.S. Attorney’s Office assigned to the case federal prosecutors Jonathan Tukel (chief of the counter-terrorism unit) and Eric Straus (former chief of the same unit). Abdulmutallab was arraigned and officially charged by U.S. District Court Judge Paul D. Borman later the same day at the University of Michigan Hospital.

On January 6, 2010, a federal grand jury indicted Abdulmutallab on six criminal counts including attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted murder. “Not guilty” pleas were entered on the behalf of Abdulmutallab at the hearing. If Abdulmutallab is convicted on the charges he could face a life sentence plus 90 years. He faced his first court hearing, a detention hearing, on January 8, 2010. A former federal prosecutor told the Detroit News that “there’s no chance of getting this guy bond in a million years”.

Aftermath

Effect on travel

The U.S. government did not raise the Homeland Security Advisory System terrorist threat level, orange at the time (high risk of terrorist attacks), following the attack. However, the Department of Homeland Security said that additional security measures would be in place for the remainder of the Christmas travel period. The TSA detailed several of the measures, including a restriction on movement and access to personal items during the last hour of flight for planes entering U.S. airspace. The TSA also said that there would be more officers and security dogs at airports.

On December 28 Transport Canada announced that for several days it would not allow passengers flying to the U.S. from Canada a carry-on bag, with some exceptions. British Airways said that passengers flying to the U.S. would only be permitted one carry-on item. Other European countries increased baggage screening, pat-down searches, and random searches for passengers traveling to the U.S. A spokesperson for the Dutch airport used by the attacker said that heightened security would be in place for “an indefinite period”. However, in spite of the extra measures said to have been put in place to prevent a follow-up attack, Stuart Clarke, a photoreporter from the British newspaper Daily Express claimed to have smuggled a syringe containing fluid, and which could have contained a liquid bomb detonator onto another plane. On January 3, 2010, Clarke said he boarded a jet from Schiphol Airport bound for Heathrow Airport just five days after the Christmas Day terror attack, and that the airport appeared to have imposed no additional security, such as precautionary pat-downs which could easily have discovered the syringe which he claimed he kept in his jacket pocket throughout.

On December 27, a Lufthansa flight headed for Detroit was diverted to Iceland when it was discovered to be carrying a bag from a passenger who was not on the plane. In addition, a passenger on a Baltimore-to-New York flight was detained when a firecracker was discovered in the seat he had used.

U.S. political fallout

Beginning on the day of the incident, Obama was kept informed via secure conference calls and follow-up briefings.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said several times on Sunday talk shows that “the system had worked”, a statement that engendered some controversy. The next day they retracted the statement, saying that the system had in fact “failed miserably.” According to Napolitano, her initial statement had referred to the rapid response to the attack that included alerts sent to the 128 other aircraft in U.S. airspace at the time, and new security requirements for the final hour of every flight, rather than the security failures that allowed the attack to happen.

The day after the attack, the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee and Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee both announced that they would hold hearings in January 2010 to investigate how the device passed through security, and whether further restrictions should be placed on air travel; the Senate hearings began on January 21.

Four days after the attack, Obama said publicly that Abdulmutallab’s ability to board the aircraft was the result of a systemic failure that included an inadequate sharing of information among U.S. and foreign government agencies. He called the situation “totally unacceptable.” He ordered that a report be delivered detailing how some government agencies had failed to share or highlight potentially relevant information about the suspect before he allegedly tried to blow up the airliner. Two days later Obama received the briefing, which included statements that information about the suspect had failed to cross agency lines, and that the failures to communicate within the U.S. government had led to the threat posed by Abdulmutallab not being known by certain agencies until the attack. Obama said he would meet with security officials and specifically question why Abdulmutallab was not placed on the U.S. no-fly list, despite the government having received warnings about his potential al-Qaeda links.

Under new rules prompted by the incident, airline passengers travelling to the U.S. from 14 nations would undergo extra screening: Afghanistan, Algeria, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. The inclusion of non-Muslim Cuba on the list was criticized.

Account of pre-boarding event

Kurt Haskell, a U.S. passenger on Flight 253, said he saw two individuals approach the boarding agent at Schiphol, in Amsterdam. One was a “poor-looking black teenager around 16 or 17″ whom Haskell claims was Abdulmutallab. The second man was a “sharp-dressed” Indian man around 50 years old who spoke “in an American accent similar to my own.” According to Haskell, the Indian man attempted to negotiate with the airline employee to allow Abdulmutallab to board without a passport. Haskell claimed that the older man said: “He’s from Sudan. We do this all the time”, to which the employee responded by referring them to management.

A U.S. Customs and Border Patrol official and spokesman in Detroit confirmed that there were not any Sudanese refugees on the plane. The Dutch counter-terror agency said that Abdulmutallab presented a valid Nigerian passport and U.S. entry visa when he boarded Flight 253, and after reviewing more than 200 hours of security camera recordings, did not find any indication that Abdulmutallab had accomplices at the airport or that he acted suspiciously there. Haskell suggested authorities should, “Put the video out there to prove I’m wrong.”

Federal agents said they were attempting to identify a man who, according to passengers on the flight, helped Abdulmutallab change planes in Amsterdam. U.S. authorities had initially discounted the passenger accounts, but the agents later said there was a growing belief that this man played a role to make sure Abdulmutallab “did not get cold feet”.

See also

Detroit portal

Aviation portal

Yemeni al-Qaeda crackdown

2001 shoe bomb plot

2006 Transatlantic Aircraft Plot

List of accidents and incidents on commercial airliners

List of terrorist incidents, 2009

“Flying while Muslim”

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^ a b c Shane, Scott, Schmitt, Eric and Lipton, Eric (December 26, 2009). “U.S. Charges Suspect, Eyeing Link to Qaeda in Yemen”. The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/27/us/27terror.html. Retrieved December 26, 2009. 

^ McGinley, Shane. “Christmas Day bomber studied in Dubai”, Arabian Business, December 29, 2009. Accessed December 29, 2009.

^ Afshan, Ahmed; and Amira, Agarib. “US bomb suspect studied briefly in Dubai”, Khaleej Times, December 29, 2009. Accessed December 29, 2009.

^ Gilmore, Heath, and Sharp, Ari. “Would-be bomber had ‘terror’ conference”, The Sydney Morning Herald, December 31, 2009. Accessed December 30, 2009.

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^ “Abdulmutallab Shocks Family, Friends”. CBS News. Dece…

Flight with Frontier Airlines

Aviation… When we hear this word combination we imagine snow-white airliner and its attentive crew, who is always ready to get you to any place of the world on your business meeting or recreation.

It is incredible but only 100 years ago there weren’t any business-jets, plains or airdromes… Just projects, projects, projects… Brilliant, amusing, absurd… There were hundreds and thousands of projects. And there is nothing amazing that some of them (which now seems funny even for five years old children)became a part of aviation history. Now they are a real evidence of how passionately people dreamed to learn how to fly.

When balloons appeared there were many people who made balloon flights their profession. They were called aeronauts.

Modern plain is the realization of newest technologic achievements, the most effective carrier with the best surrounding for movement.  It seems incredible how iron machine which weight about forty tones can fly. At the same time plain remains the fastest and the safest carrier.

Frontier Airlines (http://frontier-airlines.pissedconsumer.com/) is one of the most famous American airlines. It can deliver you to more than 70 destinations in the United States, get you to Mexico and offer you Costa Rica destination. Frontier Airlines was a local carrier in Denver for about 40 years. In 1986 it was purchased. Now Republic Airways Holdings Inc owns Frontier Airlines. Fleet of this company consists of 54 aircraft. The main feature that differs company from the others is images of wild animals on the tails of plains. The company’s guideline is “A whole different animal”. They explain it as to make inconspicuous things that make clients to choose this airline.

Frontier Airlines offer their customers to earn miles. All you need is to become a member of program that let you earn miles.It is called EarlyReturns®. On their site you can find list of situations when you can get miles. And then you can use them in different ways: spent them for another fly; you can present your miles to another person; using your miles you can travel with partner airlines or you can give them for charity.

This year company faced some significant events. On the 5th of July the online voting has finished. Everybody could take part in choosing the name of badger that ornaments tail of new aircraft. Now the badger’s name is Buddy.

On 13th of April Republic Airways Holdings, Inc declared that Frontier and Midwest carriers will amalgamate under Frontier Airlines name. This process will take from 12 to 18 month.

As Frontier Airlines were established in Denver, Colorado about 16 years ago, the company made a present to the 134th anniversary of statehood. The tickets to and from Denver destination were sold at lowest fares. You can buy tickets for in both ways only if you do it to 11:59 p.m. EDT of 4th of August 2010.

Planes can fly where the sky is. And now you can realize people’s age-long willing to fly. Only airlines can present you the sky. So fly with pleasure.

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