While not completely aviation related, I felt this past week had to have a post dedicated to it. The past week was such a tragic week all across America as two separate events killed a total of 18 and injured more than 300. The past week was also very newsworthy in the aviation field. This special blog post will consist of a paragraph summarizing the event along with a link to follow in order to read more on the story. Runway1R will return to its original format next week.
Bombs go off at the 116th Boston Marathon: At about 2:50 in the afternoon on Monday the fifteenth, two explosions occurred near the finish line of the 116th annual running of the Boston Marathon, killing three and injuring hundreds. Among the dead was an 8 year old child. The bombs are believed to have been constructed from pressure cookers, superheated to the point of bursting. All across America, tributes were paid to the city of Boston, among the most notable being the singing of Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline", a Boston Red Sox tradition, at major league ballparks across the country, including at Yankee Stadium, home of their rivals. The week ended with a bang when the entire Boston area was shut down and everyone was told to stay indoors after the two suspects shot a police officer at MIT and robbed a 7-Eleven. The older one, 26 year old Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was killed in the shootout and the younger one, 19 year old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, escaped on foot. Dzhokhar was eventually captured after an entire day of searching house to house in Watertown, Massachusetts, west of Boston.
Activity at two US airports halted: A day after the Boston Marathon Bombings, security was heightened at airports across the US, resulting first in a ground stop at Boston Logan because of a bag not checked on a flight from Philadelphia. Two people were removed from the flight. Just fifteen minutes later, an evacuation of the central terminal at LaGuardia in New York was ordered due to a suspicious package. A few hours later, a suspicious bag was found on airport property at Dallas/Fort Worth International in Founders Plaza and a bomb squad used robots to retrieve the bag. This incident however, did not affect flights at the airport.
Explosion in Texas kills 14 and injures hundreds: In the small town of West, Texas, ironically located in the eastern portion of the state, a fertilizer plant caught fire and exploded on Wednesday night, killing 14 and injuring nearly 200. Most of the victims killed in the explosion were first responders called in to fight the blaze and were still close to the building when it exploded. Amateur video emerged showing an already considerable sized blaze when suddenly, the building turned into an enormous fireball accompanied by a very loud bang.
American Airlines suffers computer failure: Tuesday, while the rest of the world was dealing with the aftermath of the bombings in Boston, American Airlines suffered a problem connecting to their reservations computer system. This eventually lead to a company wide ground stop; if people can't check in, they can't fly. The airline was forced to cancel more than 500 flights between it and its regional affiliate, American Eagle. The flight stoppage lasted approximately four hours before American was able to reconnect to its reservation system. The next day, the airline added new one off flights on the most heavily affected routes, including a 777 between Chicago O'Hare and Dallas/Fort Worth.
FAA clears 787 Dreamliner to fly: Three months and three days after the FAA issued the grounding of all Boeing 787s nationwide due to problems with the plane's electrical system, the regulatory agency lifted the ban on the Dreamliner and approved the modifications Boeing made this past Friday, April 19th. While this does mean the plane can fly, it does not mean it will reenter commercial service instantly. The airlines must refit their battery and electrical system, instructions for which Boeing must provide. Also, ANA, the largest operator of the jet says it wants to run at least 200 tests before putting the plane back in commercial service.
Sequestration to hit aviation industry: As expected, congress could not come to an agreement to stop the furloughs of thousands of FAA employees, including those who operate control towers at major airports. While we've known for a while that sequestration would affect air travel by closing towers at smaller airports and causing delays at larger ones, the effects have begun to kick in. Delays of more than an hour have already been reported in Los Angeles and New York, with more expected to come over the coming days. NYCAviation has published some tips to help you avoid and/or get through agonizing delays.
