In a bizarre and unprecedented incident, a routine transatlantic flight turned into an extraordinary situation when a horse on board a Boeing 747 became loose in the cargo hold. The flight, operated by Air Atlanta Icelandic and departing from New York’s JFK airport with its destination set for Liege, Belgium, took an unexpected turn shortly after takeoff.
Around 31,000 feet in the air, the flight crew discovered that the horse, presumably a part of the cargo, had become unrestrained. Faced with the challenge of securing the large animal mid-flight, the pilots made the crucial decision to divert the aircraft back to JFK.
The pilot communicated the situation to air traffic control, requesting permission to return to New York as attempts to secure the loose horse in the cargo hold proved unsuccessful. Given the potential safety risks and the crew’s inability to manage the situation during the flight, the decision was made to prioritise the safety of all on board and return to JFK.
Malaysia is setting its sights on sustainable aerospace manufacturing, seeking collaboration with aerospace giant Boeing to leverage advanced technologies and practices. Tengku Zafrul Aziz, Malaysia’s investment, trade, and industry minister, highlighted the need for swift action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The collaboration with Boeing is seen as a crucial step towards accelerating sustainable manufacturing in the country’s aerospace industry.
In an effort to expedite the adoption of sustainable manufacturing practices, Malaysia is reaching out to global partners like Boeing, aiming to foster the rapid institutionalisation of these practices. Minister Tengku Zafrul stressed the urgency to act swiftly, underlining the global imperative to reduce greenhouse gases. He emphasised that both speed and scale are essential to drive the integration of sustainable manufacturing practices.
Malaysia is seeking increased incentives and allocations for its aerospace industry in the 2024 Budget. Minister Tengku Zafrul expressed hope for additional support, complementing the New Industrial Master Plan (NIMP) 2030 and Malaysian Aerospace Blueprint 2030. These initiatives are aimed at positioning Malaysia as a prominent aerospace hub in Southeast Asia and a crucial part of the global aerospace supply chain by 2030.
Unmanned Aircraft Vehicles (UAVs) are increasingly becoming vital tools for armed forces and law enforcement agencies. While there are those which have offensive capabilities, many are used for observation purposes to give authorities a real-time view of the situation in a certain area.
For instance, during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period in Malaysia, the police and army have been using drones – which are also UAVs- not only to detect people not following #stayathome regulations but also to broadcast the regulations in housing areas.
For military purposes, the drones are certainly much larger and more capable than those from DJI (the most popular commercial brand in the world) and are equipped with sensors and other high-tech equipment to enable detailed observation and patrolling.
UAVs help defend territorial integrity
Recently, the Royal Malaysian Navy took receipt of the first batch of 6 Scan Eagle UAVs from the USA via the US Embassy in Malaysia. According to a statement from the embassy, ‘the USA and Malaysia have shared a productive, mutually beneficial security cooperation partnership. We continue to do so now during these challenging times and we look forward to working together in the future.’
The UAVs will enhance the Royal Malaysian Navy’s ability to defend the country’s territorial integrity, providing valuable reconnaissance capability in areas like the South China Sea and Straits of Melaka. Navy personnel will receive training to operate the UAVs.
Some details about the Scan Eagle
Certainly very much larger than a DJI Mavic drone, the Scan Eagle UAV is built by Insitu Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Boeing aircraft company. The UAV is based on Insitu’s SeaScan miniature robotic aircraft developed for the commercial fishing industry. Military forces of at least 8 countries use the Scan Eagle for day/night intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and there are also numerous civilian and commercial operators around the world.
With a fuselage length of 1.55 – 1.71 metres and a wingspan of 3.11 metres, the 18-kg Scan Eagle is said to be able to reach an altitude of 5,950 metres and fly around for 24+ hours. Using petrol or JP5/JP8 fuel, the Scan Eagle can fly at speeds of up to about 110 km/h. It can carry all sorts of equipment, depending on the mission, and cameras available include electro-optic and infra-red types.
It is launched autonomously by a catapult launcher and the route it follows can be pre-programmed or managed by an operator. A patented SkyHook recovery system is used for retrieval which catches the UAV’s wingtip with a rope that hangs from a 15-metre high boom.
Yet another scandal has hit Japan, and this time its from a company called Kobe Steel. Though this company maybe relatively unfamiliar to many, it is a key player in supplying the automotive industry with a whole host of parts that include doors and bonnets.
Based on an article posted by The Guardian, Kobe Steel has admitted that over the course a decade, it has falsified data regarding the strength and durability of its aluminium and copper products that are used in cars, aircraft, space rockets and defense equipment.
This issue affects a whole host of manufacturers that include Boeing, General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Subaru, Hitachi and several others. In fact, Hitachi has said that it used Kobe Steel parts in trains that it built for the UK market.
Boeing, the US based aircraft maker, has stated that it is currently inspecting Kobe Steel products that it had used, but for the moment at least, says that there is no evidence to suggest that the safety of the respective parts had been compromised in any way.
This news has many mainstream automakers scrambling to assess the extent of which Kobe Steel products were used in their vehicles. Though certain companies have said that safety may not be an issue despite the fact that Kobe Steel didn’t honour the specifications agreed upon, we won’t know for sure until further investigations are carried out.
The extent of the issue and the sectors that are affected by it are still unknown, but we hope that for the most part at least, that the issue is isolated to the Japanese market. That said, we will let you know more as this scandal begins to unravel in the coming weeks.