- Chris Hemsworth says he ‘got sick’ of playing Thor every couple of years and thinks Marvel movies need to become ‘more personal and grounded’ Yahoo! Voices
- Chris Hemsworth Points Out 1 Problem With Ant-Man 3 The Direct
- Chris Hemsworth ‘got sick’ of Thor, wants Marvel films more ‘grounded’ Insider
- Chris Hemsworth Admits ‘Thor 4’ Was ‘Too Silly,’ Calls Scorsese and Tarantino’s Marvel Criticisms ‘Super Depressing’: ‘I Guess They’re Not a Fan of Me’ Yahoo Entertainment
- Chris Hemsworth Breaks Silence on Thor 4’s Disappointing Reviews The Direct
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Tag Archives: grounded
Dow Jones Futures Rise Ahead Of CPI Inflation Report; U.S. Airline Flights Grounded
Dow Jones futures rose slightly early Wednesday, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures. U.S. domestic flights were grounded due to an FAA glitch. WWE, Wells Fargo, Axcelis Technologies and Impinj also were in focus before the open.
X
The stock market rally was indecisive for much of Tuesday, but the major indexes gained steam, with the S&P 500 moving its 50-day moving average. Investors await the December CPI inflation report on Thursday morning.
Medpace (MEDP) rose solidly Tuesday, flashing a new buy signal after a similar move fizzled at the end of 2022. First Solar (FSLR) rebounded from its 50-day line, also providing an early entry. But ELF Beauty (ELF) and Super Micro Computer (SMCI) tumbled after Monday’s reversals.
MEDP stock and ELF Beauty are on IBD Leaderboard. SMCI stock is on the IBD 50. Medpace was Tuesday’s IBD Stock Of The Day.
Tesla (TSLA) and UnitedHealth (UNH) edged lower, as many big caps continue to struggle.
Investors should remain cautious, especially with the CPI inflation report looming.
Business News
The FAA halted all domestic flights until 9 a.m.-9:30 a.m. ET due to a significant systems outage. Flights had been disrupted since early Wednesday morning. The FAA expects to “repopulate” the system soon, but airlines will have to scramble to get back on schedule. Airline stocks including Delta Air Lines (DAL) and United Airlines (UAL) were slightly lower.
Vince McMahon is once again chairman at World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), after his daughter Stephanie stepped down as chairwoman and co-CEO Tuesday evening. Mr. McMahon, a major shareholder, resigned last year over payments related to sexual misconduct claims. WWE stock rose solidly in premarket trading, after soaring in recent days on reports of his expected return to lead a sale of the company.
Meanwhile, Wells Fargo (WFC) will largely exit the mortgage business amid regulatory pressure, CNBC reported late Tuesday. It’ll only offer home loans to existing bank and wealth management customers and borrowers in minority communities. WFC stock was little changed in extended trade.
Axcelis Technologies (ACLS), which made a strong move over the last several sessions, said revenue for the December-ending fourth quarter topped $250 million vs. the chip-equipment maker’s prior guidance of $232 million to $240 million. ACLS stock edged higher after hours.
Impinj (PI) says Q4 sales exceeded $76 million vs. the RFID-chip maker’s prior guidance of $71.5 million-$73.5 million. PI stock, already slightly above the 50-day line, rose solidly overnight. That could offer an early entry or come close to Impinj stock’s flat base buy point. PI stock also is on Leaderboard.
Earnings season also begins to pick up late in the week. Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) reports on Thursday morning. On Friday, JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C) and Wells Fargo all report before the open, along with Delta Air and UnitedHealth.
Dow Jones Futures Today
Dow Jones futures rose 0.25% vs. fair value. S&P 500 futures climbed 0.3% and Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 0.3%.
The 10-year Treasury yield fell 3 basis points to 3.59%.
Crude oil futures edged higher despite the American Petroleum Institute estimating a huge weekly jump in U.S. inventories. The Energy Information Administration will release U.S. crude and petroleum products data at 10:30 a.m. ET.
Remember that overnight action in Dow futures and elsewhere doesn’t necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular stock market session.
Join IBD experts as they analyze actionable stocks in the stock market rally on IBD Live
Stock Market Rally
After Monday’s disappointing fade, the stock market rally strengthened Tuesday afternoon, closing near session highs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% in Tuesday’s stock market trading. The S&P 500 index climbed 0.7%. The Nasdaq composite climbed 1%. The small-cap Russell 2000 popped 1.5%
Tesla stock edged down 0.8% Tuesday after bouncing 5.9% on Monday. Shares reversed higher Friday after setting a bear market low of 101.06 after the EV giant announced big price cuts in China and other key Asian markets. TSLA stock needs a lot of repair.
Shares rose 2% before Wednesday’s open. Tesla has applied to Texas for a big expansion of its Austin assembly plant, the Austin Business Journal reported late Tuesday. Tesla Austin is still ramping up to its existing capacity.
UNH stock dipped 0.8%, hitting its worst levels since last June. The Dow Jones health insurer has tumbled 8.3% already in 2023, after ending 2022 in reasonably good shape. UnitedHealth earnings and guidance Friday will be important for the suddenly embattled sector.
U.S. crude oil prices rose 0.7% to $75.12 a barrel. Natural gas prices tumbled 6.9%.
The 10-year Treasury yield jumped 10 basis points to 3.62% after skidding 20 basis points in the prior two sessions.
Tesla Vs. BYD: EV Giants Vie For Crown, But Which Is The Better Buy?
ETFs
Among growth ETFs, the Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) rose 1.1%, while the Innovator IBD Breakout Opportunities ETF (BOUT) edged up 0.15%. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) eked out a 0.1% gain. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) advanced 1.3%, just topping the 200-day line after clearing the 50-day on Friday. TSM stock is a big SMH holding.
Reflecting more-speculative story stocks, ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) jumped 2.5% and ARK Genomics ETF (ARKG) 3.6%. Tesla stock is still a major holding at Ark Invest, with Cathie Wood bolstering her position in recent weeks.
SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (XME) ran up 2.5% and the Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF (PAVE) climbed 1.6%. U.S. Global Jets ETF (JETS) ascended 2.4%, with DAL stock among the notable holdings. SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) rose 1%. The Energy Select SPDR ETF (XLE) advanced 0.7% and the Financial Select SPDR ETF (XLF) gained 0.6%. The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) closed up 0.8%, with UNH stock a top XLV holding.
Five Best Chinese Stocks To Watch Now
Market Rally Analysis
The stock market rally spent much of the morning around break-even, but finished Tuesday with a relatively strong performance.
The S&P 500 rose above the 50-day line. The 200-day average is modestly above that.
The Dow Jones rebounded from a test of its 50-day line after moving above that key level on Friday. The Nasdaq rose from its 21-day line with the 50-day line not far away.
The Russell 2000 is back above its 50-day line, just below its 200-day.
The S&P MidCap 400 rose on Tuesday after finding support at the 50-day. That’s after jumping above its 21-day, 50-day and 200-day lines on Friday. Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP) looks quite similar.
RSP and the MidCap 400 highlight how big caps such as Apple (AAPL), Tesla and UNH stock have weighed on the market.
A sustained stock market rally may not take hold until there is clarity on when the Federal Reserve will stop hiking rates. Markets strongly expect just a quarter-point hike at the Feb. 1 policy meeting and again in late March.
Thursday’s CPI inflation report could lock in expectations for a quarter-point hike. Inflation should continue to trend lower in the coming months, if only because the year-over-year comparisons are so steep.
Why This IBD Tool Simplifies The Search For Top Stocks
Leading Stocks Mixed
A number of leading stocks have flashed buy signals in recent days and weeks. But most have quickly faltered. In some cases, such as MEDP stock, they bounce back a few days later.
Medpace jumped 5.9% to 223.29 in heavy volume, rebounding from the 50-day line and clearing its Dec. 29 high, when MEDP tried to move out.
First Solar soared 7.4% to 171.01, continuing a mini-win streak. The move from the 50-day line offered an early entry within a new base, but is now looking a little extended. But the 173.78 official buy point isn’t far away.
Other names keep tumbling.
ELF stock had a promising breakout Friday, but gave up most of those gains Monday and plunged 8.3% on Tuesday to 51.15, knifing below the 50-day line and undercutting the low of its flat base.
SMCI stock soared Monday morning, offering an early entry, but closed only fractionally higher. On Tuesday, shares gapped down 7.55%, below the 50-day line, after a short-seller report.
Many other stocks are hovering right around potential buy points.
Time The Market With IBD’s ETF Market Strategy
What To Do Now
The stock market rally is still in force, but the major indexes, sectors and especially leading stocks are prone to reversals. Thursday’s CPI inflation report could trigger big gains, with the major indexes pushing decisively above some key levels. But it could also go the other way.
Investors should be cautious about their exposure and be wary of new buys, especially before the CPI report.
If you do make new buys, know your exit strategy before going in. Consider taking partial profits quickly to lock in some gains.
This is still a window-shopping market. But there are a lot of intriguing stocks to watch from a variety of sectors. Get those watchlists ready.
Read The Big Picture every day to stay in sync with the market direction and leading stocks and sectors.
Please follow Ed Carson on Twitter at @IBD_ECarson for stock market updates and more.
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Officials: Grounded ship refloated in Egypt’s Suez Canal
CAIRO (AP) — A cargo ship carrying corn that went aground early on Monday in the Suez Canal was refloated and traffic through the crucial waterway was restored, Egyptian authorities said.
Adm. Ossama Rabei, head of the Suez Canal Authority, said the Marshall Islands-flagged MV Glory suffered a sudden technical failure while transiting through the canal, and the authority deployed four tugboats to help refloat it.
The vessel, which is owned by Greek firm Primera Shipping Inc., was heading to China before it broke down at the 38 kilometer (24 mile) -mark of the canal, near the city of Qantara in the province of Ismailia, he said.
After being refloated, the vessel was towed to a nearby maritime park to fix the problem, Rabei said. The canal’s media office shared images showing the vessel being pulled by tugboats.
Rabei did not elaborate on the nature of the technical failure. Parts of Egypt, including its northern provinces, experienced bad weather Sunday.
Traffic in the canal resumed after the ship was refloated and 51 vessels were expected to pass through the waterway in both directions Monday, Rabei’s statement added.
“Traffic through the Canal was uninterrupted as 26 North-bound vessels are already in the waterway and (a) South-bound convoy will resume its journey right upon the SCA tugboats-assisted transit of MV GLORY,” Rabei said.
Marwa Maher, a media officer with the canal authority, told The Associated Press the vessel ran aground around 5 a.m. local time and was refloated five hours later.
Canal services firm Leth Agencies posted a map that suggested the ship was against the west bank of the canal, pointed south and not wedged across the channel. Satellite tracking data analyzed by the AP showed the Glory running aground in a single-lane stretch of the Suez Canal just south of Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea.
Traffic Marine, a vessel tracking firm, said the Glory, bound to China, was transiting the canal at 8.5 knots when an engine broke down.
The Glory wasn’t the first vessel to run aground in the crucial waterway. The Panama-flagged Ever Given, a colossal container ship, crashed into a bank on a single-lane stretch of the canal in March 2021, blocking the waterway for six days.
The Ever Given was freed in a giant salvage operation by a flotilla of tugboats. The blockage created a massive traffic jam that held up $9 billion a day in global trade and strained supply chains already burdened by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Ever Given debacle prompted Egyptian authorities to begin widening and deepening the waterway’s southern part where the vessel hit ground.
In August, the Singaporean-flagged Affinity V oil tanker ran aground in a single-lane stretch of the canal, blocking the waterway for five hours before it was freed.
The Joint Coordination Center listed the Glory as carrying over 65,000 metric tons of corn from Ukraine bound for China. The vessel was inspected by the center — which includes Russian, Turkish, Ukrainian and United Nations staffers — off Istanbul on Jan. 3.
Opened in 1869, the Suez Canal provides a crucial link for oil, natural gas and cargo. It also remains one of Egypt’s top foreign currency earners. In 2015, President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi ’s government completed a major expansion of the canal, allowing it to accommodate the world’s largest vessels.
Built in 2005, the Glory is 225 meters (738 feet) long and 32 meters (105 feet) wide.
___
Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.
NASA’s Massive Artemis Moon Rocket Grounded Again at Kennedy Space Station Set to Launch Monday
The launch of NASA’s hotly anticipated Artemis I mission back to the moon is once again delayed due to pesky fuel leaks on Saturday. Though originally slated to launch within a two hour window of 2:17 p.m. ET, a leak was spotted early in the morning after crews began fueling the rocket with liquid hydrogen. Engineers made three attempts to fix the issue but couldn’t get the leaking to stop. The fuel systems team recommended a “no go” for the mission after the third attempt. NASA has now delayed the launch of the massive 322-foot Space Launch System (SLS) rocket to Monday, which would be a week after the first attempt to get it off the ground on August 29. That launch was also delayed due to leaking fuel on the SLS. The latest launch scrub is yet another bump in the road for the agency’s historic mission back to the moon, which will include sending the first woman and person of color to the lunar surface.
SpaceX cargo mission grounded to investigate possible fuel leak – Spaceflight Now
SpaceX has postponed this week’s planned launch of a Dragon cargo mission to the International Space Station to investigate a possible leak detected during fueling of the spacecraft at Cape Canaveral.
The Dragon spacecraft was scheduled for launch Friday morning from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Officials have not set a new target launch date for the SpaceX resupply mission, but a NASA spokesperson confirmed it would not occur Friday or Saturday.
SpaceX detected “elevated vapor readings” of monomethyl hydrazine, or MMH, fuel in an “isolated region” of the Dragon spacecraft’s propulsion system during propellant loading ahead of this week’s launch, NASA said in a statement.
The fueling of the Dragon spacecraft is one of the final steps to prepare the capsule for flight, and typically occurs just before SpaceX moves the craft to the launch pad for integration with its Falcon 9 rocket.
The Dragon spacecraft has propellant tanks containing hydrazine fuel and nitrogen tetroxide oxidizer. The two propellants ignite upon contact with each other, providing an impulse for the cargo ship’s Draco thrusters used for in-orbit maneuvers.
Each Dragon spacecraft has 16 Draco thrusters, small rocket engines that generate about 90 pounds of thrust. The Draco engines are used for orbit adjustment burns and control the spacecraft’s approach to the space station, then fire at the end of the mission for a deorbit burn to guide the capsule back into the atmosphere for re-entry and splashdown.
SpaceX’s ground processing team, working at the Dragon refurbishment facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, offloaded fuel and oxidizer from the area of the spacecraft with the elevated hydrazine vapor readings, NASA said.
Multiple sources told Spaceflight Now a hydrazine fuel leak could be the culprit, but NASA said the origin of the vapor hasn’t been identified yet.
“Once the exact source of the elevated readings is identified and cause is determined, the joint NASA and SpaceX teams will determine and announce a new target launch date,” NASA said in a statement.
The Dragon spacecraft assigned to the upcoming cargo mission is designated C208 in SpaceX’s fleet of reusable capsules. The spacecraft has flown to the space station two times before, most recently on a resupply mission spanning 32 days last August and September.
The next Dragon resupply mission, known as CRS-25, will be SpaceX’s 25th cargo flight to the space station under contract with NASA.
The Dragon capsule on the CRS-25 mission will deliver more than 4,500 pounds of food, supplies, and experiments to the orbiting research laboratory.
The spacecraft will also ferry an Earth science instrument to the station for monitoring the mineral composition of dust particles in desert regions around the world. Developed at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation, or EMIT, instrument is already latched inside the Dragon spacecraft’s unpressurized trunk for the ride to the space station.
The EMIT instrument will be removed from the Dragon trunk using the space station’s robotic arm, then mounted on an experiment platform outside the complex. Data collected by the instrument will help scientists learn more about how dust lifted int the atmosphere from deserts impact Earth’s ecosystems and human health.
While the Dragon cargo launch is on hold, SpaceX is pressing ahead with plans for another Falcon 9 launch this week with the Egyptian Nilesat 301 communications satellite. Nilesat 301 is scheduled to lift off Wednesday from Cape Canaveral during a launch window opening at 5:04 p.m. EDT (2104 GMT).
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Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.
Boeing 747SP-based SOFIA to be grounded for good • The Register
Even as NASA publishes images demonstrating progress in the commission of the James Webb Space Telescope, preparations are being made to ground the Boeing 747-based Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) for good.
The end of operations was announced on April 28, confirming that there would be no more mission extensions for the modified Boeing 747 SP and its telescope. Operations will cease “no later than Sept 30, 2022” once the current mission extension comes to an end.
SOFIA, a joint project between NASA and partners at the German Space Agency at the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), was on borrowed time. Development began in 1996, first light was seen in 2010 and the platform was declared fully operational in 2014.
Its five-year prime mission was completed in 2019 and a three year mission extension will draw to a close this year.
“As part of its review of the current state of astronomical research, the National Academies’ Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics 2020 evaluated SOFIA,” said NASA.
The report states that SOFIA did not justify the cost of operation and nor did its capabilities “significantly overlap” with the priorities laid out in the survey.
SOFIA’s telescope peers out of a large door in the aircraft’s fuselage, near the tail. Observations are conducted while the aircraft is flying between 38,000 and 45,000 feet, above 99 percent of Earth’s infrared-blocking atmosphere, according to NASA.
The telescope’s instruments operate in the near, mid and far-infrared wavelengths and, by virtue of the fact that the Boeing 747 lands after each flight, engineers also have the opportunity to service and update the payload.
All good things must, however, come to an end. The value of the flying telescope has long been questioned, particularly when measured against the citations generated by the likes of the Hubble Space Telescope.
The Boeing 747SP itself dates from 1977, passing through the hands of Pan Am and United Airlines before work was undertaken to adapt the aircraft for observation duties (including the cutting of that large hole in the fuselage.)
Discoveries by the mission have included that of water on the sunlit surface of the Moon in 2020. More flights are planned for the observatory before the mission comes to an end, including a jaunt to New Zealand.
However, with nothing in the NASA budget for the observatory and a nod from the DLR, it appears that the end is in sight for SOFIA. ®
China plane crash latest news: State broadcaster says no survivors found as Boeing 737 fleet grounded
Emergency services start rescue mission after passenger plane crashes in south China
No survivors have been found after a plane carrying 132 people crashed in southern China, according to the country’s state broadcaster.
Rescuers continue to search the wreckage of the China Eastern plane, which plummeted into hills in Guangxi province and exploded in flames yesterday afternoon.
It’s one of the country’s worst air disasters in years.
Smoke could be seen rising from a mountainside near the city of Wuzhou, Teng county, after the Boeing 737-800 dropped 30,000ft in two minutes.
Rescue teams are scouring the slopes and hope to find the plane’s black box, which could help experts determine the cause of the crash.
There have been mass flight cancellations and China Eastern Airlines has grounded its entire Boeing 737-800 fleet.
President Xi Jinping ordered an immediate investigation, and the country’s vice-premier is overseeing the search and rescue operation.
China Eastern crash is ‘rare disaster for state-run airlines’
Along with North America and Europe, China is one of the world’s top three air travel markets. It has dramatically improved safety since a string of deadly crashes in the 1990s and 2000s.
The China Eastern tragedy on Monday comes after years free of major air disasters.
The last crash of a commercial jetliner in mainland China was in 2010, where 44 of the 96 passengers on board an Embraer E-190 regional jet were killed.
It crashed while approaching to Yichun airport in low visibility.
You can read the full story below.
Laurie Churchman22 March 2022 08:36
‘His mother couldn’t believe this had happened’
Worried relatives have gathered at Baiyun Airport in Guangzhou, waiting for updates.
One man at the airport told Reuters news agency he was the colleague of a passenger named Mr Tan.
After confirming that he was on the plane, he had to break the news to Mr Tan’s family.
“They were sobbing. His mother couldn’t believe this had happened,” he said.
“She said she will be here as soon as possible. Because she was very sad, her boy was only 29 years old.”
Laurie Churchman22 March 2022 08:07
India puts three flight carriers on ‘enhanced surveillance’
India has decided to put Boeing 737 fleets of Indian carriers on “enhanced surveillance” after the China Eastern Airlines plane crash.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) announced on Tuesday that SpiceJet, Vistara and Air India Express, which have Boeing 737 in their fleets, shall be put on an “enhanced surveillance” in the wake of the devastating crash that is believed to have left all 132 people onboard dead.
“Flight safety is serious business and we are closely studying the situation,” DGCA chief Arun Kumar said, according to Indian news agencies.
Maroosha Muzaffar22 March 2022 07:20
Mass flight cancellations in China after crash
About 74 per cent of the 11,800 flights scheduled in China have been canceled on Tuesday, a day after a plane crashed on a mountainside in southern China.
According to VariFlight, a global flight data services company, even some of the busiest domestic flight routes — from Beijing and Shanghai — have been affected by this.
The cancellations come after a Boeing 737-800 plane operated by China Eastern Airlines nosedived in a crash that is believed to have killed all 132 people onboard.
Meanwhile, Flight Master, the Chinese aviation data provider, reported that other Chinese airlines that use the Boeing 737-800 are yet to cancel any of their flights as of Tuesday.
Maroosha Muzaffar22 March 2022 06:57
Latest crash threatens Boeing’s place in Chinese aviation sector
The deadly crash of the Boeing 737-800 in southern China, which is believed to have killed all 132 people onboard, comes as a major setback for the aircraft maker’s efforts in China, renewing concerns about its planes’ safety.
On Monday, the China Eastern Airlines flight plummeted 30,000 ft in two minutes near the city of Wuzhou, in Teng county, in the province of Guangxi region.
It brings back the spotlight on Boeing, which has had a turbulent few years after two of its 737 Max jets crashed in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people.
The 737 Max crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia led to the grounding of the fleet for about 20 months.
The Boeing 737-800 that crashed on Monday does not have the equipment that led to the 737 Max disasters.
However, according to data from the Aviation Safety Network, since its launch, 737-800s have been involved in 22 hull-loss accidents that resulted in 612 fatalities.
“What we know is that the crash happened during the cruise phase of the flight, which is comparatively rare even though this phase accounts for the majority of flight time,” Oleksandra Molloy, aviation safety expert at the University of New South Wales told Al Jazeera.
He noted that only 13 per cent of fatal commercial accidents globally between 2011 and 2020 occurred during the cruise phase. “Usually, the autopilot is engaged during this phase.”
Maroosha Muzaffar22 March 2022 06:40
Additional rescue teams dispatched to site of crash
On Tuesday, additional teams of rescuers and medical experts arrived at site of the crash in Guangxi region, CGTN reported.
Hundreds of volunteers from neighbouring Yunnan and Guangdong are also reportedly on their way to join the rescue efforts.
A team of rescuers from Wuzhou was the first to reach the site and extinguish the fire caused due to the crash on Monday.
At 2.38pm on Monday local time, a China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 plane carrying 132 people crashed in a mountainous region near Molang village in south China’s Wuzhou city.
No survivors have been found so far, nearly 24 hours since the crash.
The search for the airplane’s black box is still underway.
Maroosha Muzaffar22 March 2022 05:57
Rescue and search operations continue on Tuesday at the site of crash
Rescue operations in China are underway at the site of the crash on Tuesday, Reuters reported.
State broadcaster CCTV said earlier in the day that no survivors have been found so far.On Monday, a China Eastern Airlines plane with 132 people on board crashed in the mountainous region near the city of Wuzhou in the Guangxi region. All those on board the plane are believed to have been Chinese.
Rescue teams continue to scour the slopes of the mountain in hopes of finding the black box and other parts of the plane that could help experts determine the exact cause of the crash.
On Monday, after the crash, debris from the plane was found strewn all over with belongings of passengers covering the ground.
State media reported that burnt remains of identity cards and wallets were also found at the site.
The flight MU5735 was en route from Kunming, capital of the southwestern province of Yunnan, to the port city of Guangzhou, when it suddenly nose-dived to the ground.
Maroosha Muzaffar22 March 2022 05:39
Woman lost six relatives and friends in China airplane crash
A woman who said six of her relatives and friends were onboard the Chinese Eastern Airlines plane that crashed has lit 100 candles in their memory.
The woman, who was identified by just her surname Chen, planned to attend a burial ceremony in Guangzhou, Guangdong province for her six family members and friends who died in the crash on Monday, Global Times reported.
Chinese president Xi Jinping has said that he was “shocked to learn” about the tragic incident.
State broadcaster reported on Tuesday that no survivors were found at the site of the crash near the city of Wuzhou in the Guangxi region.
Maroosha Muzaffar22 March 2022 05:07
Boeing China says experts ready to assist with investigation into crash
A day after the crash, Boeing China will “cooperate” with China Eastern Airlines and will provide support, the company said on Tuesday.
The Global Times reported that the company is in touch with the National Transportation Safety Board in the United States and has asked its technical experts to aid the Civil Aviation Administration of China in conducting the investigation.
The China Eastern plane, a Boeing 737-800 aircraft, was carrying 132 people when it crashed in hills near the city of Wuzhou, in the Guangxi region.
Maroosha Muzaffar22 March 2022 04:30
‘Serious technical failure’ in which plane lost engine power, expert says
Even though the black box from the China Eastern 737 is yet to be retrieved, a Chinese aviation expert has said that it is likely that the plane lost engine power and this resulted in the pilot losing control of the aircraft.
Wang Ya’nan, the chief editor of Beijing-based Aerospace Knowledge, was quoted by the Global Times as saying that “it could be a very serious technical failure in which the plane inevitably enters a high-speed descent”.
He however made it clear that the specific cause can only be determined after the black box is recovered and analysed.
The Chinese state broadcaster has reported that there were no survivors found at the site of the crash on Tuesday.
Maroosha Muzaffar22 March 2022 04:22
Adele and Rich Paul’s grounded love story
The British singer opened up about her relationship with Klutch Sports Group founder Rich Paul during her interview with Oprah Winfrey in her “Adele One Night Only” special and here’s some of what we learned about Paul:
While Adele says the pair met a few years ago at a birthday party, she said Rich didn’t make his move until early 2021 when he asked her out for a “business meeting.”
She wasn’t buying it and told Winfrey her initial reaction was “A business meeting about what?”
“We wouldn’t be having a meeting about business,” Adele said. “It was just the first time we’d hung out only on our own, and not with other friends and stuff like that.”
Speaking of smooth
According to the Grammy winner, that’s exactly how their romance has been going.
She’s clearly smitten with the man she describes as “hilarious,” “so funny” and “very, very smart.”
And Adele admires his business sense as an agent to superstar athletes like his friend LeBron James.
“It’s quite incredible watching him do what he does,” she said.
Paul came along at the right time
Adele spoke highly of her ex-husband, Simone Konecki, with who she shares her 9-year-old son Angelo, but with Paul she said it’s the first time she’s “loved myself and been open to loving and being loved by someone else.”
“It’s just timing,” she said. “But it’d be interesting to see what my reaction is like in general to anything that hurts me now that I feel so secure in myself, and I’m talking outside of romance as well.”
It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity that grounded Boeing’s Starliner
Enlarge / The Boeing Starliner spacecraft to be flown on Orbital Flight Test-2 is seen at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 2, 2021.
NASA
NASA and Boeing officials said Tuesday that they have successfully removed two valves from the Starliner spacecraft and have shipped them to Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama for further analysis.
The forensic examination—the two valves will be inspected with a variety of techniques, including a CT scan—is part of Boeing’s ongoing effort to diagnose the “stuck” valve issue that caused an abort of Starliner’s uncrewed test flight on August 3. With less than five hours remaining in the countdown to launch, during a routine procedure, 13 of the 24 valves that control the flow of dinitrogen tetroxide oxidizer through the service module of the spacecraft would not cycle between closed and open.
An initial diagnostic effort at the launch pad yielded no results, so the Atlas V rocket and spacecraft were rolled back to an integration facility. After more inspection and testing there, engineers decided to “de-stack” the spacecraft and return it to Boeing’s spacecraft processing building at Kennedy Space Center. This eventually led to further dissection of the vehicle and removal of several valves.
Corrosive humidity
Boeing’s chief engineer for space and launch, Michelle Parker, said during a news conference with reporters Tuesday that the company has a pretty solid hypothesis for what went wrong. At some point during the 46-day period when the vehicle was fueled—and when the valves were found to be stuck—humidity must have gotten into the spacecraft. This moisture combined with the oxidizer and created nitric acid, beginning the process of corrosion.
Parker said dew points at the launch site were high in August, and while the vehicle was designed to operate in Florida’s humidity, there is physical evidence that humidity is nonetheless the culprit. Boeing and NASA engineers now want to try to recreate the corrosive reaction in similar test conditions so that they can be confident of the root cause and any countermeasures they implement.
The company and NASA will press ahead with work in Florida, Alabama, and at Boeing’s test site in White Sands, New Mexico. All of this will take time, acknowledged Boeing’s program manager for commercial crew, John Vollmer. He said Boeing is now targeting the “first half” of 2022 for the uncrewed test flight of Starliner. (One source told Ars the “no earlier than” date is May 2022).
This mission is formally named Orbital Flight Test-2, or OFT-2. The company is flying OFT-2 at its own expense, $410 million, following an uncrewed Starliner mission in December 2019 that went awry due to software issues. The company’s technicians and engineers worked long and hard after the OFT-1 flight to fix the software, only to have these new hardware problems crop up during launch-day checks on the pad in early August.
NASA is hoping that Boeing can get Starliner up and flying so that it can have a second launch system, alongside SpaceX’s Crew Dragon vehicle, to get its astronauts to and from the International Space Station. Assuming that Boeing safely completes OFT-2, Vollmer said the company and NASA would like to have about six months to review data and prepare for a crewed test flight. That would put the earliest possible launch date for Starliner’s first mission carrying astronauts toward the end of 2022. More realistically, the mission may not fly until early 2023.
After this flight, NASA will certify that Starliner is ready for regular, operational astronaut flights.
Buying more Dragons
As part of its commercial crew program, NASA ordered six “post-certification” missions from SpaceX and Boeing. SpaceX successfully completed its demonstration crewed mission in 2020 and is set to launch its third certified crew mission, Crew-3, to the International Space Station on October 31. A fourth and fifth mission are scheduled to follow in 2022.
During Tuesday’s news conference, NASA’s commercial crew program manager, Steve Stich, said the agency is negotiating additional flights for SpaceX—and possibly Boeing. He said details about those contract extensions could be announced within the next few months. Given the issues discussed Tuesday, It now seems possible that SpaceX could complete its initial six-mission contract before Boeing flies its first certified mission. But Stich is confident that Boeing will get there.
“I have no reason to believe that Boeing won’t be successful in getting Starliner operational,” Stich said. “We’ll get this problem solved, and then we’ll have two space transportation systems like we want.”
Biden admin’s response to Taliban ‘excuse’ for grounded flights slammed by lawmakers
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters Wednesday that the Taliban have kept planes grounded in Kabul because some evacuees lack required visa documentation, but Republicans on the Hill are frustrated with that “excuse” from the administration when it comes to getting evacuees out of Afghanistan.
A spokesperson for Michigan Republican Rep. Peter Meijer, who traveled in secret to Afghanistan prior to the withdrawal of U.S. forces, told Fox News the congressman “believes that the Taliban’s comments regarding delayed charter flights are not an excuse for the issues we’re seeing with evacuations from Afghanistan.”
Blinken told reporters Wednesday, that “as of now, the Taliban are not permitting the charter flights to depart.”
“They claim that some passengers do not have the required documentation,” Blinken said. “While there are limits to what we can do without personnel on the ground, without an airport with normal security procedures in place, we are working to do everything in our power to support those flights and to get them off the ground.”
BIDEN MISSES DEADLINE TO PROVIDE GOP SENATORS WITH NUMBER OF AMERICANS LEFT BEHIND IN AFGHANISTAN
But a spokesperson from the House Foreign Affairs Committee told Fox News that one of the holdups in getting visa documentation finalized for at-risk Afghans is the application procedure.
Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applicants are required to go through a 14-step process that relies on agencies outside of the State Department for final approval, and one of the major hurdles at the moment is the in-person interview.
With the official withdrawal of all U.S. troops in Afghanistan and the closure of the Kabul embassy, there are no U.S. officials remaining in the now Taliban-controlled nation to complete the SIV application process.
On Tuesday, Blinken told reporters it was his “understanding” that the “Taliban has not denied exit to anyone holding a valid document, but they have said those without valid documents, at this point, can’t leave.”
But even those who have proper documentation have been barred from exiting the country.
FORMER AFGHAN PRESIDENT EXPLAINS ABRUPT EXIT FROM COUNTRY AMID TALIBAN TAKEOVER
The secretary alleged this was because passengers have been “grouped together,” and added, “that’s meant that flights have not been allowed to go.”
Lawmakers remain frustrated by the administration’s response to those who have been stuck in Afghanistan for over a week, since the withdrawal of U.S. forces on Aug. 31.
“No matter what the Biden administration tries to claim, we know for a fact there are Americans with proper documents who are trying to leave and have not been able to,” the lead Republican on the Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Michael McCaul, told Fox News.
Lawmakers are also concerned about the Taliban’s reliability when it comes to allowing Afghan allies and other at-risk evacuees to vacate the country.
“Since the Taliban is the only voice we’re hearing from the ground, we have no way of verifying what is causing delays,” the spokesman for Meijer said. “We have yet to see anything of substance from the Biden administration regarding their plans to evacuate American citizens and our loyal allies.
“They clearly have no plans other than relying on the Taliban’s goodwill.”
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Blinken told reporters Wednesday that the administration has “made it clear” to the Taliban that charter flights “need to be able to depart.”
But the secretary did not go into detail about what repercussions the insurgent group could face if they continue to bar departures.