Archives June 2021

FAA orders review of Boeing 787 Dreamliners following week of incidents

Sunday, January 13, 2013

The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered a review Friday into the design and manufacture of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, following five incidents in five days involving the aircraft and two Japanese airlines.

On Monday, an electrical fire broke out aboard a Japan Airlines 787 at Boston’s Logan International Airport, when a battery pack which powers the auxiliary power unit, for when the plane is on the ground, caught fire. The fire was discovered by maintenance workers after passengers and crew disembarked following their flight from Tokyo’s Narita Airport.

The next day, a separate Japan Airlines 787, also at Logan International Airport, heading to Tokyo, suffered a fuel leak that spilled around 40 gallons, which was spotted by the crew of the aircraft taxiing behind them. “That Japan Air may know it, but they’ve got fuel or something spilling out the outboard left wing. Quite a bit,” said the pilot of aircraft behind them on local air traffic control frequencies.

Wednesday, in Japan, an All Nippon Airways 787, the launch customer for the aircraft, cancelled a flight after a brake problem was reported.

Earlier Friday, two All Nippon Airways suffered separate incidents in Japan. An oil leak was noticed in the engine after one aircraft had landed in Miyazaki, coming from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. Another flight, flying between Haneda Airport and Matsuyama said the pilot’s side window in the cockpit suffered a crack.

The FAA in a statement said “In light of a series of recent events, the FAA will conduct a comprehensive review of the Boeing 787 critical systems, including the design, manufacture and assembly.” Further adding, “The purpose of the review is to validate the work conducted during the certification process and further ensure that the aircraft meets the FAA’s high level of safety.”

According to the statement, “The review will also examine how the electrical and mechanical systems interact with each other.” The Boeing 787 relies more on electrical, as opposed to mechanical, systems than past aircraft from the manufacturer including having electronics operate hydraulic pumps and using electric brakes. Large portions of the plane’s structure use lightweight carbon fiber composite instead of more traditional metal airframe.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said, “The safety of the traveling public is our top priority […] This review will help us look at the root causes and do everything we can to safeguard against similar events in the future.”

“We are confident that the aircraft is safe. But we need to have a complete understanding of what is happening,” said newly sworn-in FAA Administrator Michael P. Huerta. “We are conducting the review to further ensure that the aircraft meets our high safety standards.”

Boeing released a statement saying, “[The company] is confident in the design and performance of the 787. It is a safe and efficient airplane. The airplane has logged 50,000 hours of flight and there are more than 150 flights occurring daily.”

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Life Insurance Rates Explored

By David J. Livingston

There are different classifications of life insurance rates for different insurance providers. The number of classifications could be more than or equal to 12. Normally people need to qualify for the Regular classification with most companies which charge a premium on top of the Regular rate. While that is the case with most companies, some do have special classifications. If one qualifies for Regular or above, he will get a good rate, otherwise that person will be provided some substandard rate.

To explain the process further, the insurance rates of most companies will start at Regular + 50%. This rating is called Table B or Table 2. The further classifications are Regular + 75% called Table C or Table 3, Regular + 100% called Table D or Table 4. The highest in most cases is Regular + 250% called Table J or Table 10. You will be surprised because there are companies in the insurance industry that can have rates that go even beyond the table 10. While the classification terms all look similar, the way they rate and the underwriting of the companies differ from one company to another. So if one company rates your case one way, that does not mean that you will get the same rate with all the providers.

While one company rates a person with late age start and controlled diabetes to be Preferred or Preferred Plus, another insurance company will rate him to under Table B, C or D. So to benefit from the right insurance with the appropriate premiums and coverage you need to shop around. The very first step in that process would be for you to try your hand with the online quotes. All most all the providers and even some third parties provide you instant term life insurance or whole life insurance or any other type of insurance you need online. They will require some basic information about you like your physical statistics, health details, profession and some contact detail (just to get in touch with you) to provide you instant quotes.

The premiums that you get assigned in the quotes are determined by the risk class you fall under. The higher the class the lower will be your premium. The general classes of life insurance rates are

1. Preferred Plus (no nicotine)

2. Preferred (no nicotine)

3. Preferred (nicotine)

4. Standard (no nicotine)

5. Standard (nicotine)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qu0B-k6a2Q0[/youtube]

6. Substandard

Some of the health conditions that greatly influence the life insurance rate classification are

1. Heart disease

2. Depression

3. High blood pressure

4. High cholesterol

5. Asthma

6. Type II diabetes

7. Sleep apnea

8. Cancer

9. Coronary disease

10. Mitral valve prolapsed

You can get the best rating that is Preferred Plus life insurance rates if you meet the following criteria.

1. BMI less than 25

2. Very good health history (no chronic ailments or serious illnesses)

3. Good family health history

4. Non-smoker or have quit smoking for minimum 5 years

5. Risk free (low risk) profession and hobbies

6. No bankruptcy (in the last 5 years) and excellent financial standing

7. LDL/HDL ratio less than 5.0

8. Blood pressure less than or equal to 140/85

9. Clean driving history (in past 5 years)

10. Never treated for alcohol or drug abuse

When you get the quotes, it is essential that you compare all the different quotes. Just the lower premiums or higher coverage or even the preferred life insurance rates alone will not help determine the best coverage for you. So demarcate each topic and compare accordingly. A bit of research on the insurance industry or a little help from experts will assist you in landing the best policy in terms of coverage, premiums and inclusions for you in no time. Just make sure that you are divulging your information and taking help only from authentic and trustworthy websites. Remember that no one needs your financial details to process the instant tem life insurance or whole life insurance quotes, as that is a free process.

About the Author: Article by David Livingston of EQuote.com, a website with the best

cheap life insurance

and

cheap term life insurance

information in the country.

Source:

isnare.com

Permanent Link:

isnare.com/?aid=743327&ca=Finances

Wikinews tours London Paralympic Village wheelchair repair workshop

Saturday, September 1, 2012

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London, England — Yesterday Wikinews had the opportunity to tour the Ottobrock wheelchair repair workshops at the Paralympic Village in London.

It is one of a network of workshops at every Paralympic venue. They are run by Ottobrock, which has been repairing wheelchairs at the Paralympics since 1988. The workshop opened on August 22 and will remain until September 10.

The Ottobrock employees include people from 20 countries. Between them, they speak 23 languages. They liken themselves to the pit crew of motor sport — except that they have no idea what sort of equipment they will have to work with. The store room contains 15,000 spare parts, with everything from spare carbon fibre running blades to spare tyres — over 2,000 of them. They stock Ottobrock parts and their competitors’ too, as they have no idea what will arrive at the workshop next. Athletes from around the world bring in all manner of equipment.

The prosthetic technicians have to deal with everything from flat tyres to broken spokes to full-scale rebuilds. They have to be expert problem solvers. They frequently collaborate on determining how best to effect a repair. The objective is to get the wheelchair repaired and back in service as soon as possible.

Wheelchairs vary somewhat in design, depending on the sport. Those for wheelchair basketball and rugby have cambered wheels so they can spin around. Aluminum and titanium parts are used for strength. Ottobrock has a welding workshop where frames are repaired; the teams’ equipment managers understandably cannot bring such heavy equipment with them to the games, so they rely on the workshops. When a repair job is required, it is often required in a hurry. At the Turkey vs United States game, a chair was repaired during the match.

In addition to wheelchairs, the workshops handle all manner of work with prostheses. Carbon fibre running blades are adjusted. Broken feet and legs are a challenge. The Chinese Boccia team brought in its power chairs to have the electronics adjusted. In that sport, having the controls working perfectly is all-important.

There are 4,200 athletes at the Paralympic games. So far, the workshops have carried out 1,100 repairs.

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