Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Plane Crash - Associated Press

Pilot told Colombia controllers 'no fuel' before crash

FERNANDO VERGARA and JOSHUA GOODMAN,Associated Press 15 minutes ago 
 
 
 
 
 
Colombia plane crash kills dozens on flight carrying Brazilian soccer team

Colombian Senats Backs new FARC peace deal - Medellin Living

Colombian Senate backs new Farc peace deal


Man holds a sign reading "We want peace" outside the Colombian Senate in Bogota, on November 29, 2016Image copyrightAFP
Image captionA supporter of the deal held a sign reading "We want peace" outside the Senate in Bogota

Colombia's Senate has approved a revised peace accord with the country's largest rebel group, the Farc.
The first agreement was narrowly rejected in a referendum last month.
President Juan Manuel Santos says the new proposals are stronger and take into account the changes demanded by opponents of the scheme.
Those opponents, led by former President Alvaro Uribe, say the revised deal is still too lenient on Farc leaders.
The revised agreement now goes to the lower house of Congress for approval.
The peace accord is aimed at ending an armed conflict that has killed more than 260,000 people over five decades.
The two sides reached an agreement earlier this year after four years of talks in the Cuban capital, Havana.
Before beginning their session, senators held a minute's silence for those who died in a plane crash near the city of Medellin on Monday.

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

I didn’t get up until almost 9am.  Teresa sent me to the local 7-eleven (actually just a nearby mom & pop store) for 2 bags of milk.  While waiting for my order I saw something was going on on their TV.

Back at the apt Teresa said something about a plane crash.  I turned on the TV and saw there was a plane crash in Colombia.  It actually was the lead news story on the Today show.  What I know/remember:  A plane with Brazilian soccer players were flying to Medellin to play against Atletico Nacional.  Everyone on board except 2 players, a journalist and a stewardess were killed when it slammed into a mountain outside the international airport in Rionegro.  The plane had circled the airport twice.  The last transmission from the plane was at 9:54 and they confirmed the plane had crashed at 11pm. 

Every morning I receive an electronic newspaper called The Skimm.  This is where I get an idea of the day’s news prior to watching the Today show.  I posted the short article I received about the plane crash that I received from The Skimm.

Laura stopped at a local bakery and picked up a cake to take with us. 

Did I mention that Dario called Monday morning to cancel our weekly game for Wednesday?

We left the apt at noon and took a taxi to her friend’s house near Avenida Ochenta by the stadium.  They were treating us to lunch.  They first served a soup that tasted like butternut squash.  Then they opened a couple paper bags and took out what was obviously store bought – individual lasagna’s with a little salad and slice of garlic bread.  They served us juice and afterwards a flan.  Much later we each had a slice of the cake we brought.

We quickly caught a taxi back to the apt.  At one point the driver had to slam on his breaks and Teresa said something to him.  I had been reading my Nook in the heavy traffic as I knew it would take a while to get back.  I told Teresa not to look and then said in Spanish “Don’t worry, he’s a professional”.  The driver apparently got a kick out of that.

I finished Bill O’Reilly’s Killing Patton and downloaded Frank Brady’s Endgame.

We were back at the apt by 7:30.

I got a reply to my email and was able to order my daughter’s present but I’m not sure if it will arrive before her birthday next week.

I practiced an hour on Chess Magnet School and was promoted to Defender.


T-shirt of the day: All day.

Plane Crash - Colombia Reports

Fuel shortage ‘most probable cause’ of Chapecoense plane crash in Colombia

written by Adriaan Alsema November 30, 2016
why
A lack of fuel is “the most probable cause” of the tragic airplane crash in Colombia’s that killed 71, including most members of Brazilian soccer team Chapecoense, according to civil aviation authorities Tuesday.
The plane crashed while on course to the landing strip of Medellin‘s Jose Maria Cordova airport after having been asked to circle over the airport due to a technical problem reported by a Viva Colombia plane that was supposed to land around the same hour.



Flightradar24 received last ADS-B signal from  at 15,500 feet - about 30 km from destination MDE airport located at ~7,000 feet.

Initially, Colombia’s civil aviation authority Aerocivil claimed the crash was likely due to a technical failure, but amid increasing reports the plane had run out of fuel, Aerocivil director Alfredo Bocanegra admitted that “fuel most probably is what caused this tragedy, but still, nothing is confirmed.”
Since the crash on Monday 10PM local time, the authorities have found the two black boxes that should contain information on the technical causes of the crash and the conversations between the cockpit and the control tower of Medellin’s international airport.



Personal de @AerocivilCol ubicó las 2 cajas negras del avión siniestrado en Antioquia en perfecto estado

Bocanegra’s claim was confirmed by Juan Sebastian Upegui, the co-pilot of an Avianca flight that was also waiting for authorization to land as a Viva Colombia aircraft had been granted priority after calling an emergency.
However, the plane that had flown from Bolivia seemingly lacked the necessary fuel to make the extra rounds before landing.

And he was like “we are proceeding, we are proceeding, we have fuel problems!” and they began coming down and came down all the way.
Avianca co-pilot Juan Sebastian Upegui

Avianca would not confirm Upegui’s testimony that had gone viral on social media on Tuesday, stating the audio describing the final moments before the crash was personal and not a corporate statement.

We were just silent, silent, silent…I remember I laid my head on my arms rooting him, going like “do it, do it. Land, land” and I said “Fuck, the guy’s at VOR at 9,000 feet, he’s gonna kick the bucket, and I began to hold tight and the guy continued: “Help us! Vectors, vectors! Give us vectors to proceed to the strip. Vecto…..” and that was it … the controller lost it and we began to cry.
Avianca co-pilot Juan Sebastian Upegui

In an interview with CNN, Airloineratings.com editor-in-chief Geoffrey Thomas said “we do know there was no fire when the plane impacted the ground, which may be one of the reasons where there are survivors from this terrible tragedy.”
Air safety investigator Grant Brophy told the television news network that a plane running out of fuel is “very, very rare in commercial aviation terms because there are so many checks and balances to make sure you have enough fuel on board.”
While Medellin authorities made a call for Portuguese-speaking locals to report themselves and help receiving arriving family members of the crash victims, airliner LaMia of the crashed LMI 2933 flight sent their attorney to Colombia’s second city.



"Valoramos mucho el acompañamiento del representante legal de la aerolínea Lamia accidentada en Antioquia" @lfredobocanegra

Meanwhile, Medellin continues in mourning.
Atletico Nacional, the team that would play Chapecoense in the first leg of the final of the Copa Sudamericana, will hold a special service for the victims on Wednesday evening at the original hour of the game.
The team on Tuesday rescinded their aspirations to the soccer title, asking South American soccer federation Conmebol to grant the title to Chapecoense “in posthumous homage to the victims of the fatal accident that impute our sport. For our part, and forever, Chapecoense are champions of the 2016 Copa Sudamericana,” the Medellin side said in a statement.