Tag: collision

Rocket Lab to launch space situational awareness mission

January 8, 2024 / WIL BALDWIN

Long Beach, California. January 08, 2024 – Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB), a global leader in launch services and space systems, today announced it has set the launch window for its first mission of 2024.

The ‘Four of a Kind’ mission is scheduled to launch no earlier than January 18 between 19:15-20:00 NZT (January 18 between 06:15-07:00 UTC) from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand. The mission will deploy four Space Situational Awareness (SSA) satellites for Spire Global, Inc’s (Spire) customer NorthStarEarth & Space (NorthStar). NorthStar´s satellites, built and operated by Spire, will be the first to simultaneously monitor all near-Earth orbits from space, delivering a radically enhanced level of SSA services to the global satellite community, with timely and precise information for space object detection, tracking, orbit determination, collision avoidance, navigation, and proximity alerts.

As a secondary mission, Rocket Lab will be attempting to splash down and retrieve Electron’s first stage as part of the Company’s plan to evolve Electron into a reusable rocket. After launch and stage separation, Electron’s first stage will return to Earth under a parachute and splash down in the Pacific Ocean several hundred kilometers down range from Launch Complex 1. Rocket Lab’s recovery vessel will extract the stage from the water for transportation back to Rocket Lab’s production complex where it will undergo detailed analysis. Rocket Lab is not launching any pre-flown engines as part of this mission.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including expected delivery dates. Such statements are based on current expectations and projections about our future results, prospects and opportunities and are not guarantees of future performance. Such statements will not be updated unless required by law. Actual results and performance may differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including those discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Garmin expands xHD3 series with new magnetron dome radars

September 6, 2023 / WIL BALDWIN

Olathe, Kansas, September 6, 2023, PR Newswire – Garmin (NYSE: GRMN), the world’s most innovative and recognized marine electronics manufacturer, today announced the addition of two radars to the magnetron lineup, the GMR^™ xHD3/HD3 dome radar series. These new radars provide high-definition imaging and the latest platform technology to give boaters, sailors and anglers extra peace of mind on the water.

Now available in an 18” or 24” model, the xHD3 dome radar series adds new premium features for maximum clarity and awareness on the water:

Scan Averaging – a first for Garmin magnetron dome radar – to help filter sea clutter and interference, delivering a clearer display.
Target Size optimizes on-screen object shapes at all range scales through pulse expansion and angular processing.
True Echo Trails shows a historical “trail” of boats on the water, removing relative motion influence to help quickly identify moving targets and potential collision threats.
Rotation Speed up to 60 rpm to improve the redraw rate for faster target updates on a multifunction display (MFD).

GPSMAP 923xsv and GMR 18 HD3 Dome Radar Product Renders

ATSB Australia Investigating Separation Incident at Albury Airport

December 8, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) says it is investigating a separation issue involving a Virgin Australia ATR 72-600 turboprop and Piper PA-28 light aircraft at Albury Airport.

The incident occurred on October 19 2019 when the Virgin Australia 72-600 VH-FVR was operating a regular public transport (RPT) flight from Sydney to Albury.

While passing through 1,300 ft and on a straight in approach to runway 25 at Albury Airport in visual meteorological conditions, the ATSB said the Virgin Australia turboprop received a traffic collision avoidance system alert on the PA-28.

The single-engine PA-28 VH-XDI, which was operated by the Australian Airline Pilot Academy, was turning final for Runway 25, the ATSB said in a short statement.

“The flight crew of the ATR 72 conducted a missed approach to increase separation between the two aircraft,” the ATSB said.

“As part of the investigation, the ATSB will interview directly involved parties and obtain other relevant information, including recorded data.”

The ATSB described the event as a near collision and a serious incident. There were no injuries.

Further, it said the investigation was expected to be completed by the second quarter of calendar 2020.

However, should a critical safety issue be identified during the course of the investigation, the ATSB said it would immediately notify relevant stakeholders in order that appropriate and timely safety action could be taken.

The Australian Airline Pilot Academy is a subsidiary of Regional Express (Rex), which recently bought another pilot training school based in Ballarat, ST Aerospace Academy.

Virgin Australia had eight ATR 72 turboprops in its fleet.

Alaska Mid-Air Seaplane Crash Leaves 6 Dead

May 14, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) – Searchers found the bodies of the last two Alaska seaplane crash victims on Tuesday evening, after a hunt through the debris and frigid waters following a mid-air collision that left a total of six people dead and 10 injured, officials said.

“The last two people were found. They were found deceased,” said U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Matthew Schofield.

The discovery of the bodies closes the search at the scene where the two seaplanes crashed after colliding over the inlet waters near Ketchikan, in southeastern Alaska, Schofield said.

Work at the crash site will now shift to an investigation into what led the two planes, which were ferrying Princess Cruises passengers on sightseeing expeditions, to strike each other and fall into the waters of George Inlet.

A team of 14 National Transportation Safety Board investigators has been sent to the site and divers will start working on Wednesday to pull up the wreckage of the two planes.

The two missing people, an Australian and a Canadian, were among 14 passengers from a Princess Cruises ship who boarded two seaplanes operated by separate tour companies in the town of Ketchikan on Monday, the cruise line said.

A 14-member team from the NTSB began investigating the crash on Tuesday and is unlikely to determine the cause during the week the team will be at the scene, NTSB board member Jennifer Homendy told a news conference.

Ten people survived but were injured in the collision, which took place over open water during daylight, the Coast Guard said. The dead include one of the pilots. The victims were not immediately identified.

Three of the injured were in serious condition and seven in fair condition, Dr Peter Rice, medical director of the PeaceHealth Ketchikan Medical Center, told a separate news conference.

The water temperature off Ketchikan on Tuesday was 48 Fahrenheit, according to the National Weather Service. Expected survival time in 40-50F (4-10C) is one to three hours, according to the United States Search & Rescue Task Force website.

The investigators will be collecting information from the survivors, the Federal Aviation Administration, any other witnesses who might have been in the area, flight logs, training records and other sources, including the wrecked planes, Homendy said.

“We still have to recover the planes and then we have to look at those. It takes some significant work to really understand how the two came together,” she said.

All of the planes’ passengers arrived in Ketchikan on the cruise ship Royal Princess during a seven-day trip between Vancouver, British Columbia, and Anchorage, Alaska, Princess Cruises said.

Ten passengers and a pilot were aboard one float plane, a de Havilland Otter DHC-3, operated by Taquan Air. Four passengers and a pilot were aboard the second float plane, a de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver, run by Mountain Air Service of Ketchikan.

The crash site, at Coon Cove about 300 miles (480 km) south of Juneau, Alaska’s capital, lies near a tourist lodge that runs excursions to the nearby Misty Fjords National Monument.

Ketchikan-based Taquan Air said the plane was returning from a sightseeing tour of Misty Fjords when the crash occurred.

Reporting by Yereth Rosen in Anchorage; additional reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta and Barbara Goldberg in New York; Editing by Bill Tarrant, Cynthia Osterman and Leslie Adler

Mid-Air Crash in Italy kills Seven People

January 28, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

A Jodel D140E from the Aeroclub de Megeve and an Airbus Helicopters AS350B3 collided in mid-air over the Italian Alps

MILAN (Reuters) – Four Germans were killed in a mid-air collision between a helicopter and a light aircraft in the Italian Alps on Friday with the other three victims were from Italy, France and Belgium, Italian police said on Sunday.

“We can’t reveal the names because some of the families still don’t know,” one official at the joint office of Alpine rescue and police in Entreves, in the Aosta Valley, told Reuters.

The two survivors were a Frenchman and a German, the official said. The French survivor was under investigation in connection with the accident, he added, without giving any further details.

The German Foreign Ministry said officials at its consulate in Milan were working closely with Italian authorities to confirm the identity of the victims.

The two aircraft collided in mid-air above the Rutor glacier in the Aosta Valley, some 80 km (50 miles) northwest of the city of Turin on Friday afternoon.

The Italian rescue workers had found five of the victims and the two survivors on Friday. Two more bodies were discovered in the snow some distance from the wreckage of the two aircraft on Saturday.

It is not yet clear how the accident happened.

Reporting by Francesca Landini; Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal in Berlin; Editing by Keith Weir

Video of Asiana A330 Colliding with Turkish Airlines A321

May 14, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

Footage has emerged showing the moment A South Korean Asiana passenger airplane collided with the tail of a Turkish Airlines aircraft while taxiing on the runaway on Sunday. The South Korean Asiana A330 airplane, which was heading for Seoul, can be seen making its way to the runaway as it accidently smashes the tail of the Turkish Airlines A321, which had just landed.

Click the link below for the video!

Asiana A330 collides with Turkish A321