Back in March 2017, the charter plane of the Michigan men’s basketball team aborted takeoff from an airport in Ypsilanti, crashed through a chain link fence beyond the end of the runway, and came to rest in a field beyond a surface road and a ditch beyond the airport boundary. The plane was all trashed up, but everyone aboard survived. The National Transportation Safety Board this week released their report on the accident, and, my friends, it is terrifying. The pilot of the aircraft, a man named Mark Radloff, made the decision to abandon takeoff after the plane reached “V1,” which is a speed that is determined by a conditions-dependent equation, and is described as “the maximum speed in the takeoff by which a rejected takeoff must be initiated to ensure that a safe stop can be completed within the remaining runway.” In effect, his decision was to crash the plane. But the NTSB found that Radloff’s hand was forced by a mechanical failure that made it impossible for the aircraft’s nose to lift, and which had gone unnoticed altogether prior to the aborted takeoff. The various descriptions in the NTSB report get more frightening as they go along, but this part here makes me want to hide under the bed: The flight crew positioned the airplane for departure from runway 23L, and, at 1451:12, the check airman called for the captain to begin the takeoff roll. At 1451:55, the check airman called “V1.” Six seconds later (at 1452:01), he called “rotate,” followed 3 seconds later (at 1452:04)by “V2.” At 1452:05, the captain said, “hey, what’s goin’ on?” and, 3 seconds later, “abort.” The check airman stated, “no, not above…” and then “…don’t abort above V1 like that,” and the captain replied, “it wasn’t flying.” Radloff, tearing down the runway at flight speed, tried to get the airplane to “rotate” for takeoff, but the nose wouldn’t lift, because something called an “elevator” had been jammed by high, gusting wind while the plane was parked next to an airport hanger for two days. The NTSB report includes a section on “procedures and guidance” for rejected takeoffs, taken from the aircraft operation manual, which note specifically that “in many cases, rejected takeoffs at high speed have had far more negative or catastrophic results than would have been likely if the takeoffs had been continued.” Horrifyingly, NTSB investigators found that the conditions that made the plane incapable of flight could not have been discovered by preexisting protocols prior to the exact moment when Radloff found that the plane “wasn’t flying,” past the point of no return, with the end of the runway and a chainlink fence screaming into view. But that’s not all! In this case, Radloff—the captain of the flight—was actually being trained on that aircraft by the “check airman,” a condition that the NTSB says made the check airman the “pilot-in-command” of the flight. The check airman, a man named Andreas Gruseus, was therefore at least theoretically empowered to override any decision made by Radloff that put the flight at risk. Gruseus in fact reached for the controls when Radloff called abort—round about the time Gruseus said “no, not above” in the above transcript—but made the split-second, potentially life-or-death decision to follow the competing mandate to let the captain make the abort decision. This could’ve gone very badly! Had the check airman simply reacted and assumed control of the airplane after the captain decided to reject, the results could have been catastrophic if such action were to further delay the deceleration (at best) or to try to continue the takeoff in an airplane that was incapable of flight. Thus, the NTSB concludes that the check airman’s disciplined adherence to company [standard operating procedures] after the captain called for the rejected takeoff likely prevented further damage to the airplane and reduced the possibility of serious or fatal injuries to the crew and passengers. The NTSB report is 134 pages long, and a lot of it is very technical and involves stuff like math and physics and multiple legends of abbreviations, plus a dry and lengthy transcript of voice recorder data. But the parts of it that are comprehensible to a layperson are genuinely gripping, and explain in no uncertain terms just how close the Michigan men’s basketball team came to real disaster. Instead they evacuated the grounded plane, flew out the following day, and won a basketball tournament. Here’s the report, if you’re interested.
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Verdict: England handicap -3
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Group F bottom-dwellers Malta play host to leaders England in a match that is expected to be a one-sided affair. The Three Lions are without a defeat so far in the World Cup qualifiers and are most certainly not expected to ruin their record with a match at lowly Maltese side.
Malta
Arguably one of the weakest sides in European football, Malta national team is yet to make it to the finals of any major international competition. The Group F minnows have found it too difficult to fight against the likes of Lithuania, Scotland, Slovenia and England, and are currently sitting rock bottom with six defeats from as many matches. Maltese conceded fifteen goals and scored only two during the qualifying process…
Dani Carvajal is facing a UEFA investigation after the defender was shown a yellow card late in Real Madrid s Champions League win over APOEL on Tuesday.
Carvajal delayed a throw-in during stoppage time at the end of Madrid s 6-0 demolition, with referee Artur Dias Soares showing the full-back the only yellow card of the game.
The UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body now plans to investigate the incident to examine whether Carvajal was guilty of breaching Article 15 of its Disciplinary Regulations by receiving a yellow card on purpose .
Carvajal s booking, his third of this season s Champions League, means he would be ruled out of Madrid s matchday six clash with Borussia Dortmund through suspension, freeing him to return for the knockout rounds.
Bu…
Philippe Coutinho was a humble boy who had everything in terms of ability even at the age of 18, according to Rafael Benitez.
The Brazil star completed his protracted transfer to Barcelona on Saturday for a fee that could reportedly reach a club-record €160million.
Coutinho s blockbuster move to Camp Nou comes almost five years on from his transfer to Liverpool from Inter for a bargain price said to have been just €10m.
Benitez coached Coutinho for just a few months during his ill-fated spell with the Nerazzurri in 2010 but the Newcastle United boss admits it was clear then that they had a special talent.
It was a pleasant surprise to meet a player with the abilities of Philippe Coutinho, Benitez told Mundo Deportivo. We had the chance to have a bo…
New West Ham signing Nayef Aguerd has undergone surgery after sustaining an ankle injury in a pre-season friendly.
The Hammers spent a reported £30million to sign Aguerd from Rennes in June but he is now a doubt for the start of the new season after being forced off in the first half of last Tuesday s 3-1 loss to Rangers at Ibrox.
West Ham did not give a time frame for the Morocco defender s return to action, with David Moyes side entertaining Premier League champions Manchester City in their opening game of the season on August 7.
Aguerd was signed after playing a role in 19 clean sheets in Ligue 1 over the previous two seasons with Rennes. The only defenders with more were Wout Faes (20), Marquinhos (26), Sven Botman (28) and Jose Fonte (29).
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Following the news that Real Madrid will be banned from registering players for the next two transfer windows, Omnisport examines five possible consequences of the Santiago Bernabeu giants breaching FIFA transfer regulations.
Ronaldo: The Real romance continues
Cristiano Ronaldo s future has been a source of constant speculation throughout this season. The three-time Ballon d Or winner, unseated as the holder of football s premier individual honour by Barcelona rival Lionel Messi this week, often cut a disgruntled figure on the field during Rafael Benitez s ill-fated tenure as Madrid boss. Ronaldo was reported to be unhappy with the methods of the now sacked head coach.
A return of 14 goals from 19 Liga matches would be a handsome return for most forwards, but R…
Harry Kane’s late brace earned Bayern Munich a spot in the last 16 of the Champions League after beating Galatasaray 2-1.
A frustrating first half saw Bayern have the better chances, with Kane and Leroy Sane testing Fernando Muslera, but Galatasaray began to grow into the game after the break and had a goal ruled out for offside.
The hosts earned their reward with Kane scoring twice in the final 10 minutes and they saw out the victory despite Cedric Bakambu’s stoppage-time strike.
Through to the last 16!
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN)
Bayern progress to the knock-out stages having won all four of their matches in Group A so far, while defeat leaves Galatasaray third in the table.
Bayern had chances early on when Sane cut inside…
West Ham United could be set to make a shock bid for Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere, .
The Hammers are eyeing potential transfers ahead of their first season in the Olympic Stadium, and their fine form this season could see them being able to offer European football to any new players.
Paris Saint Germain forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic was linked with a surprise move to the East London outfit last week and now England star Wilshere is on their radar.
The England international has racked up one hundred and fifty-four appearances in all competitions for the Gunners, scoring twelve goals but injury has prevented him from playing at all this season.
His only time away from Arsene Wenger’s side in his career so far was a brief loan spell at Bolton Wandere…
Market: Forward Madison win
Odds: 6/11 @
Looking to extend their buffer in the play-off chase, Forward Madison will welcome Central Valley Fuego to Wisconsin in the early hours of Thursday.
Starting with the hosts, making a return to winning ways last weekend as they secured a gritty 1-0 victory at home against Lexington, Forward Madison should be smelling the chance to make another statement here. Leading the chase to claim a play-off ticket this season and opening Thursday’s showdown in Wisconsin holding a five-point buffer from dropping out of the top-six, the Flamingos will now have their sights set on making up some ground in the title chase. Suffering just a single defeat from any of their first 10 USL League One appearances, Matt Glaeser’s side will a…
England toiled to a 1-1 draw in North Macedonia as their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign came to a lacklustre close.
Gareth Southgate’s side secured qualification to next summer’s finals in Germany last month and a forgettable draw in Skopje was at least enough to confirm them among the top seeds for December’s draw.
Debutant Rico Lewis endured a night to forget at the Tose Proeski Arena as he conceded a controversial first-half penalty which Jordan Pickford saved before Enis Bardhi turned home the rebound.
Captain Harry Kane came off the bench and played a part in the leveller as Jani Atanasov scored an own goal but England failed to find a winner.
The points are shared in the final match of 2023.
— England (@England)
England sho…
Manchester City s incredible squad depth means some players may be tempted away despite their success.
Among those is centre-back Nathan Ake, who has only managed 30 Premier League appearances since his move to Etihad Stadium in 2020, although he has made five starts this term.
The 29-cap Netherlands international joined City for a reported £41million fee from Bournemouth.
TOP STORY – INTER PLOT MOVE FOR CITY S AKE
Inter are trying to lure Manchester City defender Nathan Ake to Serie A, claims Ekrem Konur.
The 27-year-old Dutchman has been on City s books since 2020, joining on a five-year contract.
Inter may be looking for reinforcements for their defensive stocks, with uncertainty over Milan Skriniar s future.
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