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      Cathay Pacific Cancels Flights to Inspect 48 Airbus Aircraft After Engine Issue

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      An Airbus A350 jet experienced a problem during a flight that was supposed to travel from Hong Kong to Zurich. The airline has canceled 24 return flights.The Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific said on Monday that it would inspect its fleet of Airbus A350 planes, leading to some cancellations or delays, after the airline found “an engine component failure” on a plane that was scheduled to travel from Hong Kong to Zurich.“This component was the first of its type to suffer such failure on any A350 aircraft worldwide,” the airline said in a statement on Monday. The company’s inspection of the 48 planes, which it called a “precautionary measure,” was “well underway,” the statement added, and the airline expected it to be completed on Monday.“Thus far, we have identified a number of the same engine components that need to be replaced, spare parts have been secured and repair work is underway,” the airline said.The plane took off from Hong Kong International Airport on Monday, but it “experienced an engine failure after takeoff,” according to Flightradar24, a provider of flight data. After dumping fuel over the sea for about half an hour, the plane returned to Hong Kong’s airport, according to Flightradar24.The Airbus in question was powered by a Trent XWB-97 engine, according to Rolls-Royce, the engine’s maker. Rolls-Royce said it was “aware of an incident” on the Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong to Zurich, but declined to release any more information because of an active investigation into the matter.“We are unable to speculate on what caused this incident and will continue to assist the authorities in finding out exactly what happened,” James Banks, a spokesman for Rolls-Royce, said in an email.Airbus declined to comment, but Guillaume Steuer, a spokesman, said in an email that the company was “aware of the situation and in touch with Rolls-Royce as well as Cathay Pacific.”Because of the inspection, some planes will be grounded for several days, which will cause delays, Cathay Pacific said. So far, the airline said it had canceled 24 return flights through Tuesday.After the inspection, aircraft that are cleared will return to service, while those with technical issues will undergo repairs, Cathay’s director of engineering, Keith Brown, said in the company’s statement.For five years, Airbus has been the world’s biggest plane manufacturer. Last year, the company said it delivered 735 commercial aircraft, an 11 percent increase from 2022, securing more orders than Boeing, its chief rival. Boeing has been in the middle of a public-relations and safety crisis over a string of failures with its 737 Max line of airliners.On its website, Airbus described the engines that power its A350 aircraft as “the world’s most efficient large aero-engine.” More

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      Small Plane Crashes Into Oregon Townhouses, Leaving 3 Missing

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      A Cessna crashed into a row of townhouses in Fairview, Ore., on Saturday, sparking a large fire, officials said.A small plane struck a row of townhouses in Fairview, Ore., according to the authorities, who said at least three people were missing.KPTVA small plane crashed on Saturday morning in a residential neighborhood near an airport in Fairview, Ore., according to the authorities who said that three people were missing.The plane had at least two people on board when it struck a row of townhouses around 10:30 a.m. local time, with a fire spreading from two units to four, according to Chief Scott Lewis of the Gresham Fire Department of Gresham, Ore., a neighboring city.Two people who were aboard the plane and one person from a home were missing, he said.At least five families were displaced from their homes. Two transmission lines from Portland General Electric were down as a result of the crash, which happened near an airport in Troutdale, Ore.Video footage from the scene showed flames rising from a building in a neighborhood with townhouses that are tightly packed together.At some point during the crash, a power pole or tower fell, starting a brush fire, according to John Plock of the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office. “That fire, luckily, was kind of adjacent to a swampy area, so it didn’t really spread,” he said.The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane was a twin-engine Cessna. The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash along with the F.A.A.Fairview is a city of about 11,000 people that is roughly 12 miles east of Portland, Ore. More

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      The New York Times Presents: ‘Lie to Fly,’ the Story of Pilot Joseph Emerson

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      ‘Lie to Fly’Producer/Director Carmen García DurazoCo-Producer Leah HarariProducer/Reporter Mike BakerWatch our new documentary on FX and Hulu starting Friday, Aug. 23, at 10 p.m. Eastern.Minutes before boarding an Alaska Airlines flight home in 2023, Joseph Emerson, a pilot, sent a text to his wife, eager to reunite with their two young children and longing to be by her side.The flight was full, and Emerson, who was off duty, took the cockpit jump seat. What should have been a routine trip quickly turned dramatic and dangerous. During the two-hour journey from Everett, Wash., to San Francisco, Emerson reached up and pulled the plane’s two fire-suppression handles, designed to cut the fuel supply and shut down both engines. Two days earlier, Emerson had consumed psychedelic mushrooms. He had long harbored fears that seeking mental health treatment could jeopardize his career.With 83 other passengers and crew members on board, he was initially arrested on charges of attempted murder for each of them. Now, he’s charged with one count of endangering an aircraft and 83 counts of recklessly endangering another person.“Lie to Fly” explores the story of Emerson, and the reasons he and many other pilots fear seeking mental health treatment. The film follows a growing movement calling for reform of the Federal Aviation Administration’s strict rules around pilot mental health, which some insiders say leaves the public at risk. “Lie to Fly” also documents the consequences that Emerson faces both personally and professionally since his shocking actions in the jump seat.“There was never a question in my mind that this is what I want to do for my career,” Emerson said about becoming a pilot.Left Right Productions/The New York Times/Hulu Originals/FX NetworksEmerson recalled his experience using mushrooms: “One of the things that was said to me several times was, ‘It’s all going to be OK when the sun comes up.’ And then the sun started rising and it wasn’t all OK.”Left Right Productions/The New York Times/Hulu Originals/FX NetworksSupervising Producer Liz HodesDirector Of Photography Jaron BermanVideo Editor Geoff O’Brien“The New York Times Presents” is a series of documentaries representing the unparalleled journalism and insight of The New York Times, bringing viewers close to the essential stories of our time. More

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      Trump Flew on Charter Jet Previously Owned by Jeffrey Epstein

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      Former President Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign said on Monday that it was unaware that a private plane used by Mr. Trump for campaign travel on Saturday was once owned by Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and sex offender.Mr. Trump flew from Bozeman, Mont., to Jackson Hole, Wyo., and Aspen, Colo., on the jet, made by Gulfstream, to attend campaign fund-raisers after Mr. Trump’s signature Boeing 757, often referred to as Trump Force One, experienced a mechanical issue en route to a campaign rally in Bozeman on Friday.A Trump campaign official said that the campaign had called its charter jet vendor, Private Jet Services Group, after the mechanical failure to get a plane that could ferry the former president, and that the charter service had provided the Gulfstream jet. The official added that the campaign had used that private jet service as a vendor for years, and that it would take efforts to avoid using that plane in the future.A representative for Elevate Aviation Group, which owns Private Jet Services Group, hung up on a phone call requesting a comment about the aircraft. Other phone calls and text messages were not answered.Over the weekend, viral social media posts highlighted the apparent connection to Mr. Epstein. A report by The Miami Herald on Monday matched the charter plane’s tail number to a Gulfstream jet once owned by Mr. Epstein.Mr. Epstein’s planes have long been a source of public interest; he was known to travel with high-profile passengers, including Bill Clinton, Mr. Trump, Prince Andrew and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is now running for president as an independent candidate. Mr. Epstein also brought young women — and girls, according to some who accused Mr. Epstein of sex trafficking — to entertain guests on board.Mr. Trump and Mr. Epstein had routinely crossed paths over the decades, attending many of the same social events and being photographed together in the 1990s and early 2000s. Mr. Trump spoke enthusiastically about their relationship in the years before Mr. Epstein pleaded guilty to charges of unlawful sex with minors. In 2002, Mr. Trump told New York magazine: “I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy.”Speaking in the Oval Office in 2019, Mr. Trump distanced himself from Mr. Epstein, saying that he’d “had a falling out with him.”“I haven’t spoken to him in 15 years,” he added. “I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you.” More

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      What Caused a Plane to Fall From the Sky in Brazil?

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      Officials are investigating potential causes of a plane crash that killed 62 people near São Paulo. Using videos and other clues, aviation experts have formed theories.Brazilian investigators on Saturday began analyzing the black boxes from a São Paulo-bound flight to try to understand why the passenger plane fell from 17,000 feet on Friday, in a crash that killed all 62 on board.But to aviation experts around the world who watched the videos showing the 89-foot plane spinning slowly as it plummeted before crashing almost directly on its belly, the question of what had happened was simple to answer: The plane had stalled.In other words, the plane’s wings had lost the lift needed to keep the aircraft aloft, causing it to stop flying and start falling.“You can’t get into a spin without stalling,” said John Cox, an airline pilot for 25 years who now aids plane crash investigations. “It’s A plus B equals C.”The question of why VoePass Flight 2283 might have stalled, however, remained a mystery.Did it lose significant speed? Did its nose pitch up too high? Did ice build up on its wings? Did an engine fail? Was its stall-warning system working? Were the two pilots tired or distracted?“The main thing we know is that it’s never one thing,” said Thomas Anthony, director of the aviation safety program at the University of Southern California.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Debby’s Remnants Bring Tornado Alerts and Snarl Some East Coast Air Traffic

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      There is at least some risk of tornadoes in New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania and southeast New York on Friday.The remnants of Tropical Storm Debby were moving up the East Coast on Friday morning, prompting warnings for flash floods and tornadoes and causing airport delays at some of the major Northeast cities.“Unfortunately, even in Debby’s weakened state, dangerous flash flooding and severe weather will continue” through Saturday across portions of the Carolinas, Mid-Atlantic, Interior Northeast and New England, forecasters from the Weather Prediction Center said.The weather was causing delays at some airports in the region.La Guardia Airport in New York issued a ground delay just after 8 a.m. on Friday and flights were delayed by an average of 82 minutes, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. In a post on social media, the airport warned passengers of flight disruptions and advised them to check in with their airlines regarding their flight status.Kennedy International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport were also experiencing delays ranging between 30 and 60 minutes, the F.A.A. said. In Boston, no delays were reported, but authorities at Logan International Airport warned passengers to check with their airlines before arriving at the airport.In Washington, D.C., flights to and from Ronald Reagan National Airport were facing delays, the F.A.A. said.Overnight, the storm system brought rain once again to coastal Carolina, escalating the flooding situation in the northern suburbs of Charleston, S.C. Some residents who had been thinking the worst had already passed them woke to the surprise of floodwaters in their homes. Showers or thunderstorms could return to coastal Carolina on Friday afternoon.Debby’s remnants on Friday were simultaneously weakening and accelerating northeastward along the spine of the Blue Ridge, forecasters said. As it moves through the region, some storms have been acting like train cars on a track, repeating over the same areas and prompting flood warnings in Virginia, especially around Washington, D.C.Tornadoes spawned by Debby ThursdayLocations of tornado sightings or damage reported by trained spotters. More

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      Boeing Says It’s Changing Type of Panel That Blew Off Alaska Airlines Jet

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      The company told regulators the changes in design and production of the door plugs would allow its warning systems to detect malfunctions.Boeing officials told regulators on Tuesday that the aircraft maker would make changes to how it designed and produced the type of panel that blew off an Alaska Airlines jet shortly after takeoff in January.Boeing told regulators that it was redesigning its door plugs — the panels that replace emergency-exit doors in certain design configurations that create more seats — so that its warning systems could detect any malfunctions.The design changes are expected to be “implemented within the year,” said Elizabeth Lund, a senior vice president for quality at Boeing, who testified on Tuesday at an investigative hearing held by the National Transportation Safety Board, an independent government investigative agency.The hearing on Tuesday revealed that Boeing employees removed a door plug from what would later be the Alaska Airlines jet to repair damaged rivets, but without any required internal authorization or paperwork detailing the removal of the panel — a critical structural element. The safety board’s investigation found earlier this year that the plane, a 737 Max 9, left the Boeing factory in Renton, Wash., missing bolts that should have held in place the door plug that blew off midair.The safety board’s chairwoman, Jennifer Homendy, suggested at the hearing that the work culture at Boeing prioritized meeting production schedules over safety standards, and led to an overtaxed work force and lapses in the production process.On Tuesday, Ms. Homendy read quotes from the board’s interviews with mechanics who have worked at the Boeing facility for years. The workers testified to board investigators that they were regularly pressured into working 10 to 12 hours a day, six to seven days a week, Ms. Homendy said.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Ukraine Has Received F-16 Fighter Jets, Zelensky Says

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      President Volodymyr Zelensky did not say whether the jets had already flown combat missions. A shortage of trained pilots and a limited number of jets will constrain their immediate impact.President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said on Sunday that his army had received a first batch of F-16 fighter jets. The long-awaited arrival of the Western-supplied jets should bolster the country’s defenses, although Kyiv appears to have received too few of them so far to have an immediate impact on the battlefield.“F-16s are in Ukraine. We did it,” Mr. Zelensky said in a video posted on social media networks showing him at an air base addressing and meeting Ukrainian pilots. He was standing in front of two F-16s, and two more flew overhead as he spoke.At the very least, the arrival of the jets will boost Ukrainians’ morale, which has been dampened by months of slow but steady Russian advances on the battlefield and devastating attacks on the country’s power grid.Mr. Zelensky said Ukrainian pilots “have already started using them for our country,” but he did not say whether they had already flown combat missions in Ukraine. Nor did he say how many jets had arrived in the country.Ukraine hopes the F-16s, highly versatile aircraft equipped with advanced radar systems and a variety of weapons, will help turn the tide on the battlefield, where Russia has held the upper hand for much of the past year.The presence of the jets will pose a new threat to Russian pilots and help deter them from entering Ukrainian airspace to attack troops on the front line and in cities. The F-16s are also expected to improve Ukraine’s ability to shoot down Russian missiles, easing the pressure on its weakened air defense systems.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More