U.S. News
News about the United States by Reuters.
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Asiana flight delayed as oil leak discovered before take-off
Reporting by Shanghai newsroom; and Kazunori Takada and Hyunjoo Jin in SEOUL; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan
SHANGHAI, July 11 (Reuters) - An Asiana Airlines flight scheduled to leave Shanghai for Seoul on Thursday afternoon was delayed after the Airbus A330 aircraft was found to be leaking oil as it was taxiing toward the runway for take-off, local media reported.
A customer service agent at Pudong International airport, the city's main international gateway, said the flight which was originally scheduled to depart around midday had been delayed until further notice.
A spokeswoman at Asiana Airlines in Seoul said she was unaware of the reports and was looking into the matter. Officials at Pudong airport said they were also investigating the case.
The news portal for Sina Corp said the leak occured near the main landing gear and caused the engine to shut down while taxiing. The aircraft had to be towed back to the gate, it said.
The incident comes after an Asiana flight crashed at landing in San Francisco last week, killing two Chinese teenagers and injuring more than 180 other people. -
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Police get DNA evidence in 1960s 'Boston Strangler' caseReporting by Scott Malone; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and David GregorioBOSTON (Reuters) - Almost 50 years after 11 women were killed in the unsolved "Boston Strangler" murders, police said on Thursday they have biological evidence linking a man, who confessed to the killings but was never convicted, to the final homicide.
DNA evidence retrieved at the site of the final killing, that of 19-year-old Mary Sullivan, who was raped and murdered in January 1964, was a close match to that of Albert DeSalvo, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley said at a press conference at Boston Police headquarters.
DeSalvo died in prison on an unrelated conviction in 1973,
"There was no forensic evidence to link Albert DeSalvo to Mary Sullivan's murder until today," Conley said.
But even with that break, Conley warned that the case may remain largely unsolved, since DNA linked DeSalvo only to Sullivan and not to the other 10 victims. DeSalvo's confession after the murders met with skepticism, and some criminal experts believe more than one person committed the 11 Boston Strangler murders, Conley said.
"We don't claim with certainty that Albert DeSalvo is a suspect in each of them," Conley said.
Conley said a judge had authorized investigators to exhume DeSalvo's remains to confirm the finding.
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DA Dan Conley: "We stand on the threshold of unprecedented certainty" in linking Boston Strangler to Mary Sullivan killing.by Jim Roberts via twitter 7/11/2013 3:29:42 PM -
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BREAKING: Mass. prosecutor: DNA links longtime suspect Albert DeSalvo to final Boston Strangler victimby The Associated Press via twitter 7/11/2013 3:21:25 PM -
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NTSB hopes to interview remaining flight attendants when possible as well as survivors to gather more information.by NTSB via twitter edited by Margarita Noriega (Reuters) 7/10/2013 10:11:01 PM -
More than 180 other people were injured when the Boeing 777 crashed as it came in to land on Saturday. The last person to leave the wreckage was Asiana flight attendant Lee Yoon-hye, hailed a heroine for helping passengers to escape.
An apology by the boss of South Korean airline Asiana to the parents of the two Chinese students killed in the San Francisco plane crash got a hostile response. Yoon Young-doo met them at Incheon airport as they traveled from Shanghai to the U.S. He offered an apology again at a later news conference.
U.S. investigators say the plane was flying dangerously slowly and a stall warning had sounded seconds before the crash. The four pilots on board have been questioned about their actions. -
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Photo: Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 is engulfed in smoke on the tarmac after a crash landing at San Francisco International Airport in California July 6, 2013 in this handout photo provided by passenger Eugene Anthony Rah, released to Reuters on July 8, 2013. REUTERS/Eugene Anthony Rah/Handout via Reuters
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NTSB chair describes moments during the first evacuation process: a minute and a half after the airplane came to stop, door 2L and 1L were opened and slides were deployed. Passengers evacuated down slides, as well as 3R exist.
Two minutes after crash first emergency vehicle arrives, 3 minutes, distinguishing agent was used for the first time on the right side of the aircraft.
As the evacuation continued, the fire kept going. Flight attendants were pinned, using fire extinguishers inside the plane. -
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There were 12 flight attendants on the accident aircraft. NTSB investigators interviewed 6 of the flight attendants. The remaining 6 have not been interviewed.by NTSB via twitter edited by Margarita Noriega (Reuters) 7/10/2013 9:46:31 PM
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Tweets from NTSB:
The flying pilot had 8 hours of sleep prior to flight & 6 hours at the airport preparing for flight. In addition, the instructor pilot had 8 hours of rest the night before the flight, and reported for duty around 2:20 pm.
Survival factors group noted that seat belts in business class on aircraft had a shoulder/lap belt & travel class had lap only.
There were 8 exit doors on the aircraft - 4 on the left & 4 on the right.by NTSB via twitter edited by Margarita Noriega (Reuters) 7/10/2013 9:34:09 PM -
"When you think about automation... it can assist the pilots.. but there are two pilots in the cockpit for a reason... [the auto-pilot technology] is used to fly, navigate, communicate ... but pilots are trained to monitor" - NTSB Chair Deborah Hersman
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Pilots in Asiana crash relied on automatic equipment for airspeed
By Gerry Shih
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The pilots aboard the Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 that crashed in San Francisco relied on automatic equipment - an auto-throttle system - to maintain airspeed and did not realize the plane was flying too slowly until it was just 200 feet above the ground, the head of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said on Tuesday.
In her third detailed briefing on Saturday's crash that killed two Chinese passengers and injured more than 180 other people, NTSB Chairwoman Deborah Hersman also said two flight attendants were ejected from the plane after its tail hit a seawall in front of the runway and was torn off. Both were found injured but alive on the side of the runway.
Hersman said many questions remained about the incident. The South Korean airline's flight crew members were not tested for drugs or alcohol after the crash, a requirement for pilots of U.S.-based carriers involved in accidents, she said.
Continue reading: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/10/us-usa-crash-asiana-idUSBRE9681CW20130710
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Photo: passengers evacuate the Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 aircraft after a crash landing at San Francisco International Airport in California July 6, 2013 in this handout photo provided by passenger Eugene Anthony Rah released to Reuters on July 8, 2013. REUTERS/Eugene Anthony Rah/Handout via Reuters
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Photo: passengers evacuate from Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 aircraft after a crash landing at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, California on July 6, 2013 in this photo courtesy of passenger Eugene Anthony Rah released to Reuters on July 8, 2013. REUTERS/Eugene Anthony Rah/Handout via Reuters
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Accused Boston Marathon bomber pleads 'not guilty' to attack
A photograph of Djohar Tsarnaev, believed to be Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing, on Russian social network Vkontakte (VK).By Scott Malone and Daniel Lovering
BOSTON (Reuters) - Accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev pleaded not guilty to committing the worst mass-casualty attack on U.S. soil since 9/11, a crime that could bring the death penalty. The 19-year-old ethnic Chechen spoke clearly in court, repeatedly answering that he was "not guilty" of charges that he killed three people by setting off homemade pressure-cooker bombs, assembled by him and his older brother Tamerlan, on April 15 and later shot dead a university police officer.
That shooting, and a later gun battle with police in the suburb of Watertown, Massachusetts, led to the death of 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev and a day-long lockdown of most of the Boston area as police searched for Dzhokhar. He was found, badly wounded, hiding in a boat in a backyard.
The marathon attack injured about 264 people, with many losing their legs. Tsarnaev's appearance was the first time he has been seen in public since his April 19 arrest. He appeared in court on Wednesday dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit, with his hair long and unruly and his left arm in a cast.
He looked around the courtroom, watching prosecutors as they spoke and occasionally glancing back at survivors of the attack and victims' families in the gallery. The biggest challenge for Tsarnaev's attorney, public defender Miriam Conrad, will be sparing him the death penalty, observers said.
(Reporting by Scott Malone; editing by Gunna Dickson)
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A woman wearing a shirt for Boston Marathon bombing survivor Marc Fucarile arrives at the federal courthouse for the court appearance by accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in Boston, Massachusetts July 10, 2013. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev made his first court appearance after being charged with killing three marathon spectators on April 15, and later shooting dead a university police officer. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
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Accused Boston Marathon bomber pleads not guilty to all chargesReporting by Scott Malone
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) police officers stand outside the federal courthouse for the court appearance by accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in Boston, Massachusetts July 10, 2013. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev made his first court appearance after being charged with killing three marathon spectators on April 15, and later shooting dead a university police officer. REUTERS/Brian Snyder3:42pm EDTBOSTON (Reuters) - Accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev pleaded not guilty to setting off a pair of homemade pressure-cooker bombs along with his brother at the race's crowded finish on April 15.
The bombing attack killed three people and injured about 264. Tsarnaev and his older brother, 26-year-old Tamerlan, are also accused of killing a fourth person, a campus police officer, three days later when they prepared to flee Boston.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev died in an overnight gunbattle with police after killing the officer.
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Pilot tried to correct Asiana flight 500 feet from ground -NTSB
SAN FRANCISCO, July 9 (Reuters) - The instructor pilot in charge of the landing of Asiana Flight 214 realized the airliner was coming in low when it had dropped to 500 feet, and began trying to correct the flight, the head of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said on Tuesday.
At a briefing on the investigation into Saturday's crash of the Boeing 777 at San Francisco International airport, NTSB chairwoman Deborah Hersman also said that two flight attendants were ejected from the back of the plane after it struck the ground. Both survived.
(Reporting By Peter Henderson and Kristina Cooke; Editing by David Brunnstrom) -
@Kari.S: thanks for your question. The short answer is, we don't know. The NTSB's Chair Deborah Hersman stated today that the "probably cause" of the crash will not be determined while officials are still on the scene, while later noting that they are working with the manufacturer of the plane, Boeing, to better understand what alerts the pilots were able to see (or not see).
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Quick Summary:
There were slides deployed inside plane:: NTSB Chair Hersman, responding to question by Reuters, says that some evacuation slides were deployed inside of the plane. The chute is reported to have blocked a flight attendant from exiting.
Question on if pilots were alerted about landing speed?: Hersman states that the NTSB is investigating in conjunction with working with Boeing to determine what information the pilots were able to see.
Two flight attendants ejected: two attendants were ejected from the rear of the aircraft during the initial crash and were later found down the runway off to the side. They were not on the plane when the plane came to its resting position. They survived, having gone through a "serious event" involving injuries, says NTSB Chair Hersman. -
Pilots union criticizes Asiana crash investigationBy Alwyn ScottNEW YORK, July 9 (Reuters) - The world's largest pilots union rebuked the federal agency handling the investigation of Saturday's passenger jet crash in San Francisco, and said it had released too much information too quickly, which could lead to wrong conclusions and compromise safety. Releasing data from the flight's black boxes without full investigative information for context "has fueled rampant speculation" about the cause of the crash, the Air Line Pilots Association International said in a statement on Tuesday.The criticism came after the National Transportation Safety Board on Monday gave a detailed account of the flight's final minutes in a regular daily update on the crash.The NTSB is the lead investigator of Asiana Airlines flight 214, a Boeing that broke apart and burned after crash-landing short of the runway. Two teenage Chinese passengers were killed, and more than 180 other people were injured in the first fatal accident involving a 777 since the plane was introduced in 1995. ALPA had criticized the NTSB on Monday for releasing too much information. But on Tuesday, it said the agency had not provided enough context, and urged the agency to "elaborate on factual material that has been excluded from public releases but must be considered in determining not only what happened, but why." Answering ALPA's criticism, NTSB spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said the agency routinely provided factual updates during investigations."For the public to have confidence in the investigative process, transparency and accuracy are critical," Nantel said.NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman was due to brief reporters Tuesday. On Monday, she said the plane was below its target landing speed for more than half a minute before impact. That information expanded on data released Sunday that indicated the plane was below speed during the final seven seconds. Hersman said the plane was traveling at 134 knots, or nautical miles per hour, 34 seconds before impact, well below the landing speed of 137 knots. The plane continued to slow down and when it hit the ground, the speed was 106 knots, she said. Hersman cautioned on Monday that the NTSB and other agencies were still interviewing the four pilots from the flight, and she said it was premature to draw conclusions. She also said the flight data recorder would be cross-checked with air traffic control logs, radar and the cockpit voice recorder.ALPA, the Washington, D.C.-based union that represents more than 50,000 pilots in the United States and Canada, said the NTSB statements gave the impression that the agency had "already determined probable cause." Asiana Airlines, based in South Korea, has said the pilot at the controls, Lee Kang-kuk, was still training on Boeing 777 jets and his supervisor was making his first flight as a trainer. Lee had 43 hours of experience flying the long-range jet, the airline said.Earlier Tuesday, Hersman said in a TV interview that the agency wanted to understand the pilot's experience. Aviation experts said the low speeds during the plane's final approach suggested that the pilots probably had time to realize the plane was stalling and to react.Passengers also have reported that the plane was rolling from side to side during the approach, which in calm winds is another indication of stalling, said Hans Weber, president ofTECOP International Inc and an aerospace consultant who has been an adviser to the FAA. As soon as a plane goes below the minimum speed for a landing, there should be a vibration in the controls meant to warn pilots of a stall, he said."If they had commanded full throttle at that point," Weber said, "there’s a good chance they would have made it."(Reporting by Alwyn Scott; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn, Bernard Orr)
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4th pilot relief captain was not in cockpit sitting in cabin for the landing approach says NTSB after interviewsby Andrea Mitchell via twitter 7/9/2013 10:08:22 PM -
NTSB Chair: Pilot flying plane had 9,700 hours of total flight time, was halfway through initial 777 operating experience.by The Situation Room via twitter 7/9/2013 10:08:17 PM -
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Asiana Airlines CEO in San Francisco for crash probe
The president and CEO of Asiana Airlines, Yoon Young-Doo arrives at San Francisco Airport International Airport in San Francisco, California July 9, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Jed Jacobsohn
By Gerry ShihSAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Asiana Airlines Chief Executive Yoon Young-doo arrived in San Francisco on Tuesday to meet with U.S. investigators and survivors of the Saturday plane crash that killed two people and injured more than 180.
Yoon was mobbed by about 50 reporters in the arrivals hall at San Francisco International Airport and retreated back into the terminal, escorted by police, after saying a few words in Korean. He was scheduled to meet with National Transportation Safety Board investigators and tour the accident site on Tuesday, then visit with injured passengers at area hospitals on Wednesday.
The NTSB chairwoman Deborah Hersman was scheduled to brief reporters on interviews that have been conducted with the four pilots on the Asiana Boeing 777, which crashed on landing and burst into flames after coming in short of the runway at the San Francisco airport.
Information from the plane's flight data recorder shows the plane was traveling far too slowly as it came in for landing, according to Hersman. While she has declined to speculate on the cause of the crash, much of the information released by the NTSB suggests pilot error as a main focus of the investigation.
Herman's comments drew a harsh rebuke from the Air Line Pilots Association International, the largest pilots union, which said the release of the flight recorder information "encourages wild speculation" when the investigation is still in an early stage.
NTSB spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said the agency routinely provided factual updates during investigations, and transparency was crucial to maintain public confidence in the probe.
(Writing by Jonathan Weber; Editing by Peter Henderson and Doina Chiacu)
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NTSB investigator Brian Murphy shows the depth of the debris field to NTSB team #Asiana 214. pic.twitter.com/MzBx4X0xrQ
by NTSB via twitter 7/9/2013 9:59:17 PM -
Investigator in Charge Bill English & Chairman Hersman discuss progress of #Asiana 214 investigation. pic.twitter.com/MOrhQDXmhl
by NTSB via twitter 7/9/2013 9:57:50 PM -
NTSB Chairman Hersman & IIC Bill English survey accident scene #Asiana 214. pic.twitter.com/xr5bL4qpuZ
by NTSB via twitter 7/9/2013 9:57:38 PM
Spain-Catalonia standoff set to intensify as leaders take hard lines
MADRID Spain's political showdown with Catalonia is set to reach a new level on Thursday when political leaders in Madrid and Barcelona are expected to make good on pledges made to their supporters to stick to their tough positions over the region's future.