Dry Run Fly By

Manipulation of the news has escalated to near boiling levels.

A classic conflict between futurist authors Aldous Huxley and George Orwell centers in that Orwell thought information would be withheld from the public while Huxley opined that the public would be drowned in a sea of irrelevant data, unable or unwilling to decipher pertinent information they require.

Score one for Huxley.

A new story came across the transom last week that I found most concerning, and it disappeared with a false explanation about as fast as it appeared.  NBC News was discredited, which is nothing new.

Los Angeles International Airport, LAX, was shut down for several hours, causing delays and cancellations backing up airline travel across the globe.  Among the busiest airports in the world, I would think such an issue would be major new.

Additionally, given the world we now live in, the cause for such an interruption in air traffic would seemingly be of paramount concern.

NBC News reported a "computer glitch" caused by a high flying US U2 Spy plane adjusting altitudes was the source of the problem, wreaking havoc on on flight command control and radar systems.  As is common with the once proud peacock network, the story was quickly discredited.

As reported by NBC News,  the U-2 was flying at 60,000 feet, but air traffic control computers were attempting to keep it from colliding with planes that were actually miles beneath it. The computers at the L.A. Center are programmed to keep commercial airliners and other aircraft from colliding with each other. The spy plane’s altitude and route apparently overloaded a computer system called ERAM, which generates display data for air-traffic controllers. Back-up computer systems also failed. The U-2 spy plane is the same type of aircraft that flew high-altitude spy missions over Russia 50 years ago and more recently Afghanistan.

U2 Spy planes have routinely operated at these altitudes for decades without issue, so what may have happened at LAX.

A theory I am given from consultation with insiders within the business informs me that data entry on the ERAM system was possibly a culprit. There are reported issues with ERAM, and there literally is no adequate backup system as there appears to be interface issues with the previous backup system which is quickly being phased out.  This leaves no adequate backup system, and therefore, for the first time in history, the FAA is flying without double redundancy.

The Air Force officially denied the U2, also known as the Dragon Lady, caused the issue, which seems obvious. It is assumed the Air Force knows what caused this troubling issue, but they have not made their findings public.The U2 has more problems landing than it does wreaking havoc on flight systems. 



US U2 Dragon Lady Spy Place and Chevrolet Camaro SS

Lack of knowledge leads to speculation, and some of the theories emerging are quite disturbing.

Actions in the Ukraine have seriously strained US relations with Russia, and Vladimir Putin has stepped up military action and mobilization across the globe.  Russian long range aircraft have been acknowledged along the California coast, as reported by SHTFPlan.com.

Gen. Herbert Carlisle, Commander of United States Air Forces in the Pacific, acknowledged a significant increase in the activities by Russian long-range strategic aircraft flying along the California coast. There was no comment about whether the aircraft were nuclear capable, but it has not been since the Cold War ended in the early 1990s that Russian patrols have skirted the West Coast and California.

Did the Russian aircraft test advanced technology, which may range from system jamming equipment, stealth technologies or perhaps a non-nuclear EMP weapon, in muscle flexing fashion?
Given the current US weakness, it would be the perfect time for Putin to seize the opportunity to test new military technology. 

Beyond revoking his NetFlix card, what might Obama do?  Putin is not afraid of hashtag rhetoric, and he is not happy with financial sanctions the Obama administration has imposed.

Perhaps the US accidentally caused the issue while testing technology?  If so, this is also troubling as this type of accidental error could have had devastating consequences.  Given our military remains the envy of the world, I really doubt we inadvertently made this error.

We are in real trouble, and are under attack.  The hacking of computers, from major retail to the military, has been an issue, there have documented attacks on our financial markets and there have been lightly reported attacks by unknown foes of power grids across the nation.  A airport flight control system seems a logical next step.

With the US at its weakest position in five decades thanks the policies of President Obama, those who wish America harm see the remaining years our his presidency as an optimal time to attack us.  Given our remaining military prowess, these attacks will not be with conventional weapon systems.

The weapons of choice will be strategic, through use of technology in hijacking, disabling or dismantling our computerized systems.  Even primitive actions like starting fires can become very costly weapons, through finance and manpower, to our infrastructure.

The facts of what happened at LAX remain elusive with very limted media coverage.  Was this a dry run of some sort?  Who knows?

While the news media routinely dismisses stories like these, bombarding you with useless stories of irrelevance and news item propaganda, you should keep promptly dismissed stories like this one ON YOUR RADAR!

Terror Pings

There has been a tragic event that has taken in place in the loss of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 early Saturday morning.  Not since events in the Bermuda Triangle or Amelia Earhart has the world of aviation been so dumbfounded about exactly what has occurred.

Expert after expert, and armchair sleuths, have given plausible, and sensible, explanations about what has likely occurred. 

Sounds great, but where is the plane?

 

The plane, a Boeing Airlines 777,  has an exemplary record, and furthermore, planes of this size do not simply disappear.  So while most remain bumfuzzled, appropriately chasing down each and every lead, I formed my opinion quickly, as we posted on the blog Facebook page Saturday night.

Terrorism.

Certainly, I am no aviation expand I have no empirical evidence to back my conclusion; hoping to be proven wrong.  Sad to say, but hopefully the plane crashed in the swallowing jaws of the jungles of Vietnam.

However, the information we do have is mysterious, not easily associated with normal evidence on types of air disasters we have witnessed in the past.  A debris field has not been located, issues with radar have come to light, the transponder was either deliberately turned off or had a new level of malfunction and we have individuals on the plane whose backgrounds warrant further and deeper inquiry.  Cell phones of the passengers have been reported to still be working, which is obviously puzzling.

Among the most conspiratorial theories is the place is in tact, diverted for use at a later date.  Most dangerous in this thought process would be the potential for a nuclear device to be placed on the plane to later become an electro-magnetic pulse weapon.

Obviously, we have yet to collect enough evidence to form an educated opinion on the cause of this tragic event.  However, with the bizarre and wide ranging circumstantial evidence we do possess, it seems clear that the assistance of man was present. 

That man would be a terrorist.  Given that, who paid for planning of and training for the event?  Who is responsible and what message was being sent to whom?

Our government does not seem all that worried about it, but certainly they are.  So am I.

Calling Jack Bauer!

Miracle on the Hudson River Line

ALERT: ALL PASSENGERS SURVIVED, NO MAJOR INJURIES

A flock of geese! Are you kidding me? The astounding professionalism and heroic actions of the US Airways (LCC:NYSE) flight crew which led to all the passengers surviving this plane crash into the Hudson River is so miraculous, it could well signal the bottom of the stock market!

Without the tumultuous events of a plane crash, I have been out on the Hudson River on the Circle Line Tour on 20-30 degree days with strong winds and believe me, it must have been extremely difficult for the passengers as they exited. If I had survived this event, it would be my pleasure to swim 200IM's out there until the cows come home, frigid and all, before grabbing cold one or twelve from the lovely Elisha at The Playright Tavern Act II.

As most Americans, I have a tremendous amount of respect and appreciation for the fine professionals of the NYPD, FDNY and the NYPA. But as these governmental agencies were quickly responding, and hair on fire quick they were, the US Airways crew, the passengers who kept their heads under extreme crisis, the NY Waterway ferry operators and the Circle Line Tour ferry operators participated in an excellent textbook evacuation and rescue, a team effort which make all Americans very proud.

I am petrified to fly and need flight fuel in the form of several tall cool ones in pre-flight preparation. Outside of an experience on a TWA puddle jumper from St. Louis to Lincoln back in 1980, I have had really good experiences flying, on JetBlue (JBLU:NASDAQ) and Southwest (LUV:NYSE). Given the actions demonstrated by this crew averting a major disaster this afternoon, I would appreciate the opportunity to fly US Airways. By the way, no one should even dream of filing a lawsuit due to today's crash against US Airways.

I look forward to meeting via the media many of heroes who helped out during today's miracle on the Hudson River line. God Bless America, and, as usual, today I know He did.

No Room For Error In Skies

Political correctness is way out of hand and it just pisses me off. Orlando based Air Tran Airways is in defense mode and issuing apologies (?) after it tossed a group of Muslim passengers off a jet bound for Orlando from Washington DC. Other passengers reported they had heard members of this party make suspicious remarks about airline safety. Air Tran is getting hammered by most media outlets, but not here!

Call me crazy, but that sound like damn prudent thinking to me. I got a news flash for you. If you are part of a group of Muslim airline passengers acting odd, you may want to keep the pie hole shut, cause we are going to be quick to pull the trigger on your ass, given some developments earlier this decade. This also includes members of bands and wedding party guests, who miraculously always seem to be in the wrong place when tomahawks come flying. And if you don't like it, we may have to slap you around some. Don't think we won't!!

We are in a global war on terror and we are not going to put up with any crap from Muslims, white supremacists, the Macon County Garden Club, Imams, the Detroit Lions, the South Boston Glee Club or any other group who acts likes asses when boarding airplanes. This should be well recognized and all airline travelers should be on their best behavior. If not, you should be tossed as there is zero room for error in this regard.