Black Spot on Google Earth
(Submitted by: Alan Evans)
On Tuesday, September 19th, 1989, UTA Flight 772 was flying from Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo in route to Paris, France. A little after take off the airplane exploded into a ball of fire over Niger in the Sahara Desert.
There were 170 people on board that flight which was brought down by a suitcase bomb planted by Libyan terrorists
Dubbed 'The Forgotten Flight' it wasn't until 18 years later, an association was formed to represent the victims families In 2007, this association used funds paid by the Libyan government to construct a memorial to the 170 victims who died on UTA Flight 772.
The memorial shows a life-size silhouette of the DC-10 inside a compass, with arrows pointing North, South, East and West. The airplane depicted in the emblem points in the same direction of the plane’s intended flight path. The emblem is made out of dark stones with 170 broken mirrors placed around the edge, one for each victim of the bombing. (Click on image below for video). To see this from Google Maps please click here.
Airbus A320 – A Retrospective
I first wrote about the A320 fleet three years ago in NetLetter #1324 and with current deliveries on its replacement, the Boeing 737 MAX 8, I thought that this would be a good time to have a look at the fleet’s place in Air Canada history.
The first A320 was delivered in January 1990 amidst both fanfare and controversy however, it now has become one of the longest serving fleets (28. 6 years) in company history after the DC-9 (36 years) and the B767-300 (30.2 years). There are still 42 aircraft from this fleet in service, so it most certainly will occupy second place by the time the fleet is fully replaced.
Planespotters.net lists 55 A320 aircraft delivered to Air Canada and C.A.I.L. with (as noted above) 42 still in service with the mainline carrier and of the 14 others, 8 have been scrapped (most notably Fin #214), 1 is stored (Fin #231 at Lourdes) and 5 are still active with other airlines.
Airbus introduced this innovative aircraft that featured ‘fly by wire’ technology with ‘joystick’ control that, in retrospect, challenged and changed the development of all passenger aircraft fleets that followed.
I cannot count the flights I have enjoyed on these aircraft; I hope to have a few more. Click the image for the story of the delivery of Fin #201 as published in the February 1990 issue of Horizons.
Fed up with the luxury cruises and resorts being offered? How about one of these sites for your next vacation?
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A double decker bus.
Check out UK: airbnb.co.uk/rooms/6579721 |
Or a prison perhaps.
(Source: dailymail.co.uk) |
Or even this place Medieval Scottish home.
The property, called Jill Strawbale House, gets most of its power from two micro hydro generators and guests are encouraged to recycle and only use public transport during their stay. (Source: www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-5595173) |
The article in NetLetter #1388 in "Alan's Space" of the aircraft restaurant, prompted Najam Jafri to recall one in Jakarta and sends this information - Regarding the abandoned 737 in Indonesia, I remember during my visit to Jakarta Indonesia that there is a beach called Enchle. I witnessed a 737 Boeing parked there and being used as restaurant. If I find the photo in my file will mail to you. Regards, Najam Jafri.
Taman Santap Rumah Kayu Ancol, North Jakarta. For the location follow This Link For photos of the aircraft follow This Link |
How about a retired airliner? Travelers staying overnight at Arlanda Airport in Stockholm can sleep at the Jumbo Stay Hotel, that, as its name implies, is set in an old Boeing 747 that has been given a new role in the hospitality industry. |
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Jumbo Stay; Jumbovägen 4; 190 47 Stockholm Arlanda E-mail: (Source: jumbostay.com) |
Here is one in China. A restaurant converted from a B737 passenger plane is parked on Guanggu Walking Street. (Source: dailymail.co.uk) |
There is even this one in India
A retired passenger plane has found a new life as a restaurant in the northern Indian city of Ludhiana in Punjab. Hawai Adda is 72-seater restaurant. It is made out of a junk Airbus A320 that once flew for Air India. |
(Source: www.financialexpress.com) |
There used to be this one in Korea
(Source: dailymail.co.uk) |
An old prop liner DC-6 Diner, Coventry Airport West, UK Note from Ken Pickford - It's only 4 months short of age 60, delivered September 1958 to original operator Civil Air Transport of Taiwan, 4 months after first flight of the DC-8. It was one of the last 10 or so Douglas piston-engine airliners built. (Source: dailymail.co.uk) |
Another old prop liner here -
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There are many retired aircraft converted into restaurants - check airliners.net |