plane

Someone thought it was a good idea to bring a Bluetooth device called “Bomb” onto a plane. What had to happen happened

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Imagine that you are sitting in that modern torture chamber that we call “economy class” on a transcontinental plane when, after an hour in the air of the eight-hour trip from New Jersey to Mallorca, the aircraft turns around to land at the point of origin because the bomb threat protocols are activated. Now stop imagining because that is precisely what happened this past May 30 when the United Flight Boeing 767 that covered the Newark – Palma de Mallorca route thad to turn around with 12 crew members and 190 passengers of which one was the owner of a Bluetooth device with a peculiar name. “Bomb”. The “Bluetooth bomb” He United Flight 236 It should be just another conventional flight, but those who took the one last Saturday experienced an unusual adventure. When the ship was flying over the Atlantic and in a period Between 60 and 90 minutes after takeoff, someone noticed a disturbing detail: searching for Bluetooth networks, They found a device called “BOMB”. If someone was carrying a bomb with a Bluetooth connection, I highly doubt it would be visible to everyone and, on top of that, it would be called “Bomb”, but it was enough for the situation to explode. The crew, using the public address system, repeatedly asked that the Bluetooth devices be turned off, even threatening with turning around, but after seeing that there were still some lights left and that the “bomb” was among them, the maneuvers began. In coordination with the company’s operations center in Chicago, it was decided that it was best to declare a state of bomb emergency and return to Newark. The plane landed as if nothing had happened, but on the ground there was a significant police and security deployment that forced the passengers to vacate the ship, leaving their hand luggage behind. Image | Flightradar24 As part of the procedure, it was now the security forces that were going to be in charge of inspecting that luggage again. It has not really emerged what the device was, but what is clear is that there was no real explosive device. United has not given detailsbut different media indicate that a 16-year-old passenger had a device named with that name. Some say it’s a Fitbit, others say it’s a Bluetooth speaker. No details have been given about the consequences. that the passenger will have to face and everything has remained an anecdotal situation and a story that those 212 people will tell at some point. Now, there are interesting readings. The first is that there are devices for which you can change the name of the Bluetooth connection. For example, we can call our cell phone whatever we want, just like Wi-Fi networks, but there are others that are not easy to change the name of. A speaker or headphones usually have the name they come from the factory, unless they have an app that explicitly allows you to change the identifier. This is important because there are speakers like the Bombbox from JBL and, above all, the Hama Bomb 3.0 that have ‘BOMB’ in the name. Obviously, it doesn’t just say that and there are numbers and the brand, so it would be easy to deduce that it is a totally different device than a bomb. Also, if this were the case, the device would be turned off and not searching for Bluetooth all the time, so what makes the most sense is that it is a mobile phone with that ‘nickname’ for Bluetooth. That said, when the crew asked to disconnect the Bluetooth, if the person had headphones on they might not even notice and, if they did, it was a message that could be interpreted as “put the phone on.” airplane modeThere are cell phones that, when they activate airplane mode, deactivate all wireless communications, but there are also those that only deactivate Wi-Fi, the mobile network and leave Bluetooth to allow connection with headphones. This is for trying to find an explanation for a bizarre story like few others that had a happy ending for the passengers, being able to board a new flight the morning of the next day, but which could be very serious for the funny or clueless owner of the device. Because it is one thing to take longer to take off, but having a plane turn around, relocate all the passengers and the company pay compensation… is not cheap. AND I’m sure someone at United Flight isn’t happy at all.nor were those who were on that flight and who had zero information about what was happening, even having to go to reddit to find out about the movie and report the company’s compensation: a $15 bonus to spend on food. Moral: take a look at what your devices are called. In Xataka | Airplanes have circular windows for a reason. It took two plane crashes to find out.

a plane, a ship and a missile launcher in one machine

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In the middle of the Cold War, American spy satellites detected a Soviet machine in the Caspian Sea so enormous and strange that CIA analysts thought for months that it could be a photographic error. That experimental creature, named after as “Caspian Sea Monster”ended up becoming one of the military projects most disconcerting never seen on the water. The return of the monster. For decades, Soviet ekranoplanes seemed like a technological extravagance impossible to repeat: gigantic machines that they mixed concepts of plane, ship and missile platform in an absurd hybrid even by Cold War standards. They flew skimming the sea at enormous speed, partially escaping radar and taking advantage of the so-called “ground effect” to move as if they were suspended over the water. The most famous, as we said, was the Caspian Sea Monstera military creature born in the sixties that seemed straight out of a Soviet science fiction novel and that ended up becoming one of the strangest military experiments ever built. Now China is resurrecting that idea with the call “Bohai Sea Monster”an aircraft that combines features of a seaplane, amphibious vehicle, military transport and possible missile launcher, recovering a concept that seemed buried near the end of the USSR. China and an obsession. The new images of the Bohai Sea Monster show that Beijing is not working on a simple experimental or maritime rescue device. Supports appear under the wings compatible with weaponspossibly torpedoes or anti-ship missiles, while the configuration of the device confirms that it is a vehicle specifically designed to operate at very low altitudes above the water. The detail is important because it completely changes the initial perception of the project: it stops looking like a strange seaplane and becomes a potential offensive platform. In essence, China is trying to unite several capabilities into a single machine: the mobility of an aircraft, the maritime persistence of a ship, and the strike capability of a military aircraft. The result is exactly the type hybrid concept that fascinated Soviets and Americans for decades and that now re-emerges in the 21st century. Designed for the Pacific. Chinese interest in this type of vehicle makes a lot of sense within a hypothetical conflict in the Pacific. Ekranoplanes can scroll quickly between archipelagos, forward bases and coasts without relying on traditional landing strips, something especially useful in the South China Sea or in a scenario around Taiwan. When flying just a few meters above the water, there are partially hidden below the radar horizon and are much more difficult to detect than a conventional aircraft. Additionally, they can transport cargo, troops, sensors or weapons while operating in areas where a ship would be slow and vulnerable and where an aircraft would need infrastructure. China appears to be exploring precisely that space in between: a machine capable of resupplying artificial islands, supporting amphibious landings, launching drones or attacking enemy ships without behaving entirely like a ship or a conventional aircraft. Mon Class The Soviet shadow. The entire program inevitably reminds us of the large soviet ekranoplanes of the Cold War, especially to Mon-classwhich carried anti-ship missiles on the fuselage and was conceived as an ultra-fast naval attack platform. The USSR dedicated enormous resources to these vehicles because they offered very specific advantages over NATO: speed greater than that of ships, lower radar visibility and ability to operate over enormous maritime distances. The problem was that they were also complex devices, vulnerable to bad weather and difficult to maintain. After the Soviet collapse, almost all of these projects disappeared and the concept was reduced to a historical curiosity. However, China seems to have concluded that current technology (better sensors, materials, digital navigation and drones) can turn that old idea into a reality. something much more viable than it was half a century ago. Much more than a simple prototype. Another of the keys to the Bohai Sea Monster is that it probably not the definitive modelbut a smaller technological “demo” intended to validate the concept before building much larger versions. The pictures show a relatively compact device, but several analysts believe that the ultimate goal could be a platform for much larger sizepossibly equipped with more powerful engines, greater autonomy and a considerable military load. That would fit with China’s usual strategy of revealing ambiguous prototypes that appear experimental until, years later, they end up becoming fully operational systems. The fact that the project appears precisely when the United States canceled the Liberty Lifter of DARPA is also revealing: while Washington abandoned its modern attempt to create a logistical ekranoplane, Beijing seems determined to explore exactly that path. The new military logic. The Bohai Sea Monster also fits into a transformation much broader of the Chinese armed forces. Beijing has been developing platforms for years that mix traditional categories and break the classic divisions between ship, plane, missile and drone. Their new military doctrines seek saturate the Pacific with systems that are cheap, fast, difficult to detect and capable of operating from multiple domains at the same time. In that context, an armed ekranoplane stops seeming like an oddity and begins to make sense as a piece of a broader strategy based on extreme mobility, distributed warfare and control of disputed maritime spaces. The fascinating thing is that China is not only recovering a technology forgotten of the cold war: It is trying to adapt it to a scenario where sensors, missiles and drones have completely changed the way of fighting at sea. Image | x, Vyacheslav Bukharov In Xataka | China has been designing the future of its hypersonic fighters and missiles for 30 years: an engine for all speeds In Xataka | China created the C919 to stand up to Airbus and Boeing. And we already have data to know if it is being successful

Airplanes have circular windows for a reason. It took two plane crashes to find out.

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When you get on a plane, have you ever wondered why the windows of this means of transport They have an oval shape. If you look closely, it’s not just the windows: also the armrests, trays, screens and any interior furniture. has a circular shape. Although it may seem something purely aestheticthere is actually scientific reasoning behind this choice. But before getting into the technical details, we need to talk a little about the history of aviation and how two fatal accidents changed everything. In their early days, airplanes had rectangular windows like those found in any house. As taking to the skies became more popular in the 1950s, airlines started flying at higher altitudes. This guaranteed them considerable economic savings, since the thin air generates less resistance and, therefore, less fuel is consumed, as well as allowing more comfortable driving with less turbulence. But in order for planes to fly at those heights, manufacturers were also forced to make design changes. The cabin had to be pressurized so that the pilots could breathe without problems. And a pressurized cabin requires a cylindrical shape to function, which creates a pressure difference between indoor air and outdoor air which increases as the plane rises. The flat body expands very slightly and therefore stress is applied to the material. And this is where the shape of the windows come into play. In 1954 there were two fatal accidents which caused the death of 56 passengers and crew. The reason the fuselage disintegrated had to do with a design flaw, which was that they had kept the windows square. Due to its right angles, Cabin pressure was concentrated in its corners and it was multiplied by three, more than in the rest of the fuselage. That caused the windows to end up exploding. It must be taken into account that airplanes usually fly at an altitude of 10,000 meters or more and that level atmospheric pressure It is about a third of normal. As Real Engineering explains in this video“When a material changes shape like this, stress is created in the material. Eventually, the stress can increase so much that the material breaks.” This is exactly what happened in the aforementioned accidents. The problems However, in a circular plane, tension flows smoothly through the material, a flow that is interrupted by the introduction of a window. But if the window is oval, stress levels are more evenly balanced. The same principle applies to the cargo and cabin doors. And that’s why we also see it in the windows of ships and spaceships. Unfortunately, it took two plane crashes and several decades of research to realize the evils that square windows were causing. Furthermore, as commented Anthony Harcup, director of the Teague design company, which has worked with Boeing for more than 75 years in this article from Travel + Leisure: “Sharp edges hurt elbows, knees, hips… or any part of the body they come into contact with. Rounding of all parts of the plane is also done for the “deletalization”a design principle that ensures that when subjected to Murphy’s Law, a passenger cannot be injured anywhere in the airplane seat.” It’s not just the shape of airplane windows that has changed over the years, but also their material. The windows you see on airplanes actually They are not glass, but acrylicwhich is more durable than the first. Also, as you may have noticed, there are three layers in each window. In fact, the interior window that faces passengers is not even part of the structure of the plane (it is just a safety measure so that the exterior window does not get touched or scratched). And the second layer exists as reinforcement to maintain the pressure on the end in case the exterior window is damaged. If you looked at the window, you will also have seen a small hole in this layer. Its role is essential since it serves as a valve to equalize pressure between this inner window and the outer window. Between the interior and exterior window there is a small air chamber and this hole regulates the pressure between the two sheets automatically. In addition, it balances the humidity level, preventing the window from fogging up or freezing. Everything on an airplane is pure science. Images | Unsplash In Xataka | The design can save the middle seat on airplanes from being the most hated: wider and “without invasions”

a plane that shoots drones

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During the Afghanistan Warthe Soviet forces resorted on more than one occasion to adapt helicopters and airplanes transport for improvised functions in combat, from close support to surveillance platforms navy. Then they made it clear that even in highly structured armies, the need on the battlefield forces them to reinvent machines that were never designed to fight. An unlikely plane that changes the rules. In the midst of a war largely dominated by drones, Ukraine has found an unexpected solution in a Soviet-era relic: the Antonov An-28a light transport aircraft that has been transformed or “tuned” into something completely different. Far from its original function, this twin-engine now acts as an unprecedented aerial offensive platform capable to launch interceptor drones from its wings, becoming a kind of improvised “drone carrier.” This adaptation is not an isolated experiment, but part of an accelerated evolution in which old systems they reinvent themselves to respond to modern threats, giving rise to a key idea: air combat no longer depends only on missiles, but also on cheaper, more flexible and replicable systems. From ammunition to drones. Until recently, An-28 crews were dedicated to shooting down enemy drones with machine guns from the aircraft itself, a rudimentary but effective tactic that had already achieved hundreds of kills in battle. However, the qualitative leap comes when integrating interceptor drones like the P1-Sun either the AS-3 Surveyor under its wings, devices capable of pursuing and destroying objectives autonomously or guided. In this way, the plane is no longer just a direct hunter, but a range multiplier which deploys “cheap missiles” in the form of drones, capable of impacting or detonating near the target, greatly expanding the possibilities of interception. The economy as a weapon. One of the most determining factors of this innovation is, again, the cost. It we have counted before: faced with enemy drones or missiles that can cost tens of thousands of dollars, Ukrainian interceptors are significantly cheaperespecially if they are produced on a large scale. This difference changes the logic of combat, because it is no longer about spending more to defend yourself, but rather about finding ways to neutralize threats. at lower cost. Not only that. The An-28 It also allows you to bring closer those interceptors at the target, launching them from height and speed, which improves their effectiveness and reduces reaction time, reinforcing a more sustainable air defense. A more flexible and extended air shield. There is no doubt, the use of the airplane as an aerial platform offers quite clear operational advantages. can patrol for long periodsquickly position yourself in risk areas or even operate from improvised runways thanks to its short takeoff capacity. Besides, combine multiple tools: drones, light weapons and potentially other systems, creating an adaptable defense against different types of threats. In a context where Russia produces thousands of drones per month and develops increasingly faster models, this flexibility becomes essential to maintain balance on the battlefield. Towards a new air combat doctrine. If you also want, what is happening with the An-28 is not just a tactical adaptation, but an indication of where modern warfare is headed. The idea of ​​launching drones from other platforms, whether airplanes, helicopters or even unmanned systems, opens the door to a combat model much more distributedwhere multiple layers of defense work in a coordinated manner. Seen this way, in the new scenario the value does not reside solely in power or sophistication, but in the ability to combine simple, scalable and economical solutions to counter massive threats, redefining what was understood until now as the traditional concept of air superiority. Image | Wild Hornets In Xataka | Russia has an unprecedented enemy in the Ukrainian war: Japan has just landed with a weapon to take down its shaheds In Xataka | Ukraine has recalled the weapon used with Stalin to convince the US: literally, turning Donbas into “Donnyland”

The Boeing 747 that the Emir of Dubai uses as a private plane is so luxurious that even the pilot’s controls are made of gold

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When we talk about private jetsluxury is already inferred in that same concept, but even within something as exclusive as that, there are airplanes and then there is he Boeing 747 of the emir of dubaia separate category that makes a normal Gulfstream look like a regular bus. Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, emir of dubaidid not limit itself to converting one of the largest airplanes in the world into a flying mansion, it also extended the luxury to the pilot cabin, with the engine control knobs, flaps and brakes covered in gold. Aviation youtuber Sam Chui had access to the interior and documented in detail everything he found aboard this flying palace that has all the luxury and comforts of a five star hotel designed both to satisfy the government needs of its owner, as well as those of the entire entourage that accompanies him. A jumbo jet with a double identity The base of this mobile mansion is a Boeing 747-400 Combi, a variant of the commercial jumbo jet that combines a large passenger area in the front, with cargo capacity in the rear. This duality allows it to transport the head of state, his team and the cargo (luggage, vehicles, etc.) they need on the same flight, something that clearly differentiates it from other private jets. more “modest.” The most striking element of the interior is the majlis, the traditional Arab reception room, adapted in the form of a huge open space in the central part of the plane in which there are a series of very comfortable seats for the president and his governing council. At the front, just below the cockpit, is the master bedroom, which looks more like a the luxury hotel suite than to a cabin at 10,000 meters above sea level. The lighting is warm, the bathroom and faucets are goldand it has a shower that you don’t expect to find on a plane. In the rear, a large dining room serves as a meeting room with capacity for 26 people, turning the plane into a valid space for negotiations or state dinners. On the upper deck there are eight minisuites with large reclining seats for VIP passengers, and a section with business class seats for the staff who accompany the emir on each trip. When luxury reaches the cockpit Most private jets reserve luxury for the passenger and limiting the cockpit to a more practical and austere function. That doesn’t happen on the emir of Dubai’s plane. Just like published LuxuryLaunchesin this private jet right down to the throttle levers, aerodynamic brake controls and flaps They have a gold finishturning each maneuver into a symbolic gesture and reminding pilots what type of aircraft they are flying. The Combi configuration of the aircraft allows cargo to be carried in the rear, including specific containers for the emir’s horsessomething consistent with the sheikh’s well-known love of horse riding. The plane has a range of about 13,500 kilometers, enough to connect Dubai with any part of the world without stops. The sheikh has at least two Boeing 747s like this one. According to Mallorca DiaryIn March 2026, one of them landed in Palma de Mallorca, generating all kinds of speculation about its destination. In Xataka | The Emir of Dubai bought a 500 million superyacht but discovered that it had a serious problem: there was no mobile coverage inside Image | Wikimedia Commons (Ukrainian Government), Sam Chui

May your next plane be even older… and you won’t even realize it

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A commercial airplane can carry out more than 60,000 cycles takeoff and landing throughout its useful life, as long as it passes extremely strict periodic inspections. In fact, some aircraft fly for decades, accumulating millions of kilometers without this affecting their safety. Because in aviation, time is not measured in years as much as in maintenance. The big secret of flying in 2026. This week they remembered a piece of information from CNN. Commercial aviation has been operating for decades with a reality that is rarely perceived from the seat: many of the planes that fly through the skies are not new, although they may seem that way. The reason? Thanks to constant maintenance and interior renovations, aircraft of more than 20 or even 30 years can offer a completely modern viewing experience. The passenger sees screens, new seats and renovated cabins, but not the fuselage or its age. That disconnection between appearance and reality is key to understanding what is happening now. Increasingly older. The average age of commercial aircraft is already between 20 and 25 yearsand is slowly increasing due to supply chain issues, delays in manufacturers such as Airbus and Boeing and difficulties with engines and components. In fact, there are models delivered in the 90s that international routes continue to operate without the passenger realizing it, because airlines invest in renovating interiors instead of replacing aircraft. In many cases, maintaining an older aircraft It is much more profitable than buying a new one, especially when the availability of parts and engines allows it. The result is a global fleet that ages silently while appearing otherwise. War enters the scene. And here appears an actor who comes to complicate everything a little more, because the conflict in the Middle East has introduced a new factor that aggravates this trend: rising prices and uncertainty of the fuel. With the Strait of Hormuz affected and the jet fuel prices skyrocketEuropean airlines face months of high costs and potential supply problems. Even with a ceasefire, the recovery of energy flows will be slow, with refineries damaged and shipping routes altered. In this context, each operational decision becomes dominated by the cost of fuelwhich is one of the biggest expenses of any airline. Why this extends the life of older aircraft. Because when the fuel it becomes more expensiveairlines prioritize reducing investments and maximizing use of already depreciated assets. Although newer aircraft are usually more efficient, their acquisition cost and limited deliveries mean that they are not always the immediate option. In parallel, the production delays and in the delivery of new models they force older aircraft to continue operating for longer than expected. The Iran war, stress even more the energy market and global logistics, reinforces this dynamic: replacing aircraft becomes more difficult just when maintaining them is most necessary. Between cost and perception. CNN recalled that airlines have perfected the art of making people invisible the age of their fleetsfocusing the investment on what the passenger perceives directly. We’re talking about new seats, lighting, entertainment systems and redesigned cabins that allow a decades-old plane to compete in experience with one fresh from the factory. At the same time, the slowness in the delivery of new interiors (which can take years) make even these improvements arrive more slowly. Thus, passengers continue to fly on increasingly older aircraft without being aware of it, while the industry adjusts costs in an increasingly demanding environment. The “new” will be more relative. Ultimately, the combination of geopolitical tensionsindustrial shortages and pressure on costs point to a scenario in which the actual age of aircraft will continue to increase. The war in Iran has not only affected the price of fuel, but has revealed the fragility of the global energy and logistics system on which aviation depends. Consequently, the “secret” of the airlines will be prolonged: We will fly on older planes than we imagine, without realizing it, because the priority is no longer renewing fleets at the ideal pace, but rather keeping them operational in an increasingly uncertain and crazy expensive world. Image | RawPixel In Xataka | Global air traffic has a problem: Ukraine and Iran have created a funnel that is driving up prices In Xataka | If you have a trip planned to Vietnam or Japan this year we have good and bad news for you

The US has rescued its most “brute” plane for an impossible mission

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The 30 mm cannon an A-10 It can fire almost 4,000 projectiles per minute and its sound is so characteristic that soldiers identify it before even seeing the plane coming. In fact, for decades it has been one of the most recognizable symbols of air support in combat, although its withdrawal had already been decided. The war in Iran has resurrected it. Which means the return of the A-10. At this moment there are dozens of A-10s that have put heading to the Middle Eastand among military analysts that can only be due to one thing: that the United States has rescued its most “brute” plane for a mission that it seems impossibleand that points directly to a change in the nature of war. Because the Warthog It is not an aircraft designed for clean campaigns from high altitudes or for technological wars at a distance, but rather for flying low, “dirty” and shoot a few meters of the enemy supporting troops in direct contact. His massive deploymentalso in the twilight of its operational life, suggests that Washington is no longer thinking only about degrading Iranian capabilities from the air, but in scenarios where there will be soldiers on the ground who will need close, constant and brutal coverage. Distances in war. Hours before the deployment was known, they went viral some images of A-10s making unusually long strafing passes in Iraq (of more than 9 seconds), which gave an idea that they are not a technical anecdote, but rather a clue to what is changing on the battlefield. This type of use (long, less precise and unusual shots) only makes sense for dispersed, dynamic and close targets, as groups of combatantsnot infrastructure. That is, scenarios where the plane acts almost like aerial artillery in direct support of troops, reinforcing the idea that the conflict is evolving towards more chaotic, closer and less controlled confrontations. What the A-10 fits with. It we count yesterday. At the same time that these planes arrive, the United States does not stop to accumulate troopsspecial forces and logistics capabilities in the region, preparing operations that would no longer be only aerial but also incursions on the ground. The options being considered (from assaults on coastal installations to the taking of strategic enclaves like Kharg Island or missions for capture nuclear material) fit perfectly with the type of support that offers the A-10: close, persistent coverage designed to protect soldiers in high-risk situations. The plane thus appears as the missing piece to complete a hybrid war scenario that mixes air attacks with limited but intense ground operations. The strategic contradiction. All this occurs in parallel to a political speech from Washington increasingly contradictorywhere there is talk of ending the war in weeks while deployments are prepared that point just in the opposite direction. The possibility of closing the conflict without reopening the Strait of Hormuz reveals that the United States wants to limit its involvement, but the media accumulation (troops, drones, electronic warfare and now A-10) indicates that it is preparing for escalation if negotiations fail. In other words, we are facing a strategy that tries to keep all options open, but that in practice increases the risk of a deeper and longer war. Point of no return. If you like, on the whole, all the signs seem to converge in the same direction: the conflict is entering a phase where distance is no longer sufficient and direct contact points to be inevitable. The A-10, with its ability to operate at low altitude and punish nearby targets for long periods, symbolizes that shift toward a harsher warmore physical and more dangerous. In any case, it does not guarantee the success for the United States (in fact, his presence suggests how difficult what lies ahead will be for his troops), but it does confirm that Washington is preparing for a scenario where missiles and bombings will no longer be enough, but rather the ground will have to be held under constant fire with those thousands of soldiers that have been arriving in the Middle East. Image | US AIR, United States Air Force In Xataka | By launching more than 850 Tomahawks a month, the US was going to lose its war with Iran. So he has changed ammunition: thousands of soldiers In Xataka | The US had 17 irreplaceable “radar” planes: now it has 16 planes and many reasons to worry in Iran

the exhibition ended with the plane in flames

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If you’ve ever flown within Europe on a short or medium-sized journey, there’s a good chance you’ve spent several hours inside a Airbus A320. This model has become one of the most common aircraft on the continent and is part of the daily landscape of airports and airlines. Today it is difficult to imagine European air transport without it, but there was a time when he A320 was an absolute novelty that was just beginning to be shown to the public. One of those first public flights took place in 1988 and was intended as a demonstration for spectators, press and guests. It was also the first flight with passengers on an Airbus A320. The plane belonged to Air France and was part of the first units of the model. That presentation was to serve to show the new Airbus aircraft in a simple maneuver on a small airfield. What should have been an exhibition ended up becoming one of the most remembered episodes of the early years of the A320. The premiere that went wrong and went down in history The demonstration was part of an aeronautical event held at the Habsheim airfield in eastern France. Air France agreed to participate in the exhibition and took advantage of the occasion to publicly display its new Airbus A320 in the company’s colors. The plan was to perform a flyby at very low altitude on the runway with the landing gear deployed so that attendees could observe the plane before it continued its trajectory. The flight did not depart directly from that small airfield. The plane had taken off from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport and subsequently flew to Basel-Mulhouse, where a press conference was held before boarding. According to Aviation Safety Networkwhen the device took off again it had 130 passengers and six crew members on board. Among the occupants were journalists and people who had won a seat on the flight through a lottery. In the cockpit were two commanders with extensive experience within Air France. One of them was heading the company’s training division and the other was involved in the introduction of the A320 into the airline’s fleet. Three minutes after takeoff, with the airfield already in sight, the pilot began the descent which had to place the plane at the altitude planned for the maneuver. However, the decline continued below that level. According to data collected later in the investigation, the plane first passed about 50 feet (about 15.20 meters) and just a few seconds later it descended to about 30 feet (about 9.15 meters) above the ground. At that moment the power was increased to try to overcome the maneuver, but the reaction came too late. At that point, the room for maneuver was minimal. As we can see in a videothe Airbus A320 continued to advance at very low altitude until skim the treetops located at the end of the Habsheim airfield. The accident ended with the plane engulfed in flames in front of those attending the aeronautical event. After the accident, an investigation was opened in which Air France and Airbus participated together with the Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses pour la sécurité de l’aviation civile, the BEA, the French body in charge of investigating air accidents. The objective was to accurately reconstruct what happened during the maneuver and determine why the plane had ended up hitting the trees located at the end of the airfield. In its report, the BEA pointed out several factors that, combined, explained the accident. Among them, he mentioned carrying out an overflight at a height lower than that of the obstacles present in the area, a very low speed during the maneuver and the late application of the power needed to start the comeback. According to the investigation, this combination of circumstances left the plane without sufficient margin to regain altitude before reaching the tree line. Commander Michel Asseline rejected part of the investigation’s conclusions. In his defense, he maintained that both he and the other pilot, Pierre Mazières, had only received the flight plan on the morning of the accident. He also stated that the crew did not have maps of the aerodrome or detailed information about the configuration of the flight field where the demonstration was to take place. Asseline also questioned the interpretation of the moment in which the comeback attempt was attempted. According to your version, the fly-by-wire control system of the A320 would have prevented the application of power and lifting the plane with the necessary speed. In addition, he went on to claim that the black box data could have been manipulated and that four seconds were missing from the recording. Despite these allegations, the case ended up going to court. The judicial process ended with several convictions for involuntary manslaughter. Commander Michel Asseline, the first officer, two Air France officials and the president of the flying club that organized the event were found guilty. The case put an end to one of the most controversial episodes of the early years of the Airbus A320. As time went by, the relationship between Air France and the A320 continued to develop normally. According to data from ch-aviationthe airline currently operates about 40 Airbus A320-200. It also previously flew another 61 A320-200 and 13 A320-100, the variant involved in the 1988 accident. Today the A320 remains one of the most common aircraft on short and medium-haul routes within Europe. Images | Wikimedia Commons In Xataka | China has just found a hole in the US’s quietest weapon: an algorithm has hacked its B-2s in Iran

that of buying a plane ticket before it costs an arm and a leg

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If you were planning to buy a plane ticket, we have a warning: it is better that you do it as soon as possible. That’s what the price of jet fuel indicates. The cost of oil for this type of use has skyrocketed since a new war broke out in the Middle East. Following the US and Israeli attacks and Iran’s response, the supply chain has become so stressed and strained that it does not bode well for the future. 2$25.44. It is the figure that has set the record and that tells us about the nervousness that is beginning to be experienced with the supply of fuel for airplanes. Those $225.44 was the price that barrels of jet fuel reached last Wednesday in Asia, they point out in Reuters. That figure was an anomaly that ended up rebounding but it gives an idea of ​​how the market is working. “It’s absolute chaos,” June Goh, an oil market analyst at commodities company Sparta, told Reuters. Financial Times. “We never expected that jet fuel could be twice the price of crude oil,” he explained. years ago. Specifically, four. Since 2022, the price of jet fuel has not been so expensive in the case of Europe and two years if we talk about Asia and the United States. The problem is not so much that “equality” in price. The problem is that it seems that we have already put on the tie and now it is time to tighten the knot. Because it is calculated that 40% of jet fuel that reaches Europe does so through the Strait of Hormuz, currently collapsed between vessels seeking to avoid an enclave over which missiles, drones and fighters fly over in search of targets to bomb. Why is this happening? Jet fuel is more delicate than fuel intended for passenger cars, so it can only be processed in refineries. Europe has reduced its refineries in recent years, something that It already affected the rise in diesel prices in the early stages of the Ukrainian War. And Asian refiners are seeing crude oil supplies disrupted by fighting in Iran and nearby countries. In Saudi Arabia, some refineries have had to suspend operations due to the attacks, according to Barron’s. From China, furthermore, They are already limiting fuel exports outside the country to prioritize the internal market. And it is calculated that 13% of the oil that China buys abroad comes from Iran. That is to say, there is less oil reaching the refineries and some oil companies are considering taking enormous detours to avoid the dangers of Hormuz. Right now, it’s not just that oil is having more trouble getting there. The thing is there are deposits closing because there are no means to transport them to the refineries. In OilPrice They point out that Iran has already had to stop deposits because there is no outlet for its production. And Kuwait could be the next to enter the same situation, according to Financial Times. And most of the oil to be refined in Europe comes from Kuwait. And dwarf tanks. Another pressing problem is that the tanks that hold airplane fuel are small because they require very specific conditions, according to Goh of Sparta. This causes the need for replacement to be high and, therefore, the price of fuel affects this market more. Therefore, the perfect storm is forming. There is oil that does not leave the fields, countries limiting exports, companies looking for solutions to save the Strait of Hormuz and a storage space sensitive to any break in the supply chain. There are already notices. To all of the above we must add that part of this fuel is staying in the Middle East to try to provide service to all the planes that are looking for a space to take off from airports that, right now, are chaos. According to Financial Timesqueues to refuel are causing delays and some companies are choosing to refuel before reaching their destination so as not to do so in the busiest places. The most affected in Europe, everything indicates, will be the low-cost companies, which are the ones that play the hardest with their profit margins. In Bloomberg They report that WizzAir already points out that this increase in prices will make it lose 50 million euros. This means that in their forecasts for 2026 they would go from earning 25 million euros at the end of the year to losing it. Photo | Nicholas Susilo In Xataka | An airline has completed the first transatlantic flight using sustainable fuel. The problem: there is not enough

The new fighter that Sweden is preparing is a “plane of airplanes”

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Swedish intelligence is clear: The conflict between Ukraine and Russia will expand across the old continent next year. Given this scenario, Sweden just signed a contract to renew its latest generation fighter for a totally different concept: a key “plane of airplanes” in the first line of defense of a Europe that still He is not very clear how to defend himself. Because Ukraine is not the only front: the threat of United States annexation of Greenland is still in the air. The contract. The Nordic country has hired Saab for 282 million dollars to develop the program Koncept för Framtida Stridsflyg (KFS, Concept for Future Combat Aviation) called to rejuvenate its fleet: KFS will be the basis of the roadmap to rejuvenate its air combat capabilities in the long term. The project started in March 2024 as Vägval Stridsflyg and after financing, it is in the development and first demo phase. Context. Within the old continent, Sweden is a particular case in air defense due to its location: despite be neutral in the Cold Warthe threat of the USSR was just around the corner, in the Baltic. Since then, maintaining strategic sovereignty has been a national priority for the Nordic country. In fact, and although it participated in the Team Tempest program led by the United Kingdom, got off the boat when this evolved into the Global Combat Aviation Program (GCAP) that integrates the United Kingdom, Italy and Japan to go it alone. Because Sweden has been building its own fighters for decades, Draken to the current Gripen E passing through Viggen. After years of service and development behind them, Gripen is already looking for a replacement for 2040. Why is it important. The implications it brings are relevant, both from a technological and geopolitical point of view at the state and continental level: Because it is not a new aircraft, it is a new concept that could redefine the standard of combat aviation. The security context is urgent, as indicated by the information from the Swedish intelligence services and the recent entry of the Nordic country into NATO. For Sweden, it would consolidate its aeronautical defense industry in the long term, reinforcing its commitment to military technological sovereignty. For Europe, if consolidated it would be the continent’s third new generation fighter program along with the FCAS (France-Germany-Spain) and the GCAP (UK-Italy-Japan). Three different projects and the question of interoperability. How this “plane of airplanes” works. What Sweden wants to replace the Gripen is a distributed combat concept. Thus, the fighter’s function is fragmented into different specialized platforms coordinated in real time by artificial intelligence. Although in a simplified and accessible way we have referred to it as “plane of airplanes”, in reality it is sixth generation “system of systems” with a different architecture: This is a manned aircraft that governs a constellation of specialized drones under a centralized AI. Risks and weaknesses. The challenge is enormous for Saab, which has already tried Helsing’s Centaur AI (German) on a real flight with the Gripen E to manage tactical decisions in combat. Of course, the Nordic company has never built a stealth fighter life-size: its background is two small research drones the size of a car, the SHARC and the FILURdating back to the 2000s. On the other hand, although Centaur’s first tests are promising, they are far from validating the use of AI in combat in real conditions. Finally, the project is so ambitious in technical and economic terms and the time window is so long that a medium-sized country like Sweden facing it alone runs the risk of being overwhelmed. In Xataka | “It’s not what we need”: Germany has just put the finishing touches on Spain’s great military dream, the European anti-F-35 is disappearing In Xataka | Europe’s great Achilles heel is not its armies, it is its plugs: NATO’s warning to shield our electrical network Cover | saab

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