Aviation

(CTN NEWS) – The Pentagon opted not to shoot down a suspected Chinese Spy Balloon over U.S. airspace for two days owing to hazards to ground personnel, officials said Thursday. The balloon finding exacerbates U.S.-China tensions. The U.S. has “very high confidence” it is a Chinese high-altitude balloon collecting intelligence over key sites, a senior defense official told Pentagon reporters. Montana’s Malmstrom Air Force Base has one of the nation’s three nuclear missile silo fields, where the balloon was sighted. The official discussed critical material anonymously. / AP Pentagon press spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said the administration is tracking the Spy Balloon. He added it is “currently traveling at an altitude much above commercial aviation traffic and does not offer a military or physical threat to persons on the ground.” He noted comparable balloon activity in recent years. He said that the U.S. took precautions to avoid … [Read more...] about Chinese Spy Balloon Spotted Over Western U.S.

(Representative Image) The central government has directed Tata-led Air India's management to deduct Rs 95,000 per month from the employees overstaying in the official accommodation at Vasant Vihar Colony in Delhi after the last notice by the government to vacate by July 26, 2022, as per a report by the Economic Times . The employees will incur the deduction from the month of October. Moneycontrol could not independently verify this news development. A person aware of the development told ET that salaries would be deducted according to the directions from the government from this month. "Deductions are in the range of upto Rs 95,000 per month. Many employees will not even get a salary after this," an Air India staffer residing in Vasant Vihar colony said. Moneycontrol could not independently verify this news development. Disinvestment did not include residential colonies, and the government has relocated the properties to Air India Asset Holdings Limited along … [Read more...] about Govt asks Air India to charge employees Rs 95,000 a month for overstaying in official accommodation

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Three investment funds that purchased shares in Adani Enterprises’ scuttled $2.5 billion offering have ties to the Adani Group and suspected Adani proxies, according to a Forbes analysis Three investment funds with ties to the Adani Group committed to buying up shares as investors in Adani Enterprises follow-on stock offering, which was abruptly canceled Wednesday following a drop in Adani Enterprises’ share price in the wake of U.S. short seller Hindenburg Research’s 100-page report . Two Mauritius-based funds, Ayushmat Ltd and Elm Park Fund, and India-based Aviator Global Investment Fund, together agreed to buy 9.24% of all shares available to anchor investors , the institutional investors who are allotted shares a day before the public offering. That percentage represented an investment of just $66 million, but is likely more evidence of Adani getting help from affiliated parties. The three funds’ ties to … [Read more...] about Adani Enterprises’ Failed Share Offering Exposes More Investment Funds With Questionable Ties To The Adani Group

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline The suspected Chinese spy balloon was shot Saturday morning, after the Biden Administration gave the go-ahead to take it down after it floated over the Atlantic Ocean east of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, following calls from lawmakers to act urgently on the mysterious balloon. Key Facts U.S. Air Force fighter jets shot the balloon shortly after 2:30 p.m. Saturday, federal officials confirmed to the Associated Press . White House officials had been considering a plan to shoot down the spy balloon once it passed over South Carolina and into federal waters, where it could be recovered and debris could be collected, the Associated Press reported. It comes as the Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground stop for three major airports in North Carolina and South Carolina in a “national security effort,” prohibiting pilots from operating aircraft at the airports. In an unconfirmed … [Read more...] about U.S. Shoots Down Suspected Chinese Spy Balloon Over Atlantic (Updating)

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline The Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground stop for several major airports in North Carolina and South Carolina Saturday afternoon in a “national security effort” as a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon is believed to float overhead. Key Facts The ground stop , which is in effect until 2:45 p.m. Saturday afternoon, applies to three airports in Wilmington, North Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Pilots are not able to operate any aircraft during the ground stop, which comes several hours after a Charlotte, North Carolina, NBC affiliate reported the massive balloon had been spotted over the city. U.S. officials believe the balloon is being used as part of a Chinese spy mission, although China’s Foreign Ministry denied the claim, saying it’s a civilian weather balloon that drifted west. This is a developing story. Key Background The … [Read more...] about FAA Grounds Planes In Carolinas As Chinese Spy Balloon Suspected Nearby

By ZEKE MILLER, MICHAEL BALSAMO, COLLEEN LONG, AAMER MADHANI and LOLITA C. BALDOR (Associated Press) WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States on Saturday downed a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast on orders from President Joe Biden after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America, becoming the latest flashpoint in tensions between Washington and Beijing. Biden said he wanted the balloon downed on Wednesday, but was advised that the best time for the operation would be when it was over water. Military officials determined that the bringing it down over land from an altitude of 60,000 feet would pose an undue risk to people on the ground. The balloon was spotted Saturday morning over the Carolinas as it approached the Atlantic coast. At about 2:40 p.m. EST, an F-22 fighter jet fired a missile at the balloon, puncturing it while it was about 6 nautical miles off the coast near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Pentagon officials said. Officials said … [Read more...] about US downs Chinese balloon, a flashpoint in US-China tensions

Airbus converted one of its A350 XWB aircraft into the 'Airbus Explorer' to showcase its innovations (Picture Credit: Ameya Joshi) More often than not, one hears the click-click of seat belts being unfastened the moment an aircraft touches down. In some parts of the world, India included, passengers rush to deplane as soon as the aircraft halts – even if it is to wait for a bay. When India’s civil aviation operations restarted in May 2020 after the first COVID-19 wave, it was a challenge to implement row-wise deplaning. While passengers largely followed the system in the initial days, even complying with mandatory mask-wearing became tough, until it was dropped completely. The future, however, could be different. Also Read | Time to refresh airline on-time performance metric for level playing field Airbus is introducing a solution to aid orderly and safe disembarking and avoid crowding of the aisles, among other things, as it seeks to sell more planes across the … [Read more...] about Flying colours: Future flights to have more orderly disembarking system

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin When a Chinese spy balloon was shot down off the coast of the Carolinas this afternoon, fighter jets deflated a diplomatic crisis. The balloon entered the continental United States on the eve of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s now-canceled visit to China. Despite China’s insistence that it was a civilian meteorological balloon, and expression of “regret,” the U.S. Departments of Defense and State quickly confirmed that it was a surveillance balloon and a violation of international law. China is undermining the rule-based international order—and doesn’t want to admit it. To reassure an anxious public and maintain the diplomatic high ground, the United States must emphasize how China is undermining the international legal order the United States seeks to protect. Nations have used balloons for intelligence and surveillance purposes since the 18 th century. They were a popular method for intelligence collection during … [Read more...] about The Chinese Spy Balloon Is Down. Now The Fallout Begins.

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline The suspected Chinese spy balloon was shot Saturday morning, after the Biden Administration gave the go-ahead to take it down after it floated over the Atlantic Ocean east of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, following calls from lawmakers to act urgently on the mysterious balloon. Key Facts U.S. Air Force fighter jets shot the balloon shortly after 2:30 p.m. Saturday, President Joe Biden confirmed , saying he ordered the Pentagon to shoot it down “as soon as possible” without causing damage to people on the ground. The shot was taken from an F-22 Raptor that departed from the Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, hitting the balloon with a missile six nautical miles off the coast of South Carolina, Reuters reported, citing a senior military official. White House officials had been considering a plan to shoot down the spy balloon as it passed over South Carolina and into federal waters, where it … [Read more...] about U.S. Shoots Down Suspected Chinese Spy Balloon Over Atlantic

(CTN News) – A week after it initially entered American airspace and set off a dramatic and public espionage story that deteriorated Sino-U.S. ties, a U.S. military fighter aircraft shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina. Although the Pentagon advised deflating the balloon over open sea to protect people from debris falling to Earth from thousands of feet (meters) above commercial air traffic, President Joe Biden claimed to have given the order to do so on Wednesday. Biden stated, “I want to commend our aviators who accomplished it. They successfully took it down.” One F-22 fighter plane from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia fired the shot at 2:39 p.m. (1939 GMT) with a lone AIM-9X supersonic, heat-seeking air-to-air missile, according to a senior U.S. military official. Multiple fighter and refueling aircraft were part of the operation. China vehemently denounced the military action on an airship that it said was utilized … [Read more...] about U.S. Military Shoots Down Suspected Chinese Spy Balloon