UK Holiday jet in near miss with UFO over London

Thomas Cook A320, with the registration G-KKAZ involved in UFO report over London. 

Credit: Telegraph

The captain of a Thomas Cook airliner flying tourists back from the Spanish holiday island to the north of England reported a "near miss" with a "rugby ball"-shaped UFO, which passed within feet of his jet.

The encounter, over Reading, Berks, was reported to the aviation authorities, who launched an investigation. But no earthly identity for the object could be established.

The encounter was disclosed earlier this month by the Telegraph, following the publication of a report into the inquiry. The document did not identify the aircraft involved.

However, following an analysis of flight data recorded on the internet, it was established that the jet was a Thomas Cook leased Boeing A320, with the flight number TCX24HX and the registration G-KKAZ, which was made in 2003.

The jet was flying to Manchester International airport, from Ibiza, on July 19th 2013. For years, the island has enjoyed a hedonistic reputation, attracting thousands of tourists each summer, many attracted to its vibrant nightlife.

The aircraft was flying at 516mph, at an altitude of 34,000ft, when it was passed by the UFO.

The encounter occurred in daylight, at around 6.35pm. It only emerged following publication of the report, which concluded it was “not possible to trace the object or determine the likely cause of the sighting”.

The captain said he spotted the object travelling towards the jet out of a left hand side, cockpit window, apparently heading directly for it. He said there was no time to for the aircrew to take evasive action.

He told investigators he was certain the object was going to crash into his aircraft and ducked as it headed towards him.

Weather Balloon

The incident was investigated by the UK Airprox Board, which studies “near misses” involving aircraft in British airspace.

The report states: “(The captain) was under the apprehension that they were on collision course with no time to react.

His immediate reaction was to duck to the right and reach over to alert the FO (First Officer); there was no time to talk to alert him.”

It adds: “The Captain was fully expecting to experience some kind of impact with a conflicting aircraft.”

He told investigators he believes the object passes “within a few feet” above the jet.

He described it as being “cigar/rugby ball like” in shape, bright silver and apparently “metallic” in construction.

Once it had passed, the captain checked the aircraft’s instruments and contacted air traffic controllers to report the incident. However, there was no sign of the mystery craft.

As part of the inquiry, data recordings were checked to establish what other aircraft were in the area at the time. However, all were eliminated.

Experimental Weather Balloon

The investigation also ruled out meteorological balloons, after checking none were released in the vicinity.

Toy balloons were also discounted, as they are not large enough to reach such heights. Military radar operators were contacted but were unable to trace the reported object.

The presence of other nations flying stealth aircraft missions over the UK and Europe is not uncommon but, as it was not possible to positively identify the object, the country of origin, and its intention, remain a mystery.

A spokesman for Thomas Cook Airlines said, “All our pilots are trained and required to report any unexpected events that occur during the flight to the aviation authorities.”

The UK Ministry of Defence closed its UFO desk in December 2009, along with its hotline for reporting such sightings.

Following that change, the UK Civil Aviation Authority took the decision that it would continue to look into such reports, from aircrew and air traffic controllers, because they could have implications for “flight safety”.

In 2012, the head of the UK National Air Traffic Control Services admitted staff detected around one unexplained flying object every month.

Turanor PlanetSolar: Largest solar boat arrives in London, England

The MS Turanor PlanetSolar is a scientific research platform for the University of Geneva and has been enjoying a great deal of interest from around the world during its groundbreaking mission to explore the intricacies of the Gulf Stream and other facets of our changing climate.

The innovative design of the craft means that it can generate up to 480kWh from over 800 solar panels and boasts a top speed of 14 knots. 

The vessel carries an array of different instruments, both inside and out, used for monitoring every facet of the climate during its voyage. 

Data gathered is still being processed, but it is hoped to shed further light on climatic changes going on around the world.

The dual-hull of the Turanor PlanetSolar is over 100 feet long and gets through the water after converting the sun's rays via two electric motors. 

A huge bank of lithium-ion batteries are enclosed in each of the hull sections.

The catamaran has enjoyed a high profile so far, having successfully completed its first trip around the world under solar power, between September 2010 and May 2012. 

The first time around, the Turanor PlanetSolar made it across the Atlantic in 26 days, a record-breaking time which it has since trimmed down to 22 days, gaining it an entry into the Guinness World record books.

Boeing 787 Dreamliner catches fire at Heathrow, London

An area in front of the tail area on the fuselage appeared to be scorched

Flights have resumed at London's Heathrow Airport after a fire on a parked Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner jet.

All runways were closed for nearly 90 minutes after the fire at 16:30 BST. No passengers were aboard the plane at the time, a Heathrow spokesman said.

Fifty Dreamliners worldwide were grounded in January after malfunctions with the plane's lithium-ion batteries.

Boeing modified the jets with new batteries and flights resumed in April.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch of the Department for Transport has despatched a team to the scene.

The Ethiopian Airlines Dreamliner in the Heathrow incident - named the Queen of Sheba - flew from Addis Ababa to Nairobi on the first commercial flight since the grounding.

Pictures of the Heathrow fire showed the Queen of Sheba close to a building and surrounded by fire vehicles. London Fire Brigade said its crews assisted Heathrow staff.

Fire-retardant foam appeared to have been sprayed at the airliner, and an area on top of the fuselage in front of the tail appeared to be scorched.

Ethiopian Airlines said smoke was detected from the aircraft after it had been parked at Heathrow for more than eight hours.

"The aircraft was parked on a remote parking stand and there were no passengers on board. Arrivals and departures were temporarily suspended while airport fire crews attended to this incident.

"This is a standard procedure if fire crews are occupied with an incident."

Heathrow reopened shortly before 18:00 BST but was advising passengers to check the status of their flights with the airlines.

Gatwick Airport said it experienced minor delays on departing flights as it assisted Heathrow with flights that were diverted.

Meanwhile, Thomson Airways said one of its Dreamliners travelling to Florida returned to Manchester Airport as a precautionary measure, not connected to the Heathrow fire.

Thomson, which became the first British carrier to operate the aircraft earlier this week, and is taking delivery of eight of the planes, said the plane had "experienced a technical issue".

British Airways is due to take delivery of the first two of its 24 Dreamliners.

Virgin Atlantic said it "remains committed" to taking on the first of its 16 Dreamliners in September 2014.

The British pilots' union Balpa said: "The Boeing 787 Dreamliner forms an important part of many of our airlines' future plans, and it is vital that the cause of this fire is established as quickly as possible.

"All parties in the industry need a full and transparent explanation as to what has been identified as the root causes in this series of events."

The battery problems followed production difficulties for the Dreamliner, marketed as a quiet, fuel-efficient aircraft carrying between 201 and 290 passengers on medium-range routes.

"Robotic Exoskeleton" on show in London's Science Museum

A "bionic man" costing one million dollars went on display on Tuesday at Britain's Science Museum, complete with artificial organs, synthetic blood and robot limbs.

Named Rex, which is short for "Robotic Exoskeleton", the six foot six inch (two metre) humanoid with its uncannily life-like face was assembled by leading roboticists for a television programme.

Although cheaper than the "Six Million Dollar Man" made famous by the cult 1970s television series starring Lee Majors, the technology is far advanced from the fictional bionics on show back then.

The creation includes key advances in prosthetic technology, as well as an artificial pancreas, kidney, spleen and trachea and a functional blood circulatory system.

Welcoming Rex to the museum in London on Tuesday was Swiss social psychologist Bertolt Meyer, who was himself born without a left hand and has a sophisticated bionic replacement.

"I've looked around for new bionic technologies, out of personal interest, for a very long time and I think that until five or six years ago nothing much was happening," Meyer said.

"Then suddenly we are now at a point where we can build a body that is great and beautiful in its own special way."

The museum exhibit, which opens to the public on Thursday, will explore changing perceptions of human identity against the background of rapid progress in bionics -- although Rex is not strictly bionic as he does not include living tissue.

Below is a lengthy YouTube video, recorded in Dublin, discussing the issues that surround Prosthetics.

Bertolt Meyer
One of the panel members is Bertolt Meyer, who was born with a congenitally missing lower left arm. He was fitted with his first prosthetic device when he was only three months old.

The passive device he was fitted with at the time bears little comparison to the cutting edge 'active' prosthetic device he wears today. He is one of the first users of Touch Bionics' i-LIMB Pulse.

Between the ages of 14 and 19, Bertolt wore a body powered "split hook" device, which was attached via a harness operated by the movement of his remaining arm.

Astronauts on the London Underground!

Mock astronauts take the Tube in London to launch The Lynx Space Academy competition to find one UK winner and 21 others from around the globe who will be sent to where only a few elite have gone before. 

Buzz Aldrin has launched a once-in-a-lifetime chance for an average Briton to blast into orbit. 

Aldrin, the astronaut and pilot of the historic Apollo 11 spacecraft which landed on the moon in 1969, said: Space travel for everyone is the next frontier in the human experience. 

Picture: James McCauley/Lynx Space Academy /PA

Jupiter and Venus in Conjunction over Oxford St., London

An image of Jupiter and Venus in Conjunction over Oxford St., London

Full Moon over London bridge

A plane passes the full moon as it rises beyond the Albert Bridge in London. Albert Bridge is said to be one of the most romantic bridges in London, and will be the start point for the flotilla of boats that will make their way along the River Thames as part of the English Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebration.

The Black Death: DNA extracts of the plague bug Yersinia pestis

These are skeletons of victims of the Black Death from East Smithfield, London.

Scientists have extracted fragments of bubonic plague DNA from their teeth.

Fragments of 700-year-old DNA from the bug responsible for the Black Death have been pulled from the teeth of four plague victims buried in east London.

Scientists used the degraded strands to reconstruct the entire genetic code of the deadly bacterium. It is the first time experts have succeeded in drafting the genome of an ancient pathogen, or disease-causing agent.

The researchers found that a specific strain of the plague bug Yersinia pestis caused the pandemic that killed 100 million Europeans - between 30% and 50% of the total population - in just five years between 1347 and 1351.

Picture: Museum of London Archaeology /PA

"This is the first time a human pathogen more than a century old has ever been fully sequenced," says Johannes Krause at the University of Tübingen, Germany. 

The teams used DNA from modern Yersinia in an array that bound to similar DNA in victims' teeth. That DNA carried telltale chemical changes showing it was indeed ancient plague. Differences reported earlier between it and modern Yersinia were not confirmed.

The sequence also shows the ancient bacteria started infecting humans at the right time, between 1240 and 1340, just before the disease exploded (Nature, DOI: 10.1038/nature10549).

Yersinia has for some time been the prime suspect because some of its symptoms are similar to the Black Death. But questions were raised because modern Yersinia is a slow-spreading, rat-borne disease that is very different from the Black Death. 

Its DNA doesn't explain why. "There are almost no genetic differences between the ancient and modern Yersinia," says Krause.

He speculates that the Black Death behaved differently from modern Yersinia infection due to Europeans' total lack of previous exposure. 

Another possibility is co-infection with other pathogens, a so-called syndemic. The team hopes to learn more about the evolution of human disease by probing plague pits and other ancient samples for different pathogens.

London, Brussels and Amsterdam from Space

London – Brussels – Antwerp – Rotterdam – Amsterdam and seemingly countless towns and villages sing out on this peaceful night.

A nightscape that reveals familiar coastlines, prominent ports, and metropolitan areas.

The UK can see how much of the population is congregated around London and the South of UK.

They can also see the high energy useage in these areas.

Jetpacks fly in London

A man takes to the skies of London in Trafalgar Square with a jetpack to celebrate the launch of the game Halo: Reach

Manila's Recycled Smokey Mountain Trash is Haut Couture for London

This undated handout combo photo released on December 1, 2009 by the Philippine Christian Foundation (PCF) in Manila shows models wearing necklaces made from recycled magazine pages.

The Manila-based charity which provides education and livelihood to families living off Manila's infamous Smokey Mountain dump has been turning rubbish into fashing items that are proving a hit in London shops. Photo courtesy AFP.

At a warehouse near Manila's infamous Smokey Mountain dump, slum-dwellers working for a British-led charity are turning rubbish into fashion items that are proving a hit in top-end London shops.
Under a dim fluorescent lamp, amid the constant humming of sewing machines, about 20 women cut pieces of cloth and other materials found amid the garbage to make teddy bears.

Others are busy putting finishing touches to handbags and purses made from discarded toothpaste tubes, while glossy magazines are turned into colourful bracelets.

"This bag costs about 100 pounds sterling (165 dollars) or more in London," said Jane Walker, a former publishing executive from Southampton who gave up her lavish lifestyle in 1996 to set up the Philippine Christian Foundation in Manila after seeing the plight of the poor here.

Walker said about 200 bags were currently being shipped to boutiques in London, and the foundation was unable to meet demand.

"I had to turn down three shops in London ordering our products because we keep running out."

Walker said a deal to supply a major luxury chain was also in the works, while negotiations were underway with an American firm to produce shoes and slippers using discarded car tyres.

Known in the local press as Manila's "angel of the dumps" for her work among the scavengers of Smokey Mountain, the 45-year-old single mother's tireless efforts have helped entire families rise above crushing poverty.

Last year, she was made a Member of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in honour of her work.

Relying mainly on corporate donations, the non-profit foundation provides livelihood projects, health services and free education to children of families living on the dumpsite.