Tim Keating Joins AMD as Senior Vice President, Government Relations and Regulatory AffairsIowa QB Cade McNamara slams 'ridiculous' rumorsBOONE, N.C. (AP) — South Carolina offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains has been hired as head coach at Appalachian State and will receive a five-year contract, athletic director Doug Gillin announced Saturday. The 44-year-old Loggains replaces Shawn Clark, who was fired Monday after the Mountaineers finished 5-6 for their first losing season since 2013. Loggains was South Carolina's offensive coordinator for two seasons and an assistant at Arkansas, his alma mater, for two seasons before that. He spent 16 years in the NFL as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Tennessee, Cleveland, Chicago, Miami and the New York Jets. “He brings experience as a leader and play-caller at the highest levels of professional and college football," Gillin said. "He is a great recruiter and believes strongly in building relationships. He is aligned with our core values of academic integrity, competitive excellence, social responsibility and world-class experience. This is a great day for App State.” Loggains' offense at South Carolina featured LaNorris Sellers, one of the nation's top dual-threat quarterbacks, and running back Raheim “Rocket” Sanders. Sellers and Sanders led the Southeastern Conference's third-ranked rushing offense. Loggains spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons as Arkansas' tight ends coach, and he worked with Sam Darnold, Jay Cutler, Mitchell Trubisky, Brian Hoyer and Vince Young during his time in the NFL. The Mountaineers, the preseason favorites in the Sun Belt Conference's East Division, tied for fifth with a 3-5 record in league play. App State was 40-24 under Clark, but the Mountaineers have failed to reach a bowl game two of the past three seasons. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
Next Hydrogen Solutions Inc Announces Closing of Private Placement of Unsecured Convertible Debentures MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, Dec. 13, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Next Hydrogen Solutions Inc. (TSXV: NXH, OTC: NXHSF) (“ ” or the “ ”), announced today that it has completed a closing of its previously announced offering (the “ ”), on a private placement basis, of 10% unsecured convertible debentures of the Company (the “ “). Pursuant to the Offering, the Company has issued and sold 2,725 Debentures for aggregate gross proceeds to the Company of C$2,725,000. , President & CEO, said : “This offering coupled with (1) $4.8M in approved government grants and $1.7M in advanced discussions and (2) up to $5M working capital debt financing Letter of Interest from EDC provides us with good visibility to meet our capital requirements for 2025. In addition, we are in advanced strategic discussions which include technology licensing opportunities in attractive geographies which have the potential to capitalize us for 2026 and beyond.” The Debentures shall mature on the earlier of the following to occur: (i) 24 months from the date of issuance; (ii) on (x) a sale, merger, arrangement, amalgamation, business combination, or other transaction or series of transactions which results in a person other than the shareholders of the Company immediately prior to such transaction holding more than 50% of the votes attributable to the shares of the surviving issuer or acquiring corporation; or (y) the sale, lease, transfer, exclusive license, or other disposition of all of substantially all of the assets of the Company, unless such sale, lease, transfer, license or disposition is to a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company; or (iii) on any demand for payment as a result of an event of default under the terms of the Debenture. The Debentures shall bear interest at a rate of 10.0% per annum from the date of issue, calculated and paid in cash on a semi-annual basis. The holders of the Debentures may elect to convert the principal and all accrued, but unpaid interest under the Debenture into that amount of common shares of the Company (“ ”), computed on the basis of the outstanding principal and all accrued, but unpaid interest under the Debenture divided by the conversion price, which shall mean: (i) in respect of the principal amount of the Debenture outstanding, $1.00 per Common Share; and (ii) in respect of any interest accrued but unpaid thereon, $1.00 per Common Share or the last closing price of the Common Shares listed for trading on the TSX Venture Exchange (the “ ”) before the date of conversion, whichever is greater. Any conversion of interest accrued but unpaid thereon into Common Shares will be subject to the prior approval of the TSXV. Mr. MacKenzie, a control person and director of the Company, has subscribed for $500,000 principal amount of Debentures in the Offering. Mr. Guglielmin, a director and an insider of the Company, has subscribed for $50,000 principal amount of Debentures in the Offering. The Company has relied on the exemptions from the valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 – (“ ”) contained in sections 5.5(b) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101 in respect of such insider participation. The proceeds of the Offering will be used for working capital and for general corporate purposes. The Company has not paid any finder’s fees in connection with the Offering. The completion of the Offering remains subject to the final approval of the TSXV. All securities issued pursuant to the Offering are subject to a statutory four month hold period from their date of issuance. None of the securities issued in connection with the Offering will be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “ ”), and none of them may be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the 1933 Act. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any state where such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful. the latest news shaping the hydrogen market at Next Hydrogen Solutions Inc Announces Closing of Private Placement of Unsecured Convertible Debentures, Everfuel and Karlstads Energi gets funding notification for potential project in Sweden Herning, Denmark, 13 December 2024 – Everfuel A/S’ is pleased to announce that its subsidiary Everfuel Production Karlstad AB... Charbone Hydrogen secures warrant proceeds, extends expiry dates, and grants stock options Charbone Hydrogen Corporation (TSX-V:CH, OTCQB:CHHYF) announced $371,150 from warrant exercises expiring in late 2024 and early... AI platform accelerating approval procedures for hydrogen projects Hydrogen centre Hamburg developing a digital infrastructure for planning and approval The Ministry of Urban Development and Housing is working on an AI...Court challenge over vote to extend post-Brexit trading arrangements dismissed
Julián Zucchi’s mother apologizes and regrets statements against Yiddá Eslava: “I lost my cool, sorry” | ShowsBaidu’s robotaxi division, , just rolled out its latest robotaxi across multiple cities in China, and if stakeholders in the US aren’t nervous yet, they should be. The RT6 is the sixth generation of Apollo Go’s driverless vehicle, which made its official debut in May 2024. It’s a purpose-built, Level 4 autonomous vehicle, meaning it’s built without the need for a human driver. And here’s the thing that should make US competitors nervous: adopting a battery-swapping solution, the price for one individual RT6 is “under $30,000,” Baidu CEO Robin Li said in . “All the strengths just mentioned above are driving us forward, paving the way to validate our business model,” Li added. Adopting a battery-swapping solution, the price for one individual RT6 is “under $30,000” With Alphabet’s Waymo operating in multiple cities in the US and Baidu deploying hundreds of vehicles in China, the world is now getting its first taste of an autonomous future. These vehicles are geofenced, meaning they can only operate in a select geographic area. And sure, they occasionally get confused or block traffic. But they’re real, and they’re growing in number. But it’s Baidu’s achievements in cost-effectiveness that should have Waymo and other robotaxi operators a little uncomfortable. Because while the technology is growing more mature, the economics of a robotaxi business are still very much unproven. We still don’t know the net effect of Baidu’s cost improvements. But bringing down the upfront cost of each individual vehicle to below $30,000 will go a long way toward improving the company’s unit economics, in which each vehicle brings in more money than it costs. There are still a lot of outstanding costs to consider, such as hardware depreciation and fleet maintenance, but from what Baidu is signaling, things are on the right track. From the looks of it, the company is passing those savings along to its customers. Base fares start as low as 4 yuan (around 55 cents), compared with 18 yuan (around $2.48) for a taxi driven by a human, according to . Apollo Go said it has provided 988,000 rides across all of China in Q3 2024 — a year-over-year growth of 20 percent. And cumulative public rides reached 8 million in October. With Waymo, we just don’t know. The company has spoken publicly about its efforts to reduce the costs of each vehicle by . But its latest vehicle, Geely’s Zeekr, is on imports from China. found the company’s business in San Francisco to be profitable, while also estimating capital expenditures for the vehicle and sensor suite to be north of $150,000 per unit. Lowering costs is going to be increasingly important for robotaxi companies as they look to expand to new cities. Alphabet doesn’t break out Waymo’s costs in its earnings report, but its “Other Bets” unit, which includes the robotaxi company, brought in $388 million in revenue in the , up from $297 million a year ago. But the unit’s losses held flat at $1.12 billion compared to $1.94 billion in the year-earlier period. Alphabet recently led for Waymo to help it cover costs as it eyes its next phase of growth. We know the technology works, but for driverless cars to have a real chance, we need to see evidence that it can make money, too. /
Jimmy Carter, the 39th U.S. president, has died at 100BRIAN Cox has said he will “try to spend as much time here” in the UK as he can following the results of the US presidential election. The Succession star , 78, has been outspoken about his views on President-elect Donald Trump , and called him a “monster” while he was a guest on Channel 4’s live coverage of the US election last month. 2 Brian Cox told of how Trump's election win made him realise "people are stupid" Credit: Splash 2 Donald Trump won a crushing victory over Kamala Harris on November 6 Credit: Getty Asked if the result has made him lose faith in people, he told the Guardian: “No, it doesn’t make me lose faith in people. It just makes me realise people are stupid. “We’re in for a pretty rough old four years coming up.” Speaking about whether he will stay in the US, he said: “I don’t know. I’ve got to because my sons are there. But I’ll try to spend as much time here (UK) as I can.” Mr Trump , 78, will take office on Inauguration Day on January 20 2025. READ MORE ON THE SCOTTISH SUN TWISTED BULLY Fiend was 'slowly killing' autistic lad, aged 15, in 'cruel' abuse campaign 'vicious circle' I live in Scotland's benefits hotspot -I've only worked 4 years of my life Cox, who grew up in a deprived area of Dundee , also reflected on his time at drama school in London . He added: “The 60s were amazing. It was the time of social mobility, when you were welcomed. “When I came to drama school, people made it obvious they were happy that I was there. I felt so liberated. “London to me has always represented freedom. Most read in The Scottish Sun TELLY TRAGEDY The Scheme star dies aged 61 as tributes pour in for 'lovely man' HEALTH UPDATE West Ham issues major update after star involved in horror crash HORROR BLAZE Huge fire erupts at Scots industrial estate as emergency crews race to scene FERRY WINDY Ferry stranded amid Storm Darragh as passengers stuck on ship for 12 hours “I loved the sense that I was allowed to be who I was and celebrated for coming from my class.” Asked if he would have a chance of making it nowadays, with his background, he said: “No, I wouldn’t. The conditions are so different now.” Professor Brian Cox delights fans as he reunites with old bandmates for iconic Glastonbury performance Cox voices Helm in the new anime Lord Of The Rings film The War Of The Rohirrim, and will star in the play The Score at Theatre Royal Haymarket, London , from February. We previously told of how Hollywood A-listers took over a tiny Scottish village for Cox's directorial debut in the new drama Glenrothan. Set in a fictional distillery town of the same name, Glenrothan follows two estranged brothers who are brought back together in an attempt to save their family's distillery. The project was first announced in 2021, and was developed by UK production company Nevision and Lionsgate.
OpenAI whistleblower found dead in San Francisco apartment
Physical activities promote cardiovascular health: Dr Sharma37 Lavish-Feeling Products Under $15 To Pamper Yourself With
Social media users are misrepresenting a report released Thursday by the Justice Department inspector general's office, falsely claiming that it's proof the FBI orchestrated the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. The watchdog report examined a number of areas, including whether major intelligence failures preceded the riot and whether the FBI in some way provoked the violence. Claims spreading online focus on the report's finding that 26 FBI informants were in Washington for election-related protests on Jan. 6, including three who had been tasked with traveling to the city to report on others who were potentially planning to attend the events. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.
Iowa QB Cade McNamara slams 'ridiculous' rumors
Cong to bank on winners, loyalistsLITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Voters dejected by the presidential election results need to find a way to give back and remain involved, Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton said Saturday as they celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Clinton presidential library. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Voters dejected by the presidential election results need to find a way to give back and remain involved, Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton said Saturday as they celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Clinton presidential library. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Voters dejected by the presidential election results need to find a way to give back and remain involved, Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton said Saturday as they celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Clinton presidential library. The former president urged audience members in a packed theater to remain engaged and find ways to communicate with those they disagree with despite a divisive political time. The two spoke about a month after former President Donald Trump’s win over Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential election. “We’re just passing through, and we all need to just calm down and do something that builds people up instead of tears them down,” Bill Clinton said. Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state who was defeated by Trump in the 2016 election, said she understands the next couple of years are going to be challenging for voters who don’t agree with the decisions being made. “In addition to staying involved and staying aware, it’s important to find something that makes you feel good about the day because if you’re in a constant state of agitation about our political situation, it is really going to shorten your life,” she said. The Clintons spoke during a panel discussion with journalist Laura Ling, who the former president helped free in 2009 when she was detained in North Korea with another journalist. The event was held as part of a weekend of activities marking the 20th anniversary of the Clinton Presidential Library’s opening in Little Rock. The library is preparing to undergo an update of its exhibits and an expansion that will include Hillary Clinton’s personal archives. Hillary Clinton said part of the goal is to modernize the facility and expand it to make it a more open, inviting place for people for convene and make connections. When asked about advice he would give for people disappointed by the election results, Bill Clinton said people need to continue working toward bringing people together and improving others’ lives. “If that’s the way you keep score, then you ought to be trying to run up the score,” he said. “Not lamenting the fact that somebody else is winning a different game because they keep score a different way.” “And in addition, figure out what we can do to win again,” Hillary Clinton added, eliciting cheers. The program featured a panel discussion with cast members of the hit NBC show “The West Wing” and former Clinton White House staffers. The weekend amounted to a reunion of former Clinton White House staffers, supporters and close friends, including former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and adviser James Carville. McAuliffe said he and Carville ate Friday at Doe’s Eat Place, a downtown restaurant that was popular with Clinton aides and reporters during Clinton’s 1992 White House run. He said he viewed the library and its planned expansion as important for the future. “This is not only about the past, but it’s more importantly about the future,” McAuliffe said. “We just went through a very tough election, and people are all saying we’ve got to get back to the Clinton model.” Advertisement
Single-Serve Packaging Market: Trends, Scope, and Growth Drivers in a Consumer-Centric Era 2028 11-22-2024 09:11 PM CET | Business, Economy, Finances, Banking & Insurance Press release from: Data Bridge Market Research Single-Serve Packaging Market The global single-serve packaging market has emerged as a key player in the packaging industry, driven by changing consumer preferences, advancements in technology, and the demand for convenience. This article delves into an overview of the market, its scope, prevailing trends, and the factors influencing its growth. Browse More About This Research Report @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-single-serve-packaging-market Overview Single-serve packaging refers to packaging designed for single-use or single-portion consumption. These packages cater to various industries, including food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and personal care. The concept gained traction due to its ability to enhance convenience, reduce waste, and cater to the on-the-go lifestyle of modern consumers. With rising urbanization and busy schedules, consumers increasingly prefer products that align with their fast-paced lifestyles. Single-serve packaging has addressed this demand by offering compact, portable, and easily disposable solutions. Moreover, single-serve packaging is not limited to any particular demographic. It appeals to young professionals, parents managing portion sizes for children, and even older adults seeking simplicity. This versatility has solidified its position in the market and expanded its applications across different sectors. Scope The single-serve packaging market encompasses a wide range of products and materials. Its applications span various industries: Food and Beverages: Includes single-serving pouches for snacks, beverages, coffee pods, and ready-to-eat meals. These products cater to consumers looking for convenience and portion control. Pharmaceuticals: Single-dose blister packs and sachets of medicines ensure precise dosing and hygiene. Cosmetics and Personal Care: Small-sized packs for skincare products, haircare, and cosmetics cater to the needs of travelers and individuals testing products. Household Products: Cleaning agents and detergents are increasingly available in single-use pods, ensuring ease of use and safety. The market is also segmented based on materials such as plastic, paper, aluminum, and glass. Plastics dominate due to their lightweight nature, durability, and cost-effectiveness. However, there is growing interest in biodegradable and recyclable materials to address environmental concerns. Geographically, the market exhibits diverse growth patterns. North America and Europe lead in terms of innovation and adoption, while Asia-Pacific and Latin America are witnessing significant growth due to urbanization and rising disposable incomes. Market Trends The single-serve packaging market is shaped by several prominent trends that reflect consumer preferences and industry innovation: Sustainability Focus: With increasing awareness of environmental issues, consumers and manufacturers are prioritizing eco-friendly packaging solutions. Companies are investing in biodegradable materials, recyclable plastics, and reduced packaging waste to align with sustainability goals. Technological Advancements: Innovations in packaging technology have improved the functionality and appeal of single-serve packaging. Features such as resealable closures, tamper-evident designs, and smart packaging with QR codes for product information enhance user experience. Customization and Personalization: Brands are leveraging single-serve packaging for personalized marketing. Customized designs, limited-edition packaging, and unique product formats create a connection with consumers and drive sales. Health and Wellness: The growing focus on health-conscious consumption has led to an increased demand for portion-controlled packaging. Single-serve options help consumers manage calorie intake and portion sizes, particularly in the food and beverage sector. E-Commerce Growth: The rise of online shopping has influenced packaging design. Single-serve packages are increasingly optimized for shipping, ensuring product safety and minimizing shipping costs. Factors Driving the Market Several factors contribute to the robust growth of the single-serve packaging market: Changing Consumer Lifestyles: Urbanization, longer working hours, and the need for convenience drive the demand for single-serve solutions. These packages cater to on-the-go consumption and simplify meal preparation and storage. Rising Disposable Income: In developing regions, increased disposable income enables consumers to spend more on convenience-oriented products, boosting the adoption of single-serve packaging. Portion Control and Waste Reduction: Single-serve packaging minimizes food wastage by offering precise portions, which appeals to consumers conscious of sustainability and cost savings. Innovations in Packaging Materials: Advancements in materials science have led to the development of lightweight, durable, and environmentally friendly packaging materials. These innovations align with consumer demand for sustainability. Regulatory Support: Governments and regulatory bodies are promoting sustainable packaging practices through incentives and guidelines, encouraging manufacturers to adopt eco-friendly solutions in single-serve formats. Expanding Product Categories: The versatility of single-serve packaging has enabled its adoption across diverse product categories, from beverages to pharmaceuticals, increasing its market reach. Globalization of Retail: The expansion of global retail chains and the proliferation of convenience stores provide significant opportunities for single-serve packaged products to reach a broader audience. Challenges While the single-serve packaging market shows immense potential, it faces certain challenges. The environmental impact of single-use plastics is a major concern, prompting stricter regulations and consumer scrutiny. Additionally, the cost of transitioning to sustainable materials can be a barrier for small and medium-sized manufacturers. Addressing these challenges requires collaboration across the value chain to develop innovative and cost-effective solutions. Conclusion The single-serve packaging market continues to thrive, driven by consumer demand for convenience, portion control, and sustainability. Its broad scope across industries and regions, coupled with technological advancements and innovative materials, ensures its relevance in the evolving global market. By addressing environmental concerns and embracing sustainable practices, the industry can unlock further growth opportunities and cement its role as a critical component of modern consumer lifestyles. Browse Trending Reports: https://newsasdbmr.blogspot.com/2024/11/infrared-imaging-market-size-share_22.html https://newsasdbmr.blogspot.com/2024/11/cereals-and-grains-processing-market_22.html https://newsasdbmr.blogspot.com/2024/11/hemodialysis-and-peritoneal-dialysis_22.html https://newsasdbmr.blogspot.com/2024/11/coal-to-liquid-market-size-share-trends_22.html About Data Bridge Market Research: An absolute way to predict what the future holds is to understand the current trend! Data Bridge Market Research presented itself as an unconventional and neoteric market research and consulting firm with an unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are committed to uncovering the best market opportunities and nurturing effective information for your business to thrive in the marketplace. Data Bridge strives to provide appropriate solutions to complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process. Data Bridge is a set of pure wisdom and experience that was formulated and framed in 2015 in Pune. Data Bridge Market Research has more than 500 analysts working in different industries. We have served more than 40% of the Fortune 500 companies globally and have a network of more than 5,000 clients worldwide. Data Bridge is an expert in creating satisfied customers who trust our services and trust our hard work with certainty. We are pleased with our glorious 99.9% customer satisfaction rating. Contact Us: - Data Bridge Market Research US: +1 888 387 2818 United Kingdom: +44 208 089 1725 Hong Kong: +852 8192 7475 Email: - sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.com This release was published on openPR.
Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. A sunny day, 29 degrees, a gentle north-westerly breeze: flying conditions were near perfect as Qantas flight 520 began rolling down the runway at Sydney Airport en route to Brisbane. This particular plane, a Boeing 737-800, had been delivered new to the national carrier in November 2005 and given the tail number VH-VYH. A dependable workhorse, it had scooted up and down Australia’s east coast, mostly, for 19 years without notable incident. On this day, November 8, 2024, the Boeing had already made three trips, the first a breakfast run out of Sydney just before 7am. It was now setting off for the return leg to Brisbane. QF520 left the gate around 12.15pm and taxied to its slot in the take-off line-up, from where it was given the go-ahead. Its pilots hit the gas and the engines bellowed. It soon reached 200km/h and passed what aviators call “V1”: the point at which a plane is travelling too quickly to safely abort take-off. Exactly what happened next is now in the hands of safety investigators. What we do know is that, as the 737 was still gathering speed down the runway, one of its two engines suddenly destroyed itself . It failed, spitting fragments of superheated metal out of its exhaust chute, which shot to the ground, sparking a grassfire that soon made TV news. Some 40 per cent of air travellers report some fear of flying. Yet air travel is by far the safest form of transport, we’re often told. It’s heavily regulated, constantly scrutinised and, in Australia, operated and overseen by thousands of highly trained and dedicated professionals. The statistics confirm it. Australia’s safety record for commercial travel is exemplary: no large jet has ever been lost here. Our oldest airline, Qantas, regularly tops world safety rankings . Yet incidents still happen. Planes bump into each other on the ground. Tyres burst. Turbulence flings people around. Why do things still go wrong, albeit occasionally? Who is responsible for keeping us safe in the air? And what happens when that rarest of event occurs: one of your two engines goes “pop”? The cockpit front windows of a 747 jet. Credit: Getty Images, digitally tinted Who keeps us safe in the air? Flores, a tropical island about an hour’s flight east of Bali, is best known for three things: clear-water scuba diving, komodo dragons that can weigh more than 100 kilograms, and volcanoes, some picturesque and dormant, others not so much. In early November, Lewotobi Laki-laki began erupting in earnest, endangering nearby villages and sending a plume of ash 10 kilometres into the air. Some 4000 kilometres south, at the Qantas Integrated Operations Centre near Sydney Airport, concern began to build. Famously, all four engines on a British Airways 747 failed after passing through a sulphurous volcanic cloud high above Java in 1982; only after the crew had prepared to ditch in the ocean did the turbofans clear of debris and miraculously restart. Partly as a consequence, when the unpronounceable Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull erupted in 2010, airspace was closed across Europe , which led to some 95,000 flights cancelled and millions of passengers stranded. As the Flores ash cloud drifted west towards Bali, the Qantas team declared the situation critical and began cancelling flights into Denpasar for both Qantas and its subsidiary Jetstar. On the day we visit the operations centre, the crisis management team is about to meet in its purpose-built war room to gauge when flights might be allowed to resume. “It’s about determining when it’s going to be safe for us to operate,” says Qantas’s head of safety, Mark Cameron, a former British Airways pilot who knew the 747 crew who survived the volcano in 1982. “Engines do not like breathing in volcanic ash.” Mark Cameron, Qantas’s head of safety, in the airline’s operations centre in Mascot, Sydney. Credit: Louise Kennerly, digitally tinted Hundreds of Qantas staff, meanwhile, seated in pods in a vast room at head office, are still scrambling to reschedule flights, alert and mollify annoyed passengers while also dealing with the normal workings of some 100 international and 300 domestic flights on a typical day. For what we’re told is an extraordinarily busy day, though, the atmosphere is hushed and calm: a giant jigsaw puzzle being completed then restarted as mini-crises are discovered and mitigated. Jetstar was doing the same at its operations centre in Melbourne. The business of air travel is mind-bogglingly complex. But so, too, are the systems underpinning it. They allow it to operate extremely safely, especially compared to any other form of transport. ‘You can’t eliminate risk in any part of your daily life, but our role is to manage the risk to a level at which we’re comfortable that everybody’s going to be safe.’ Back in 1944, as World War II saw a flurry of new airports being built, 54 nations including Australia sent delegates to Chicago for a convention that laid the groundwork for international air safety standards. They agreed to create an overarching authority, today called the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), under the auspices of the United Nations to set world standards for airworthiness and maintenance, and airport and airline operations, among other areas. “The aviation industry has an incredibly good safety record,” says Ron Bartsch, an aviation safety expert and founder of Avlaw aviation consulting. “The main reason for that is it’s so strictly and extensively regulated.” For 2023, ICAO reported the accident rate (such as incidents involving death, injury, aircraft damaged or missing) for commercial aircraft was 1.87 accidents per million departures. To break this down: of 35,250,759 departures, there were 66 accidents, all but one of them non-fatal, the exception a twin-engine propeller aircraft operated by Yeti Airlines that crashed while coming into land at Pokhara in the Himalayas, killing 72 people on board. The Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) regulates the ongoing airworthiness of aircraft by ensuring airlines adhere to safety standards and a strict maintenance program.Regular maintenance is based on the number of hours the aircraft has flown, or how much time has passed since the last check – different parts require different “periodicity” for being serviced. Engineers could do anything from checking fluids after every flight to replacing wheelpads after a few flights to inspecting or replacing any one of thousands of parts after a specified time. “What it allows us to do,” says Qantas’s Mark Cameron, “is to be really proactive in how we’re managing risk – because, effectively, that’s what airlines do, we manage risk. We can’t eliminate it because you can’t eliminate risk in any part of your daily life, but our role is to manage the risk to a level at which we’re comfortable that everybody’s going to be safe.” This image from Flightradar in October shows flights routed out of airspace over Iran when Tehran launched missile attacks on Israel. Credit: FlightRadar24.com At Qantas HQ, various teams plan virtually every aspect of each flight: checking the weather; working out the best route (from several options if flying overseas, including avoiding volcanic eruptions or geopolitical hazards such as closed airspace in the Middle East, which Qantas has been navigating since early August); making sure cargo is loaded correctly so the plane is balanced; identifying dangerous goods on board; and screening for troublesome passengers on the banned “no fly” list ... and on it goes. With all that in place, the pilots run pre-flight checks, going over the weather briefing, for example, and any notes on potential dangers. The airline tells pilots how much fuel they need, but the pilot can choose to take more, depending on the possibility of a weather diversion or other delays. The pilot physically walks around the aircraft on the ground to triple-check there are no obvious faults. An engineer will have already signed a certificate of release to service – a legal declaration that the aircraft is fit to fly – before every international flight and at least daily for domestic flights, which the pilot clocks, along with a log of maintenance, before they accept the aircraft for flight. Air-traffic controller Alexander Palmer in the tower at Melbourne Airport. Credit: Airservices Australia, digitally tinted The pilot’s next contact is with air-traffic controllers, who clear planes for departure according to strict rules that determine “how many aircraft we can have taking off and landing at any one time,” says Airservices Australia’s Michelle Petersen, who is responsible for the towers at all of Australia’s major airports. Controllers also factor in “wake turbulence”, the disruption to the air that a plane leaves in its wake; there needs to be a gap of three minutes between an A380 taking off and a Boeing 737 following it, for example. All over the world, controllers and pilots speak English and use regulated unambiguous terms: “Qantas one, runway 19 left, cleared for take-off.” Pilots always repeat back the message. “There cannot be any assumptions in the air and we embed safety in everything we do,” says Petersen. The most deadly air disaster in history, which killed 583 people in Tenerife in the Canary Islands in 1977, was blamed, at least in part, on a communication breakdown: two 747s collided on the runway in heavy fog after one tried to take off following a command from air-traffic control that pilots mistook to be an all-clear to depart. The wreckage of a jet after a catastrophic collision with another jet on the runway in Tenerife in 1977. Credit: Getty Images How did plane safety develop? In the Ancient Greek fable, Icarus was warned by a fledgling aviation regulator (his dad) not to swoop too close to the sea lest his wings, fashioned from feathers and wax, become waterlogged; nor should he fly too close to the sun in case the wax melted. In other words, the operational envelope of his equipment was well understood and his fate (a fatal wax-feather-decoupling incident) was quite rightly chalked up to pilot error. Next came 747 ‘jumbos’ – some famously featuring a spiral staircase to an upstairs lounge bar. Today, aviators talk of jet planes in generations. “Generation one” had panels of dials and gauges and rudimentary autopilots, if any. Think: cars with no airbags or anti-lock braking and possibly alarming handling characteristics, such as the world’s first commercial jet airliner, BOAC’s de Havilland Comet. One, flying from Singapore to London via Bangkok, Rangoon, Calcutta, Karachi, Bahrain, Beirut and Rome in 1954 disintegrated midair, as did two of its sister planes, thanks to structural issues; 23 other Comets, out of 114 in total including prototypes, were lost due to pilot error, design faults and other mishaps. Next came the beginnings of truly modern jets, including the pretty reliable 747 “jumbos” – some famously featuring a spiral staircase to an upstairs lounge bar – and the first of the Boeing 737s, launched in 1968 and still one of the most-operated airliners today. These had better automatic systems but could still make you think twice about getting on board: the McDonnell Douglas DC-10, in particular, gained a terrible reputation in the 1970s thanks to engine failures and a series of hijackings. A “generation one” jet, a 1949 prototype of the de Havilland Comet turbojet airliner, built in Hertfordshire in Britain. Credit: Getty Images, digitally tinted “Generation three” planes saw the introduction of technology such as “terrain avoidance systems”, leading to a rapid reduction in losses that continues today in “generation four” planes, which can “see” all around themselves to take evasive action if something nearby is judged to be on a collision course. Airbus tells us its latest safety systems use real-time data to avoid runway excursions and reduce the risk of landing incidents (“in case the aircraft is too fast, too high or lands too long, an alert will be triggered to advise the crew to perform a go-around or use the maximum reverse and brakes”). Martinis and beer in the first-class upper deck lounge in a Qantas Boeing 747 in 1971. Credit: Courtesy Qantas, digitally tinted Says Qantas’s Mark Cameron: “If you look at the accident rates throughout that period of time, you just see them plummet across the generations.” Last year was the first to record zero fatalities from commercial jet crashes, despite there being more than 29,000 in service worldwide, according to Boeing’s statistical summary that dates back to 1959. (This excludes turboprop, or propeller, passenger planes such as those operated by Yeti Airlines in Nepal and the ATR-72-500 that crashed over Brazil in August 2024 after stalling and entering a flat spin.) The age of a plane, meanwhile, says little about how well-maintained it is. “Don’t get confused with cosmetic looks,” says David Evans, a former Qantas pilot of 35 years. “If you walk into an aircraft that looks a bit shabby, the carpet might be a bit threadbare, that has no relationship to its airworthiness.” An example of “generation four”, a Qantas Dreamliner in 2018. Credit: Qantas, digitally tinted “Generation four” planes have a huge number of backups, or redundancies. Those with two engines, such as Boeing 737s, can fly on one. They have multiple alternative power sources. “The A380 had about six different backup systems for wheel brakes. If you’re running out of brakes, you’re having a really bad day,” says Evans. “All of these things have been based around previous incidents ... over the 100-odd years of aviation. There are risks every time you go flying, but we mitigate them by ... checklists, briefings, plan A, B and C. You’re trying to eliminate surprise.” There are also at least two pilots on a flight deck at all times, one free to monitor the autopilot while the other scrutinises variables such as fuel consumption and weather. Having said this, airlines and regulators from more than 40 countries have pushed ICAO to help make single-pilot flights safe; the European Union Aviation Safety Agency says such services could start in 2027. Ron Bartsch doesn’t back such a change. “You need someone who can take the place of the pilot if they have a heart attack or something.” Evans has written in this masthead before that it is an alarming idea, noting that pilots are “the last line of defence”. Boeing 737 Max planes parked in Seattle in 2020 after 20 months of grounding following two deadly crashes. Credit: Getty Images, digitally tinted What happened with the ‘Max’ planes? Once in a while, a defect can slip through what the industry calls the “Swiss cheese” safety model. Visualise a packet of Swiss cheese slices, each with holes in different places. For an error to creep through, a hole would have to line up in every slice of cheese. Boeing’s new-ish 737 Max aircraft was delivered to airlines with a fatal flaw: a problem that had managed to pass through every slice of cheese. First, a system that prevented the planes from stalling malfunctioned: perceiving that the planes were climbing too steeply when they were not, it automatically, and repeatedly, forced down the nose. This could, potentially, have been overridden by pilots, had they been trained to recognise the problem – but they had not. As a result, two Max 8 737s crashed – one in Indonesia in October 2018, another in Ethiopia in March 2019 – with the loss of a total of 346 lives. ‘Boeing is still paying the price for the damage to their brand. It’s got a fair way before it regains industry trust.’ It later emerged that Boeing had cut corners by updating its now decades-old 737s to the longer, more powerful Max rather than building an entirely new aircraft from scratch, in order to match its chief competitor, the Airbus A320neo. Max variants were grounded worldwide between March 2019 and December 2020 while investigators determined the cause of the fatal disasters. The groundings, lawsuits and compensation, U S Senate investigations subcommittee hearings and cancelled orders kept Boeing’s safety record in the spotlight and have cost the company about $100 billion. Boeing supplied historical safety data for this Explainer but declined an invitation to speak on the record. Bartsch says the 737 Max troubles have been “a classic example of companies trying to cut costs” ahead of safety. “Boeing is still paying the price for the damage to their brand. It’s got a fair way before it regains industry trust.” Boeing was again in the spotlight earlier this year for its 737 Max aircraft when a Max 9 explosively decompressed above Portland, Oregon after it lost a fuselage panel called a “door plug” that, it turned out, had bolts missing in its installation. Although extremely alarming, there were no serious injuries. The hole left after a “door plug” blew out midair on an Alaska Airlines flight in a Boeing 737 over Oregon in the United States in January. Credit: US National Transportation Safety Board, digitally tinted In Australia, CASA has now certified the Max 8 as safe to operate. Virgin, which currently operates eight 737 Max 8 aircraft, requires its pilots to undergo additional training to understand the differences between the new aircraft and previous iterations of the 737. In addition, Boeing has modified the problematic system, called MCAS, so it cannot override a pilot’s ability to control the airplane. “Virgin Australia is one of over 80 airlines operating Boeing 737 Max family aircraft globally,” says Virgin Australia chief operations officer, Stuart Aggs. “More than 1400 of these aircraft are in service around the world, carrying about 700,000 passengers on 5500 flights every day. Over the past 50 years, a journey of continuous improvement has made commercial aviation the world’s safest form of transportation. Virgin Australia retains full confidence in Boeing’s commitment to this journey.” For all the focus on beleaguered Boeing, Airbus has not been without incident: in September, a Rolls-Royce engine on a Cathay Pacific A350 caught fire and failed, forcing the plane to dump fuel then return to Hong Kong. After inspecting its entire fleet of A350 aircraft, Cathay found that 15 had faulty engine parts that needed to be replaced. A preliminary report into the September incident by Hong Kong’s safety body found a fuel hose had torn, according to Aviation Direct. “This led to a fuel leak, which in combination with oxygen and an ignition source (heat) triggered the fire.” Former pilot David Evans in a flight simulator. Credit: USQ/Anna Singleton, digitally tinted So, why do accidents still happen? When the right-side engine failed on Qantas flight 520 out of Sydney just seconds after the “V1′′ point of no return during take-off, the pilots knew they had no choice but to keep going and take off with just one power plant. Says David Evans: “V1 is carefully calculated for every takeoff. The only decision pilots have to make prior to V1 is to either stop or go. After V1 there is no decision, you are committed to go flying. Any attempt to stop after V1 will result in a runway overrun.” The Boeing had been designed for such an eventuality; to take off with just one engine. That did not mean, however, it was routine. Historically, many fatal crashes have occurred at or shortly after take-off, including the disaster in Paris in 2000 that eventually consigned the only supersonic airliner, Concorde, to the history books. ”We spend a fair amount of our career lifetime in simulators, preparing for worst-case scenarios,” says Doug Drury, a former commercial pilot who heads aviation at Central Queensland University. “It’s all about developing these critical skills, thinking, decision-making processes and having good situational awareness.” The Sydney incident was a scenario that pilots regularly simulate in training and their response was by the book, says Mark Cameron, who spoke with them afterwards. “They were saying they really appreciate the training they’d had.” Their take-off, after the engine had failed, was “low and slow” as the plane crept skywards, circled Sydney airport then landed safely. “Within 15 minutes of the landing, we had the data already available where we could actually see exactly how the crew had flown,” says Cameron. “It was really good in terms of how they controlled the aircraft, recognised the issues, the approach back into Sydney. It’s actually a really good news story for our pilots and systems.” Passengers who heard the engine go “bang” were alarmed but nobody was injured. Says David Evans: “An engine failure is horrendous from a passenger’s point of view, and even for the cabin crew, but for the pilots it’s a serious inconvenience more than anything. I don’t want to say it’s not a big deal, but it’s not something they haven’t seen many, many times and practised over and over.” ‘We don’t want the engines to fail. But the reality is, there’s always going to be a failure rate. It’s pretty small across the industry.’ So why did this engine give up the ghost? This model is generally very reliable, manufactured since 1997 by CFM International and used in thousands of Boeing and Airbus planes. CFM describes it as “simple and rugged” with a “dispatch reliability” (the rate at which a specific component is held responsible for aircraft delays, turn-backs, diversions, etc) of 99.96 per cent. Yet nothing is entirely foolproof. CFM engines have failed before, most notably on planes operated by Southwest Airlines in the United States where they shot debris into the fuselage. In 2018, a passenger died after reportedly being sucked out of a window punctured by debris. The US National Transportation Safety Board determined that one of the failed engine’s fan blades had broken off due to fatigue and fractured into fragments. It had likely harboured a tiny crack that had pre-dated a safety inspection, the authority said, “However, the crack was not detected for unknown reasons.” “We don’t want the engines to fail,” says Cameron. “But the reality is, there’s always going to be a failure rate. It’s pretty small across the industry.” He adds: “An engine failure in itself doesn’t mean you’re going to have an accident because you’ve got trained crew, an aircraft that is certified to fly on one engine and numerous other controls in place.” Doug Drury notes: “Airlines don’t survive if they cut corners. Historically, yes, it’s happened, but in this day and age, post-pandemic, that’s the last thing any airline wants, is to get hit with this.” In 2010, David Evans was the supervising check captain on QF32, an Airbus A380, when it suffered an uncontained engine failure moments after take-off from Singapore’s Changi Airport en route to Sydney. “Sometimes a failure will have a cascading effect on other systems and QF32 is a good example of that: where an engine exposure created havoc with everything else,” Evans says. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau later found that an oil pipe in the failed Rolls-Royce engine had been manufactured to improper tolerances and had developed a crack due to fatigue, then it leaked oil that caused a fire, which caused a turbine disc to separate from the drive shaft and destroy the engine. The pilots famously landed the plane safely. “You’ll never get rid of risk,” says Evans. “The only thing you can do is mitigate against risk.” There were 58 uncontained (that is, explosive) engine failures on Western-built aircraft between 1982 and 2008, according to the US authority the Federal Aviation Administration – a scary-sounding number until you do the maths: roughly, around one occurrence per 10 million flights per year, or far less likely than being hit by lightning (one in a million). Some incidents are harder to mitigate than others. Orville Wright was probably the first aviator to hit a bird, in 1905. The most famous bird strike of all was caused by a flock of Canadian geese in 2009, which clogged the engines on an Airbus 320 departing New York and required its captain, Chesley Burnett “Sully” Sullenberger III (later played by Tom Hanks in the movie recreation ) to ditch on the Hudson River. Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, left, and first officer Jeffrey Skiles go through their pre-flight checks at LaGuardia airport in New York in 2009. Credit: Reuters, digitally tinted Turbulence, particularly where an aircraft drops suddenly in the absence of any obvious “weather” such as storm clouds – dubbed “clear-air turbulence” – regularly sees flight staff, in particular, injured. A Southwest attendant was scalded by hot coffee in March; a United staffer flung into the air with the drinks cart, then back to the floor, described it as “slamming down from a fifth-floor building”. In May, a passenger died of a suspected heart attack, and more than a hundred were injured, when a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 suddenly fell nearly two kilometres over three minutes over Myanmar during the breakfast service, one passenger telling the BBC it was “just like going down a vertical rollercoaster”. ‘In an aeroplane, you’re getting all sorts of sensations which you can’t rationalise.’ The incident, while extreme, prompted a round of reminders of the benefits of fastening seatbelts, one of the few aspects of flying that passengers can control. For most “aviophobics”, says Corrie Ackland, clinical director of the Sydney Phobia Clinic, the fear “comes down to this idea that they don’t know what’s happening and they don’t know how to fix it – and those things play up for them”. News reporting and TV shows put all manner of aviation incidents in the spotlight. “I’ve seen people and their fear is based around what they see on the telly – nothing to do with flying,” says Evans. He helped set up a “fear of flying” program that now partners with Ackland’s clinic where people sit with a pilot in a flight simulator. “In an aeroplane, you’re getting all sorts of sensations which you can’t rationalise,” Evans says. “And there might have been an incident that you were involved in, turbulence perhaps, and noises like the undercarriage retracting or the flaps extending or retracting, and the amygdala [the fight-or-flight centre of the brain] sets off that charge because you think there’s something afoot or something that’s dangerous. But it’s the normal operation of the aircraft.” A week after landing in Sydney, meanwhile, the Qantas Boeing 737 that suffered engine failure was back in the air. With a new powerplant, VH-VYH shuttled once again from Sydney to Brisbane to Sydney to Melbourne to Brisbane. The damaged engine would be scrutinised to determine what, exactly, had happened, and what remedies might be put in place to minimise the chances of it happening again. Our new Explainer anthology, Why Do People Queue for Brunch? The Explainer Guide To Modern Mysteries is available for pre-order and subscribers are being offered a 25 per cent discount (full price is $32.99) until December 12. See here for details . In bookstores December 3. Credit: Allen & UnwinThe claim: Mexico broke off relations with Canada A Dec. 8 Instagram post ( direct link , archive link ) claims one North American nation has cut diplomatic ties with another. “The Mexican government breaks off political relations with Canada and withdraws your permission to continue mining gold and minerals in the country,” says a narrator in the video. The post was liked 1,000 times in about two weeks. The video was also shared elsewhere on Instagram . More from the Fact-Check Team: How we pick and research claims | Email newsletter | Facebook page Our rating: False There has been no change in the formal relationship between the two countries, according to a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada. Canada, Mexico trade barbs but diplomatic relations unchanged President-elect Donald Trump announced on Nov. 25 that he plans to impose 25% tariffs on all goods imported from Mexico and Canada once he takes office. Trump said the assessments were punishment for illegal immigration and drugs flowing across the borders, and the U.S.’s neighbors immediately criticized the proposal . Trump's equal treatment of the two nations has caused division between them, according to the Associated Press . Ontario Premier Doug Ford said , “To compare us to Mexico is the most insulting thing I’ve ever heard." Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum responded to Canadian criticism by saying that Canada has "a very serious problem with fentanyl consumption” and that it “could only wish they had the cultural riches Mexico has.” But the two countries have not severed diplomatic ties, Jean-Pierre Godbout , a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada, told USA TODAY. “In 2024, Canada and Mexico celebrated 80 years of diplomatic relations, highlighting their commitment to enhancing and expanding bilateral and North American ties,” Godbout wrote in an email. “Over the past 30 years, their partnership has been strengthened through free trade agreements.” A common sign of worsening diplomatic ties is the closing , sometimes involuntarily , of a nation’s embassy or consulates in another country. Neither Canada nor Mexico mentions such closings on their diplomatic websites, and there are no news reports about such a development. The claim of Canadian mining concessions being terminated in Mexico is also false, Godbout said. More than 130 Canadian mining companies operate in Mexico, according to Godbout, and the Canadian government is not aware of any change to these operations. The Mexican Geological Service makes no mention of any termination of Canadian mining rights this year, nor has Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum mentioned any such punitive steps in her news conferences since Trump announced the tariffs. Fact check : No, Mexico did not pledge to stop migrant caravans after Trump tariff threat USA TODAY reached out to the Mexico Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as social media users who made the claim for comment but did not immediately receive responses. AFP also debunked the claim. Our fact-check sources Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here . USA TODAY is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network, which requires a demonstrated commitment to nonpartisanship, fairness and transparency. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Meta .
