Jaunted

Tags: Breaking News / Balloons / DIA / Denver / Denver Travel / → All Tags

Homemade Balloon Lands Near Denver Airport, Wife Swap Son Missing

Update 8am EST 10/16: The boy was found hiding in the attic at this house. Since then, the family has been interviewed several times, managing to embarrass themselves when the boy possibly revealed it all as a hoax on Larry King Live and then vomited live on air during the Today Show. We're sure this story will continue.

This afternoon, an emergency story gripped the nation and the internet as it was announced that a 6 year-old boy, Falcon Heene, had taken off in a homemade UFO-shaped balloon and was floating towards Denver International Airport, causing helicopters and air traffic authorities to mobilize in order to track it and bring it safely to the ground.

The balloon, a weak craft with a plywood bottom and a small door through which it is believed the child entered, floated between 5,000 to 7,000 feet for hours, taking off from near Ft. Collins and landing a field near Hudson, CO. The child was not inside of the craft and the search for him continues.

In the meantime, we have realized (as has Huffington Post) that the boy is the son of one of the families featured on the popular TV show Wife Swap. The family, the Heenes, were the reckless family who were stormchasers and daredevils; the wife was switched to a ultra safety-conscious mom. The episode was so spectacular that it opened the season for the show, and one of the children notoriously says "F*ck these rules" to the swapped mom. Check out a clip of that here.

The video, after the jump.

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Tags: Breaking News / Continental Airlines / Death / Airplane Hell / → All Tags

Pilot Dies Mid-Flight Aboard Continental Transatlantic Flight 61

Update: The plane has landed safely at Newark. The news is reporting that the pilot died of natural causes; he is 60 years old and has been with Continental for 32 years. Because of the emergency landing, arrivals to JFK, LaGuardia, Philadelphia and Newark will be delayed between 1-2 hours.

Very sad news this morning as we learn of the death of the pilot onboard Continental Airlines Flight 61 from Brussels to Newark.

While details are still hazy, as the Boeing 777 hasn't even landed yet, it is confirmed that control of the plane has been taken over by the first officer, and that there luckily are reserve crew who are helping with this situation.

The flight is expected for an emergency landing at Newark-Liberty, its scheduled destination, within this next half hour. According to the morning news, there is a chance that the passengers onboard are not even aware of their pilot's passing away, but we guess we'll find out in the next 30 minutes. Stay tuned for more updates, or follow our example and anxiously track the flight on FlightStats.

[Photo: caribb]

Tags: Breaking News / China Travel / Twitter / Flickr / YouTube / Bing / → All Tags

China Pulls the Plug On Social Media; No More Tweeting From the Great Wall

Our Chinese visa expired last month, and after today's news we doubt we'll be renewing it any time soon. Seeking to quiet social media networks before the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre on June 4, China has blocked the population from accessing a surprising range of the internet's most popular communication tools. Currently affected by the ban are: Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, Wordpress, Blogger, Bing (which hasn't officially even launched), Hotmail and MSN's Live.com.

While there's no word yet on if this ban will continue after Thursday, what is apparent is that the country is only drawing more attention to itself at the same time as it cripples the communication channels of its modern businesses. Taking this one step further, we see serious repercussions for tourism to China because of it.

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Tags: Breaking News / Tragedies / Air France / Flight 447 / → All Tags

Air France Flight Missing Off Brazilian Coast; Search Underway

This morning's beautiful weather quickly turned sour as the world learned of the possible loss of Air France Flight 447, traveling from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Paris with 228 people on board.

Around 10pm EST, the twin-engine Airbus hit turbulence caused by storms over the Atlantic Ocean, causing an automatic message "signaling electrical circuit malfunction" to be sent out from the airplane. According the AP, there has been no other information regarding the fate of the plane except for the simple admittance that Brazil's air force has begun "searching near the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha," an area 1,500 miles northeast of Rio.

Flight 447, which was supposed to have arrived at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport at 5:15am EST, is feared to have been hit by lightning. If lost, this possible crash would be the first for Air France since the tragedy of the Concorde's 2000 crash, which killed 113 people. Now however, we're looking at double the loss of life and a much more difficult location and recovery area.

We simply can't hold back: is anyone else thinking of Oceanic Flight 815? We'll be hoping for the best and watching the news as it rolls in, attempting to banish thoughts of Lost from our heads.

Related Stories:
· Air France Missing Plane May Be First Fatal Loss Since Concorde [Bloomberg]
· Missing French jet hit thunderstorms over Atlantic [AP]
· Tragedies Coverage [Jaunted]

[Air France photo: caribb]

Tags: Virgin America / In-Flight WiFi / Gogo / Breaking News / → All Tags

First! All Virgin America Planes Are Now Equipped With In-Flight WiFi

Perhaps all it took was a competitive nudge from Air Tran last week to push Virgin America to outfit their entire fleet with in-flight WiFi today, courtesy of Gogo In-flight Internet. And ahead of schedule too! The news straight from the press release:

As of today, guests on any of Virgin America’s 100 daily flights have the option to surf the Web, check e-mail, or log on to their corporate VPN – all from the comfort of their seats at 37,000 feet. Virgin America marks this in-flight WiFi milestone with another first for an airline: an air-to-ground Skype video call with Oprah Winfrey which will air this Thursday, May 21 on The Oprah Winfrey Show (check local listings).

This is especially great news for Jaunted because we just happen to be boarding a Virgin America flight to JFK later this afternoon. We'll be tweeting about it of course, so be sure to follow us. You never know what might happen when absinthe and WiFi collide!

Gogo In-flight Internet begins at $9.95 for flights shorter than three hours and $12.95 for longer flights. Connect via your mobile phone for $7.95 for the length of the flight.

Related Stories:
· AirTran Blows the Field Wide Open With Fleetwide In Flight WiFi [Jaunted]
· Virgin America Promises Fleetwide WiFi By June [Jaunted]
· Virgin America [Official Site]

Tags: Breaking News / Department of Defense / Fighter Jets / → All Tags

New Yorkers Just 'Plane' Panicked After Fighter Jet Photo Shoot

How far would you go to get the perfect shot?

Sounds like the tag line for Beyoncé's next trashy thriller, but it's a question the U.S. Department of Defense ought to be asking itself after scaring the pants off regularly unflappable New Yorkers this morning in search of the perfect photo.

Local news channels and social media were flooded with reports of a low-flying plane over the Hudson that approached the World Financial Center and flew around the Statue of Liberty and causing evacuations in the Financial District and near the PATH train in Jersey City. Witnesses reported spotting a commercial jet being followed by a few fighter jets around 10AM.

Turns out the FAA authorized the plane, a 747 look-alike of Air Force One, to fly low for a photo opportunity (President Obama was not on board at the time, being at home in Washington for the day.) An FAA spokesperson described the flight as "pre-coordinated with everyone involved," which is definitely news to the thousands of New Yorkers who didn't hear about it before it happened.

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Tags: Earthquakes / Breaking News / Google Maps / → All Tags

Where Was Today's LA Earthquake?

At 11:42 local time, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake shook up Los Angeles, making us glad that the White Knight Two reveal was yesterday instead of today. We don't like hiding under desks!

The epicenter, mapped above, was just two miles from Chino Hills and 29 miles from the LA Civic Center downtown. While 5.8 isn't that strong, it did manage to shake up buildings and locals alike. There were no serious injuries reported, but Disneyland has closed its rides for inspections.

As for people trying to flee LA, they're in luck: Flights out of LAX continue to operate normally.

Related Stories:
· Earthquake Details from the USGS [Official Site]
· Earthquake Rocks Los Angeles [CNN]
· Moderate Earthquake Shakes LA [Reuters]
· Google Maps/Where Is... coverage [Jaunted]

Tags: Earthquakes / Japan Travel / Travel News / Breaking News / → All Tags

Adventures of Link: What's Shakin' in Japan

A series of fairly powerful earthquakes hit Japan today, rocking Ibaraki Prefecture, just north of Tokyo. There were no fatalities and no fear of a tsunami, though tremors could continue in the coming hours. The last earthquake of this magnitude hit the island nation last year; it killed 11 people.

Even though damage this time was light, it must've been an interesting experience for the most high-profile tourist in Tokyo right now: Chinese President Hu Jintao. The leader is meeting with his Japanese counterparts in an effort to smooth relations between the two countries, which have been frosty for the past decade.

Related Stories:
· Strong Earthquake Rocks Tokyo Region [AFP, via Google]
· 6.8-Magnitude Earthquake Hits Near Tokyo [AP, via Google]
· Hu Jintao and Yasuo Fukuda Make Friends [UK Times]
· China, Japan Sign Joint Statement on Ties [Xinhua]
· Japan Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: randomidea]

Tags: Skybus / Airlines / Low Cost Carriers / LCCs / Bill Diffenderffer / Breaking News / Airline Bankruptcy / → All Tags

Skybus Shuts Down

Turns out that selling $10 tickets can't make you money. Skybus, which would've celebrated a year of service on May 22, has ceased operations. While the carrier's website is still up and running, a source tells us--and the Columbus Dispatch confirms--that the ultra LCC is finished as of tonight.

That makes it the fourth airline to shutter this week, another victim of high costs and a brutal industry. Skybus isn't offering any sort of alternate arrangements, so wherever you're stranded, you'll have to find your own way home.

One has to wonder if ex-CEO Bill Diffenderffer saw the writing on the wall and made an early exit. One hopes not, as that's not exactly a samuri move.

Related Stories:
· Skybus coverage [Jaunted]

Tags: Southwest Airlines / Airlines / Planegate / Breaking News / James Oberstar / → All Tags

Planegate Goes to Washington

OMG, they finally stopped talking about FAA oversights and supposedly unsafe planes on Capitol Hill. Now the airline reps can skip out and enjoy the National Cherry Blossom Festival instead of the inside of the Rayburn House Office Building.

Leading the charge today was Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chair Rep. James Oberstar who thinks the airlines and the FAA have gotten a little too cozy. That's led to, he thinks,

The most egregious lapses of safety I've seen in 23 years.

FAA whistleblowers also spoke, saying Southwest Airlines neglected to remove from service planes that needed further safety inspections. The carrier's chairman, who was also in DC today, disagreed that his airline did anything wrong:

Regulatory non-compliance and being unsafe are two different things.

As always, we'll toss in our boilerplate footnote that commercial flight is one of the safest modes of transportation ever created.

Related Stories:
· Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Hearing on FAA Safety Oversight [Official Site]
· Inspectors for F.A.A. Say Violations Were Ignored [NYT]
· FAA Inspectors Testify on Safety Lapses at Southwest [WSJ]
· Southwest Could Face Another Big Fine over Inspections [DMN]

[Photo: ChicagoEye]

Tags: Southwest Airlines / Airlines / Breaking News / → All Tags

Adventures of Link: Plane-gate Insta-reactions

Nevermind that the plane-gate story is still playing out, with Southwest's own internal audit still underway and journalists actually, you know, trying to figure out what happened. On the Internet, speculation is the name of the game!

In honor of the commenter, here's some of the best chatter echoing around the web right this second!

From Southwest's own blog:

I know that we unfortunately live in a hypersensitive and self-righteous society, but I personally would love to see SWA organize another hilarious sale slogan like with the mini-skirt sale. Perhaps "SWA is Cracking Prices" or something like that.

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Tags: Southwest Airlines / Airlines / Breaking News / Gary Kelly / James Oberstar / → All Tags

Planegate Continues as Southwest Grounds 38 Planes

Early this week Southwest Airlines went on a PR offensive to assure everyone that the carrier's 737s were--and are--safe. But since CEO Gary Kelly made the media rounds, Southwest has grounded 42 38 planes and place three employees on leave in connection with safety oversights.

Meanwhile, the FAA is looking to nail the carrier with a $10.2 million fine because Southwest didn't comply with so-called airworthiness directives. Two FAA employees that claim to have documents proving the airline messed up have been subpoenaed by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Committee chair (and Jaunted frienemy) Rep. James Oberstar has vowed to get to the bottom of this. He's scheduled a hearing for April 3.

Btw, 42 38 planes is almost 10 percent of the Southwest fleet. Better reconfirm those reservations!

Related Stories:
· Southwest Grounds Dozens of Jets After Safety Probe [DMN]
· Southwest Puts Three on Leave [CNN]
· Southwest Responds to Preliminary Findings [Official Site]
· CNN Says Southwest Flew Unsafe Planes [Jaunted]