The Gruesome Crash of a Chinese Fighter Jet Captured on Video [Video]

By Casey Chan Oct 14, 2011 4:40 PM 21,110 69

A Chinese FBC-1 fighter jet plane was performing at an air show until things went horrifically wrong. The fighter jet started spiraling out of control and then plunged straight down, crashing into the ground and exploding on impact.

In the video above, you can see a pilot eject from his seat just in the nick of time. He only suffered minor injuries. Sadly, the FBC-1 is a two-seater jet and the other pilot was stuck inside the cockpit as the fighter jet lost control. The China state-run Xinhua news says that the other pilot is currently missing. [WSJ via Geekosystem]

Related Stories

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

NASA's Not Sure Where in the World This Satellite Will Crash [Space]

The 20-year-old UARS satellite has dropped out of orbit—as old satellites are wont to do—and is reentering the atmosphere. Too bad NASA can't pinpoint where—or when—exactly it will land. Could be the middle of the Pacific, could be the middle of Paris—it's a surprise!

If you have to leave your house on or around September 24th, remember to keep one eye on the skies. The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) is currently hurtling in at 5 meters per second and is expected to land somewhere between the 57th latitudes—that's 57 degrees north and 57 degrees south of the equator—which only covers...most of the world's populated areas. Shit.

Luckily, most of the satellite is expected to break apart and burn up before it touches terra firma. Unluckily, the UARS still has only a 1 in 3,200 chance of striking a populated area—NASA's normal safety protocols limit that probability to 1 in 10,000. Apparently you are more likely to be killed via falling satellite than you are by a bear wearing a ballerina outfit. [BBC]

You can keep up with Andrew Tarantola, the author of this post, on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+. Related Stories

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Airplane Crash Victims Found at Sea Thanks to iPhone Signal [IPhone]

A military airplane with 21 people aboard was lost over Chile's sea this weekend. It disappeared from radar and the authorities didn't know where it crashed. Surprisingly, they started to recover their bodies thanks to Apple's Find My iPhone feature.

Remains from the CASA 212 from Chile's Air Force were found floating in the sea near Tierra Banca and Playa Larga, in a zone between the islands of Robinson Crusoe and Santa Clara, and Juan Fernández airport.

The crash point was located thanks to one of the victims' relatives. The victim had an active iPhone at the time of the crash. Presumably out of desperation, the relative tried the Find My iPhone feature that Apple offers for iOS devices. Surprisingly, the phone appeared on the map in the computer, according to one of the military officials in charge of the search operation:

One of the passengers carried [an iPhone]. When it fell into the sea, it was located and one of the relatives sent us that information.

It's surprising that the iPhone survived the impact and continued to work, even more so because the crash was really extreme, according to the military sources:

None of the pieces so far recovered is bigger than 50 centimeters (20 inches) which confirms that the airplane suffered a high fragmentation [on impact]

The search teams—on the image—are now trying to recover the bodies from the bottom of the sea using two Proteus 1000 robots, but the weather conditions are extremely bad at this time. Military divers will start the recovery as soon as the conditions clear up, but four bodies have been found already. [Infobae—Thanks Fran Velazquez!]

Note: Someone changed the headline after publication by mistake. The title has been reverted to the original. —JD

Related Stories

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.