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MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) – An unmanned U.S. reconnaissance drone crashed in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul early on Saturday, hitting the offices of one of Iraq's biggest political parties, the U.S. military said. No injuries were reported, and there was no indication the aircraft was shot down, said Major Derrick Cheng, a military spokesman in northern Iraq. Cheng said it was a coincidence that the drone struck the local offices of the Iraqi Islamic Party, Iraq's biggest Sunni Arab political group, the military said. The U.S. military frequently deploys drones in Iraq as part of measures to counter roadside...

WICOMICO CHURCH, Va. – A 6-year-old Virginia boy who missed his bus tried to drive to school in his family's sedan — and crashed. State police say the boy suffered only minor injuries and authorities drove him to school after he was evaluated at a local hospital. Sgt. Tom Cunningham says the boy arrived shortly after lunch.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - A helicopter crashed at a hospital on Thursday, sending thick, black smoke over downtown and forcing the evacuation of patients from the building. It was not clear whether anyone had been injured in the crash, which happened around 11 a.m. A fire dispatcher confirmed the crash happened at Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital, but could not provide any other details. The police department was setting up a command center, but had no other details. Lynda Ignatoski, who was standing outside the Towers Medical building on the Spectrum Health campus, told The Grand Rapids Press she saw the...

Red-light Cameras Increase Crashes, Florida Researchers FindRather than improving motorist safety, red-light cameras significantly increase crashes researchers at the University of South Florida College of Public Health conclude. (Credit: iStockphoto/Sue Smith) ScienceDaily (Mar. 12, 2008) — Rather than improving motorist safety, red-light cameras significantly increase crashes and are a ticket to higher auto insurance premiums, researchers at the University of South Florida College of Public Health conclude. The effective remedy to red-light running uses engineering solutions to improve intersection safety, which is particularly important to Florida’s elderly drivers, the researchers recommend. “The rigorous studies clearly show red-light cameras don’t work,”...

BEIJING (AFP) - The website of China's new anti-graft bureau crashed shortly after going online due to the huge volume of messages from the public complaining about rampant corruption, state media said Wednesday. The website (yfj.mos.gov.cn) of the National Bureau of Corruption Prevention, which was set up to collect information on corrupt activities, was so popular it crashed on Tuesday, just one day after it was launched. "The enthusiasm that greeted the launch of the website reflects the growing frustration felt by the general public towards corruption at government level," Xinhua news agency said. The website had received more than...

A Garuda jet crashed, killing 21 people including five Australians, after the pilots ignored no fewer than 15 warnings, a report has found. And the sister of one of the dead, Australian Financial Review journalist Morgan Mellish, angrily confronted Indonesia's Transport Minister, demanding to know what action would be taken against the pilot and co-pilot, who survived the crash. Caroline Mellish was furious that authorities refused to use the words "pilot error" or comment on any legal action against the crew. "What is happening to the pilots? Twenty-one deaths on his conscience. Is that all he has?" Ms Mellish asked...

SAN DIEGO – A motorcyclist was killed early Monday morning when he crashed against a mortuary while trying to elude California Highway Patrol officers on city streets at up to 100 mph. The predawn pursuit began shortly before 2:45 a.m. when two CHP officers spotted the 25-year-old rider speeding south down Euclid Avenue at 60 mph, said CHP Officer Brad Baehr. The posted speed limit on that street is 35, Baehr said. As the CHP unit made a U-turn and tried to catch up, the motorcyclist ran a stop light and turned west onto Imperial Avenue, reaching triple-digit speeds. “He...

A Palm Coast woman said she crashed her vehicle into six cars in three separate accidents because she was taking her dying pot belly pig to the veterinarian, but no pig was found. Adding to the confusion, a passenger in the woman's vehicle said he knew nothing about a pig, said the Flagler County Sheriff's Office.

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. (AP) - A driver ran a checkpoint at a nuclear weapons plant early Monday and crashed into a barrier, then fled on foot, authorities said. Guards at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant, a primary storehouse for bomb-grade uranium, said the man "appeared to be impaired in some way" when they stopped him around 5 a.m. at a security checkpoint near a rear entrance, spokesman Bill Wilburn said. They asked him for identification, but the man hit the gas and drove through the checkpoint, then crashed into security barriers a short distance away, Wilburn said. "When he hit...

SAO PAULO, Brazil - A plane with 176 people aboard crashed and burst into flames in Sao Paulo on Tuesday after skidding off a runway that has been criticized as being too short in a driving rain, the nation's airport authority said. There were no immediate reports of deaths by authorities, but a witness said he saw one charred body as flames shot into the sky and clouds of black smoke billowed into the air after the crash. The Tam airline's Airbus-320 skidded off the runway at Congonhas airport, then crossed a busy road at the height of rush hour...

SAN DIEGO – Seven people were hospitalized early Thursday morning after a car fleeing from the Border Patrol on a rural highway collided with a tree about 50 miles east of San Diego, the Border Patrol reported. The crash occurred about 4:15 a.m. on Old Highway 80 and Ribbonwood Road, about two miles west of Boulevard, according to Border Patrol spokesman Richard Smith. Agents had “initiated a pursuit” of a car heading eastbound on Old Highway 80 from Tierra del Sol that they suspected was carrying illegal immigrants near Campo, Smith said. The driver apparently lost control of the car...

Call it a metaphor for a prosperous, risk-embracing age or just call it bad driving. Auto makers are turning out a new breed of supremely fast sports cars that sell for upwards of $250,000 and share many characteristics of purebred racecars. But as more of them hit the road, often in the hands of inexperienced drivers, a growing number are ending up wrapped around trees, smashed into guardrails or otherwise totaled in accidents. In the past 18 months, drivers across the world have cracked up at least six rare $1 million Ferrari Enzos -- only 400 of which were built....

AUSTIN, Nev., May 8, 2007 – All five crew members of a Navy SH-60F Seahawk helicopter died yesterday in a crash about 10 miles west of here. Navy file photo of an SH-60 Seahawk helicopter from Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron 7 taking off from the flight deck of USS Harry S. Truman in 2005. Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jay C. Pugh, USN  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Officials are investigating the cause of the accident. Press reports indicate the helicopter may have hit power lines in the area. Military aircraft initially located the crash site at 9:40...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2007 – All seven crewmembers and passengers were killed when a Marine Corps CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter went down in Iraq’s Anbar province this morning, a senior U.S. military officer based in Baghdad confirmed today. Army Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, Multinational Force Iraq spokesman, told reporters the helicopter went down about 20 miles northwest of Baghdad. The helicopter and its crew were conducting routine operations, military officials said. The servicemembers’ names are being withheld pending notification of next of kin. Caldwell would not comment on the possible causes of the incident. “The investigation is...

Americans who buy the smallest cars on the market are twice as likely to have fatal accidents as drivers of midsize and larger vehicles, according to a report being released today by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The data and increased sales of the fuel-efficient "minicars" prompted the institute to test, for the first time, eight models to determine which are safest. Minicars typically weigh about 2,500 pounds or less, half the weight of large pickup trucks or SUVs such as the 4,500-pound Ford Explorer... In the testing, only the Nissan Versa received "good" ratings in front, side, and...

WASHINGTON - An armed man crashed his vehicle into a security barricade at the U.S. Capitol on Monday, ran into the building and was arrested, forcing the complex to briefly be locked down, authorities said. The man was armed with a gun, said one security officer speaking anonymously pending an official briefing. The officer said the man was captured by police after running through the Rotunda in the center of the Capitol and down a stairway into the basement. He said the man appeared to be having a seizure, and was taken to a hospital. A congressional aide said the...

WASHINGTON: The U.S. government will not require recorders in autos but has said that car makers must tell consumers when technology that tracks speed, braking and other measurements is in the new vehicles they buy. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration regulation standardises recorder content and sets guidelines for how the information should be disclosed. It also requires recorders to be more durable. Privacy experts complained that consumer interests are not fully protected and information captured by recorders can be exploited. Safety experts, consumer groups and insurance companies have long pressed the agency to mandate recorders in cars, but industry...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 9, 2006 – A U.S. Army helicopter crashed yesterday during an orientation flight over Iraq’s Anbar province, officials said today. The UH-60 Blackhawk was carrying six coalition troops and has been located, according to a Multinational Corps Iraq news release. Four of the six passengers were recovered and are in stable condition. A search-and-rescue effort is under way to find the two missing crewmembers. “We are using all the resources available to find our missing comrades,” Marine spokesman Maj. Riccoh Player said. The helicopter crash doesn’t appear to be the work of enemy forces, officials said. In other...

OSSIAN, Ind. - A teenage driver crashed into a hollow tree and stirred up tens of thousands of angry honey bees, creating a swarm that sent her and nine others to the hospital. "Those bees were mad," said Volunteer Fire Chief Kent Gilbert, who was stung at least 50 times while trying to pull the 16-year-old driver from the wreckage. "I've never seen bees, especially honeybees, attack like that." Jacqueline Cossairt's SUV slammed into the tree Tuesday after she lost control on a gravel road about 10 miles south of Fort Wayne. By the time rescuers arrived, a black cloud...

WASHINGTON, July 13, 2006 – A Multinational Division Baghdad AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopter crashed southwest of Baghdad today, U.S. military officials reported. The two pilots survived and were transported to a Camp Taji medical facility. The aircraft was conducting a combat air patrol. The cause of the incident is unknown, officials said. A MNDB quick reaction force and a downed aircraft recovery team secured the area. Additional information is being withheld pending investigation. In other new from Iraq, Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers detained five suspected terrorists and discovered two caches containing bomb-making materials yesterday in Baghdad. Three of the suspects...

5th LD) Wreckage of Boeing-built F-15K fighter found in East Sea By Sohn Suk-joo SEOUL, June 8 (Yonhap) -- The wreckage of a South Korean F-15K fighter jet that crashed off the east coast on a night training flight was found floating in the East Sea, the Air Force said Thursday. "Around 2 a.m., a band of oil seemingly made of plane fuel and about 50 pieces of the F-15K were discovered in the sea. We believe the two pilots on the mission failed to bail out," the Air Force said in a statement. The Air Force launched a probe...

A van packed with 55 people and equipped with specially-modified tires drove the wrong-way across the U.S.-Mexico border early Monday and struck an oncoming vehicle before coming to a halt a short time later on a major freeway, officials said. There were no immediate reports of any injuries in what appeared to be the latest in a series of smuggling attempts by drivers who take enormous risks in vans crowded with illegal immigrants. The blue Ford XLT 350 van drove north at 3 a.m. in the southbound lanes of the San Ysidro Port of Entry, which links Tijuana, Mexico with...

WASHINGTON, April 1, 2006 – A Multinational Division Baghdad helicopter went down at about 5:30 p.m. today southwest of Baghdad, and military officials also reported the results of recent operations in Iraq. Aside from saying the helicopter was conducting a combat air patrol and the crew's status isn't known, officials provided no further details. Additional information on the helicopter and the fate of its crew is being withheld pending investigation and notification of next of kin, according to a Multinational Force Iraq news release. In other news, coalition forces captured three terrorism suspects and killed three others today in...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A U.S. helicopter crashed southwest of Baghdad on Saturday, but the status of the crew was unknown, the U.S. military said. A U.S. statement said the helicopter had been conducting a "combat air patrol" but did not give the type of aircraft, the number of crew members or the precise area where it went down.

An 8 X 12-foot trailer filled with 42 illegal immigrants crashed on Tucson’s Southwest side Wednesday morning, and the driver of the truck pulling the trailer fled the scene. This all started around 8:00 a.m. when Border Patrol tried to pull over a suspicious truck. The truck was pulling a trailer and it sped off east on Aho Way, weaving in and out of traffic. The vehicle smashed into a light post, knocking the light post over into the street. After the crash, the driver of the truck jumped out and unhitched the trailer, leaving 42 people to fend for...

WASHINGTON, March 21, 2006 – An unmanned aerial vehicle crashed this morning in Iraq, and combined operations continued in Salah ah Din province as part of Operation Swarmer. A pilot at Creech Air Force Base, Nev., was piloting an Air Force MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle, based with the 46th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron at Balad Air Base, Iraq, when the aircraft crashed. Army and Air Force personnel recovered the wreckage and returned it to Balad Air Base. The MQ-1 Predator is a medium-altitude, long-endurance UAV system. Its primary mission is interdiction and armed reconnaissance. Each Predator costs about $5 million....

A young woman was killed and 16 passengers were hospitalized when a van packed with suspected illegal immigrants rolled over on a rural road Wednesday, authorities said. Mario Olguin of Vista was arrested and will be charged with felony hit and run and vehicular manslaughter, the California Highway Patrol said. Authorities identified Olguin, 20, as the driver of the 1988 Ford Econoline van, which was carrying 18 suspected illegal immigrants. The dead woman, 21 years old, was not identified. The van was traveling at an "unsafe speed" in the predawn darkness when Olguin lost control, the CHP said. The van...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 17, 2006 – The Pentagon is seeking answers as to why three U.S. helicopters have crashed in Iraq within the past two weeks, a senior Defense Department official said here today. "Is there a pattern? Certainly, in recent weeks three helicopters have gone down. Nothing has been ruled in or out in any of those three cases yet," DoD spokesman Lawrence Di Rita told Pentagon reporters. Twelve U.S. servicemembers and four civilians were killed as the result of three separate helicopter crashes that occurred in Iraq this month: Two U.S. soldiers died yesterday when their AH-64 Apache helicopter...

TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese driver, afraid of having to take a breath-test, fled a police drink-driving checkpoint even though he was well under the legal alcohol limit, but ended up crashing his car. The 44-year-old man drove through the checkpoint on a road in the western Japanese city of Ikeda late Wednesday. Pursuing police officers found the car about half a mile away, upside down in a dry riverbed below the road. The driver, who suffered light injuries to his legs, was sitting beside the vehicle. "I'd been drinking, so I fled," the Mainichi newspaper quoted the man as...

Cell phones prove deadly Contributor in 14 fatalities this year on Toll Road, police say By Joshua Stowe South Bend Tribune Posted on Sun, Dec. 25, 2005 ELKHART – Nick Vilders sees his cell phone as a lifesaver. The Orland man said he’s placed countless calls to stay awake while driving home after a day’s work as a building maintenance employee on the Indiana Toll Road. “I have a cell phone, I ain’t gonna lie,” Vilders said. Police and safety experts say Vilders’ attitude, while common, puts him at risk. They say it’s a mistake to think a person can...

Last update - 14:43 06/12/2005 At least 111 dead as aircraft crashes into Tehran buildings By Reuters TEHRAN - An Iranian military transport plane crashed into a 10-story apartment building in the suburbs of the capital Tehran on Tuesday, killing at least 111 people, according to state media and the city's mayor. All 94 passengers and crew of the plane were killed, the mayor of Tehran said. Tehran state radio said that of the building's residents, 25 people were killed and 15 were injured. The ISNA students' news agency said the aircraft burst into flames and that the fire was...

Iran military plane carrying 90 crashes in Tehran Tuesday, December 6, 2005; Posted: 7:12 a.m. EST (12:12 GMT) TEHRAN, Iran -- An Iranian military transport plane with more than 90 people on board has crashed into a building in a residential area of Tehran, state-run television reported. The official IRNA news agency reported that 10 bodies have been retrieved from the site of Tuesday's crash. The C-130 aircraft was headed for the port city of Bandar Abbas in southern Iran when the pilot reported technical difficulties and was returning to base, according to Abdul Rahimi, a spokesman for Iran's civil...

120 die as jet crashes in flames By Kate Connolly in Grammatiko (Filed: 15/08/2005) Two people made a desperate attempt to save a Boeing 737 minutes before it crashed into a Greek hillside killing all 121 people on board, it was reported last night. Many of the dead are thought to be children on their way to a sports tournament. Witnesses in villages near the crash site reported a thunderclap-like bang as the plane hit the hillside The pilots of two F16 fighters that intercepted the Cypriot airliner said that the co-pilot was slumped in his seat and the captain...

SEATTLE--In a move that could rankle privacy advocates, Microsoft said Monday that it is adding the PC equivalent of a flight data recorder to the next version of Windows, in an effort to better understand and prevent computer crashes. The tool will build on the existing Watson error-reporting tool in Windows but will provide Microsoft with much deeper information, including what programs were running at the time of the error and even the contents of documents that were being created. Businesses will also choose whether they want their own technology managers to receive such data when an employee's machine crashes....

TIRANA (AFP) - A US military plane ploughed into a mountain in an isolated, snow-covered area of Albania, exploding on impact with nine military personnel aboard, Albanian Transport Minister Spartak Poci and witnesses said."Nine Americans were on board the aircraft and they probably haven't survived," said Albanian defense ministry spokesman Agim Doci.The plane, a C-130 transport plane, struck a mountain after apparently flying too low in an uninhabited region near the town of Gramsh, 150 kilometers (95 miles) south of the Albanian capital Tirana.The US embassy and NATO officials in Tirana would not comment on the crash.Rescue operations were hampered...

COLUMBUS, N.M. (AP) - A stolen sport utility vehicle with 13 people inside - allegedly involved in a smuggling attempt - rolled over near the U.S.-Mexican border while trying to avoid police, authorities said. Four people were killed and nine were injured. "We believe this was a case of human smuggling that went bad," said Doug Mosier, a spokesman for the U.S. Border Patrol in nearby El Paso, Texas. "Obviously it's a tragedy of enormous proportions and a very clear reminder of the dangers associated with smuggling." A Border Patrol agent spotted the SUV parked along a highway Wednesday afternoon,...

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) - A Navy helicopter based on an aircraft carrier crashed into the Atlantic Tuesday afternoon. All eight people aboard were rescued from a life raft. The helicopter from the USS Eisenhower crashed about 30 miles off Naval Air Station Oceana, according to Lt. Mark Jones, assistant public affairs officer for Commander Naval Air Force U.S. Atlantic Fleet. The MH-53E Sea Dragon, primarily used for minesweeping, was part of a helicopter squadron from the Norfolk Naval Station and was doing exercises with the Bataan, an amphibious assault ship. The eight crew members took refuge on a life...

Copter Crashes in River; 2 Die Craft Hit Something, Survivor Tells Rescuers Authorities resumed their search this morning for one of two crew members who police said died when a medical evacuation helicopter crashed into the Potomac River late last night near the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. Firefighters and police rescued one man from the water and recovered a single body just after the helicopter went down shortly after 11 p.m. several hundred yards off the National Harbor development in Prince George's County. Authorities said they believed a third crew member, whose body has not been recovered, was dead. The...

A Boeing 747-200 aircraft with seven crew members aboard crashed Thursday at Halifax International Airport. All seven aboard the jet, which is owned by MK Airlines Ltd. of Britain and Ghana, were killed, say Canadian authorities. The aircraft was loaded with fish, lobsters and lawn tractors, they say. Parts of the 747 are made at Boeing Wichita. Boeing Seattle spokeswoman Liz Verdier says a three-person team has been dispatched to the scene. Boeing usually dispatches an investigation team to the site of crashes involving its jets, especially one involving its largest product, the 747 model. Verdier says it has been...

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Terrorism, human error or mechanical mishap could explain why two Russian planes crashed almost simultaneously, killing all 89 people on board, Russia's top investigator says. Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov told President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday he had no clear view of what happened to the planes, which took off from Moscow's Domodedovo airport late on Tuesday around an hour apart for two different destinations. They crashed within minutes of each other. "We are examining a number of versions, among them a terrorist act, and human and technical factors," Ustinov told Putin during a meeting with the heads...

A London-based spokesman for the leader of Chechnya's main rebel group says it was not responsible for near-simultaneous air crashes in Russia which killed 89 people. Asked if his group was responsible for the crashes, Akhmed Zakayev, a spokesman for Chechnya's separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov, told Reuters in London: "Of course not." "To us any form of terrorism is absolutely unacceptable. We have condemned it and continue to condemn it," he said. Two Russian passenger planes crashed almost simultaneously late on Wednesday (AEST), killing all 89 people on board in what investigators said was probably a freak coincidence, but might...

LAKE JACKSON, Texas (AP) - A stolen single-engine airplane flew through power lines, blacking out about 11,000 customers, and then crashed, and the pilot vanished. The FBI joined the investigation and planned to question the owners of other aircraft based at the Brazoria County Airport, said Louis Jones, the county aviation director. Investigators believe the thief broke into 16 hangars early Sunday before finding a Cessna 172 he was able to commandeer, Jones said. After taking off, the plane severed a series of power lines about two miles southeast of the airport, cutting power to customers in the Lake Jackson...

I'm watching this Nova episode about Swissair 111's crash. They are talking about some pretty amazing stuff. Specifically how the burned parts color appears to change with so-much exposure to heat over so-much time. Why can't they pre-load planes to do this? Apparently this is all accidental. Why can't they put in real temperature sensative paint (or parts) that expose where damage is done at what time? Why do they search after for explosion damage? Why can't parts have a coating that takes certain g-forces and registers it physically? Was this never thought of? Or is it, as usual, cost....

<p>TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (AP) - A domestic airliner crashed Tuesday on approach to the airport in Uzbekistan's capital, the Interior Ministry said. At least 36 people, including the top U.N. official for Uzbekistan, were aboard and no survivors were reported. The plane was an Uzbekistan Airways Yakovlev-40 en route from Termez, in the country's far south along the Afghanistan border, said an Interior Ministry duty officer who declined to give his name. He gave no further details.</p>

A charter jet full of French tourists returning home after vacations in Egypt crashed into the Red Sea early Saturday, killing all 148 people aboard after an apparent mechanical failure, officials said. Searchers spent the day circling the waters in small boats looking for survivors but found only bodies, body parts and debris, including suitcases, shoes, life preservers and small bits of plane wreckage. Swimsuit-clad tourists watched the search efforts from the beach. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, President Moshe Katzav, and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz sent their condolences to the Egyptian and French governments. In France and Egypt, distraught family...

The Thunderbirds are the main attraction at the Gunfighter Skies Air Show at the Mountain Home Air Force Base. Their 30-minute program was set to begin about ten minutes before 3:00 Sunday afternoon. That performance was cut drastically short because of tragedy just after takeoff. “He was doing a max climb with a Split-S Curve,” said Thunderbirds Commander Lt. Col. Richard McSpadden Before the fighter pilot of Thunderbird jet 6 could come out of the curve, he ejected from the cockpit, seconds before his F-16 hit the ground and erupted into flames. A shocked and silent crowd watched and waited....

A fast-spreading Internet worm infecting more than a million computers worldwide forced the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration to shut its offices for the day and is causing problems for other computer networks in the Washington region. The worm, dubbed "Blaster" by security experts, is having a "sporadic" effect on federal agency networks, said a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security......(snip) [Article is long but good]

HONOLULU - An unmanned plane that set an altitude record two years ago broke apart during a test flight Thursday and crashed into the Pacific Ocean, NASA (news - web sites) officials said. The remotely piloted, one-of-a-kind Helios Prototype crashed off Kauai within the testing area of the Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said in a news release. The $15 million, solar-electric, propeller-driven Helios had a wingspan of 247 feet and looked more like a flying wing than a conventional plane. It reached an altitude of 96,500 feet during a 2001...

Source: University Of California - Los Angeles Date: 12/17/2002 Stock Market Crashes Are Predictable, Major Decline Is Coming In 2003 And 2004, Says UCLA Physicist Successfully predicting stock market swings is as futile as searching for the fountain of youth, some people believe. UCLA physicist and complex-systems theorist Didier Sornette is not among them. Sornette, author of a new book, "Why Stock Markets Crash: Critical Events in Complex Financial Systems" (Princeton University Press), has found patterns that occur in market crashes dating back for centuries. Their statistical signatures are evident long in advance, he concludes. Sornette has developed algorithms --...

BEIJING (AP) - A Chinese airliner with 112 people aboard crashed Tuesday night into the water off northeastern China after the captain reported a fire in the cabin, the official Xinhua News Agency said. It said more than 50 bodies were found and that there was little chance anyone survived. A witness said the plane, its lights darkened, circled several times before going down. More than 30 rescue ships were reported headed toward the site of the crash - the second in a month involving a Chinese passenger airliner - but darkness was hampering efforts to find more bodies. "It...