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The Federal Aviation Administration offered an update late Thursday on the system failure that led to last week's nationwide ground stop of air travel, attributing the breakdown to a mistake made by a contractor servicing the Notice to Air Missions, or NOTAM, system. “A preliminary FAA review of last week's outage of the Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system determined that contract personnel unintentionally deleted files while working to correct synchronization between the live primary database and a backup database,” the agency said in a statement, noting that there was, so far, no evidence of a cyberattack or malicious intent....

Friendly reminder that I'm posting this under BLOGGERS & PERSONAL so anything goes. I can post pretty much anything I want in here and it doesn't have to do with anything about politics. So grounding. The premise is that the human body is electrically charges and so it is necessary to put on your bare feet and put them on the ground for a while with no shoes or socks. Sounds all new-agey and hippie-like. I know. But I am a convert. When I spend some time outdoors in my bare feet on a regular basis, I really do feel...

SEATTLE — In the days after the first crash of Boeing’s 737 Max, engineers at the Federal Aviation Administration came to a troubling realization: They didn’t fully understand the automated system that helped send the plane into a nose-dive, killing everyone on board. Engineers at the agency scoured their files for information about the system designed to help avoid stalls. They didn’t find much. Regulators had never independently assessed the risks of the dangerous software known as MCAS when they approved the plane in 2017. More than a dozen current and former employees at the F.A.A. and Boeing who spoke...

The following is the U.S. 7th Fleet command investigation into the January grounding of USS Antietam (CG-54)

MANILA – As weather condition seems to be fine near Tubbataha Reef, salvaging operation for the ill-fated USS Guardian that ran aground last month along the portion of the UNESCO World Heritage continues as the team already starting to prepare for level 2 section lifting. Commodore Enrico Efren Evangelista, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Palawan district commander and chief of Task Force Tubbataha said that the operations currently on going for the clearing of equipments below weather deck as well as the removal of sonar winch at the bow while the team is already done with lifting of the funnel section....

SASEBO NAVAL BASE, Japan — The Navy minesweeper that got stuck on a reef off the coast of the Philippines will have to be dismantled and removed in sections, a process that is expected to take over a month, Navy officials said Wednesday. The salvage plan is still under review by the Philippine Coast Guard, but it likely means the end for the 23-year-old USS Guardian. “Our naval architecture and salvage experts have reviewed all possible alternatives, and our only supportable option is to dismantle the damaged ship and remove it in sections,” Pacific Fleet spokesman Lt. Anthony Falvo wrote...

SASEBO NAVAL BASE, Japan — The Navy minesweeper USS Guardian — stuck on a protected reef off the coast of the Philippines for a week — will most likely stay there up to two more weeks, Navy officials said Thursday. Rear Adm. Tom Carney, Joint Group Unit Guardian commander, said two contracted heavy-lift ships from Singapore are scheduled to arrive next Wednesday or Thursday at the site near Palawan Island to begin removing the stranded ship. The work ultimately depends on conditions at sea and efforts to stabilize the vessel and lighten its load. During a news conference with Philippine...

This locally acquired information playback shows the course and actions of the Concordia based on locally broadcast ship information prior to --and after-- the rock collision and subsequent grounding. Well worth watching. Clearly looks like captain error if he was at the helm. Incidentally this is an excellent site if you have an interest in maritime matters.

Meteorologist Alexandra Steele maps out the route of the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia. [Video]

The publication of the transcripts by Il Fatto Quotidiano newspaper comes as it was revealed junior officers onboard led a 'mutiny' after the ship struck a reef and captain Francesco Schettino dithered in giving the order to abandon the stricken vessel. According to coastguards Schettino did not give the crucial instructions until 10.58pm on Friday night, more than one hour after the initial impact with the rocks, and so wasting valuable time that contributed to the loss of six lives. Officials say that during those chaotic minutes, the bungling skipper had tried to palm them off and minimise the dangerous...

(paraphrasing) Girl takes father to court over grounding for breaking family rules, including insisting on visiting forbidden web sites, and posting inappropriate images of herself. Separated mother helps girl take father to court. Female judge overules father's parental authority.

The destroyer Barry ran aground Thursday as it was preparing to dock at a port in the Black Sea, the Navy confirmed Friday. The incident happened at about 10:30 a.m. local time, as the Norfolk-based ship was entering the Turkish port of Samsun. The ship ran aground in silt as it was maneuvering in the port’s turning basin, about 200 yards from the pier. A harbor pilot was on board at the time, a Navy official said. Tugs were able to free the ship with assistance from Turkish coast guard divers, and the vessel is currently moored at a Samsun...

SAN DIEGO – The skipper of the San Diego-based Pearl Harbor has been relieved of command after the amphibious landing-dock ship ran aground last week in the Persian Gulf, Navy officials said Monday. Cmdr. Xavier Valverde has been reassigned to the staff of the Naval Forces Central Command in Bahrain while the July 21 incident is investigated. The Pearl Harbor apparently hit a shoal while conducting a well-deck drill off the coast of Kuwait, a Navy spokeswoman said. The ship backed off the sand bar without sustaining damage. Valverde, a 26-year Navy veteran, took command of the Pearl Harbor in...

Nuclear submarine which hit rock may have to be scrapped

A British nuclear-powered submarine has been damaged after it hit rocks in the Red Sea, defence officials say. HMS Superb hit an underwater rock on 26 May and damage to its sonar equipment forced it to surface. No crew members were hurt and the submarine remains watertight, according to a Ministry of Defence spokesman. He said the submarine's nuclear reactor was "completely unaffected", but a full investigation was under way to determine the cause of the collision. The 272ft attack vessel had passed through the Suez Canal and was in the northern Red Sea, 80 miles south of Suez itself,...

Six submariners assigned to the submarine USS San Francisco have been punished for dereliction of duty or putting a vessel in danger in connection with a Jan. 8 incident in which the submarine slammed into a seamount in the Pacific, killing one sailor and injuring 98 others. The San Francisco was making a trip to Australia when it came to periscope depth to fix its position accurately a little more than 400 miles southwest of Guam. Minutes after diving, and while traveling at a high rate of speed, the submarine hit a seamount in an area where official Navy charts...

Pope AFB Loses Nearly Half Of C-130 Fleet To Grounding Delegation Hopes To Update Fleet POSTED: 8:09 am EST February 15, 2005 FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- Nearly half of the aging C-130 airplanes at Pope Air Force Base have been grounded because of safety concerns, military officials said. Col. Darren W. McDew, 43rd Airlift Wing commander, said Monday 14 of the 31 four-propeller C-130 Hercules have at Pope are prevented from flying. The planes are used for missions as diverse as dropping Fort Bragg paratroopers on training exercises and hauling cargo around the Persian Gulf. Some members of the North Carolina...

The amount of damage is simply staggering! That this boat ever made it back to port is a tribute to its designers, builders, and especially to the crew and captain. How does America keep finding men like these? High resolution version here High resolution version here

NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- The commanding officer of the Little Creek-based dock landing ship USS Tortuga (LSD 46), Cmdr. Brian Shanahan, and the ship's executive officer Lt. Cmdr. Byron Tracy, were relieved of duty June 19 by Commander, Amphibious Group 2, Rear Adm. Kevin Moran. Based on the preliminary results of an ongoing official investigation, Moran relieved the two officers for the grounding of the ship off the North Carolina coast near Morehead City the night of June 6. The grounding occurred about 1,000 yards off the coast. No one was injured, nor does the ship require any repairs. At...