Free Republic

KOTA BARU: The authorities here have their hands full after receiving at least two reports from the public that they saw an aircraft flying low on the same day Malaysian Airlines MH370 vanished. In his report, the owner of a fishing boat claimed that he saw an airplane flying low while he was at sea with a friend about 14.4km from Kuala Besar in Pantai Cahaya Bulan here at 1.30am on Saturday. Azid Ibrahim, 66, said the aircraft was heading towards international waters. According to him, the plane was flying so low that he could see the lights “as big...

Suicide Risk 'Increases with Altitude' People who live at high altitudes are more likely to commit suicide than those who live in lower areas, according to a new study. The study was led by Perry F. Renshaw, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Utah School of Medicine, and Kim Nam-kug, a radiology professor at Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine. They found the trend in analysis of data on 592,000 people who committed suicide in the U.S. between 1979 and 1998 and 47,000 in Korea between 2005 and 2008. According to the study, people living...

As Joe Kittinger found out in 1960, it’s hard to jump from a height of 102,800 feet—let alone in an open gondola, in minus 100 F temperatures, wearing 160 pounds of equipment—and survive. As Michele Fournier reaffirmed this weekend on an airfield in Saskatchewan, it’s even more difficult to break that 50-year-old record for the highest free fall. The French parachutist attempted, for the fourth time, to rise to a height of 130,000 feet in a pressurized capsule dangling beneath a high-altitude air balloon, then step out of it and hurtle toward Earth at supersonic speed, breaking the sound barrier....

4/28/2008 - LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. (AFPN) -- Coast Guard aircrew students completed altitude-chamber training taught by the 1st Fighter Wing Airmen here April 23. The base provides training for all Coast Guard members and the instructors tailor the class specifically to them, said Master Sgt. Rodney Morris, the 1st Aerospace Medical Squadron NCO in charge of aerospace physiology. The two-part training involves a classroom portion where Langley AFB instructors travel to Elizabeth City, N.C., to teach. The second portion involves the altitude-chamber and is conducted here at a later date. The Coast Guard students are usually aircrew members...

Chile's Lascar Volcano is one of the highest altitude active volcanoes in the world, and might actually be the champion. Here's what it looked like in April 1993 from space (look for the ash cloud): That ash cloud is the remnant activity from a previous explosion that was fairly impressive from the ground a few kilometers away.

NEW DELHI : The Army wants to go global now. No, it's not deploying troops overseas or setting up integrated theatre commands across different continents. Instead, the Army is keen to make its specialised unconventional warfare schools into "centres of international excellence". The Counter-Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School at Vairengte (Mizoram) is already attracting foreign armies - from the US , France , Russia , Kazakhstan , Tajikistan and Vietnam , among several others - in hordes to learn how to "fight the guerrilla like a guerrilla". The Army now plans something similar for another unique institution - the High-Altitude...

British Balloonist Claims Altitude Record in Colorado Mar 23, 2004 By Ben Kieckhefer / Associated Press Writer DENVER (AP) - A British balloonist soared into the Colorado sky Tuesday in an open wicker basket, saying he reached 42,000 feet - nearly 8 miles - in what would be a world record for a gas and hot air balloon. David Hempleman-Adams took off from Greeley and landed about 3 1/2 hours later in a farmer's field near Akron, 100 miles east of Denver on the Colorado plains. The current altitude record for gas and hot air balloons is 38,507 feet, set...

Two British pilots have confirmed they will make an attempt on the world manned balloon altitude record on Wednesday after they were thwarted by adverse cloud conditions on Tuesday. BALLOON RECORD ATTEMPT The next launch opportunity is 0700 BST on Wednesday The projected flight path will go out over the Atlantic Ocean The British Airways Concorde will be diverted to the south The team decided on Tuesday evening that they would launch their bid after meteorologists predicted favourable conditions for Wednesday. They plan to begin inflating the envelope ready for launch around 0700 BST (0600 GMT). Colin Prescot and Andy...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured , along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2003 March 7 The Star Trails of Kilimanjaro Credit & Copyright: Dan Heller Explanation: The night had no moon, but the stars were out. And camped at 16,000 feet on Mt. Kilimanjaro, photographer Dan Heller recorded this marvelous 3 1/2 hour long exposure. Here the landscape is lit mostly by the stars. Flashlights give the tents an erie internal radiance while the greenish glow of distant city...