Causes of Aircrash, Reasons behind the Accidents that occurs to an Aircraft

Causes of Aircrash:

One in every four air crashes across the globe can be attributed to error during landing quite similar to this morning's Air India crash in Mangalore in which 158 people were killed.
An analysis by Boeing shows that around 24 per cent of the total 364 plane accidents between 1998 and 2007 were caused by technical or human error while landing.
Of the 364 accidents, more than 85 occurred while landing, the analysis said. Eleven per cent of the total 5,147 fatalities were attributed to accidents due to problems in landing.
The majority of accidents (57 per cent) occurred while the aircraft were cruising, according to the report titled "Statistical Summary of Commercial Jet Airplane Accidents, 1959-2008".
About 12 per cent of accidents took place during takeoff, while 8 per cent during the plane's initial climb and 12 per cent between the period of climb and cruise, accounting for 43 per cent of the total fatalities, said the report.
While descending, there were only 5 per cent of mishaps whereas 10 per cent of accidents occurred during the flight's initial approach and 9 per cent during the final approach before landing. Such accidents resulted in about 27 per cent of total fatalities during the said 10 years.
The report also stated that about 12 per cent of accidents took place during taxing and towing of planes at airports. As far as fatalities are concerned, 1,985 deaths resulted in accidents caused by loss of control in flights. Over 1,100 were killed in accidents classified under controlled flight into terrain, in which a pilot inadvertently flies an aircraft into terrain without knowing about the obstacle. The third biggest reason behind fatal accidents was the failure or malfunction of an aircraft system or component - other than the powerplant. Accidents under this category have killed 655 people in the reported period. Accidents occurred due to "runway excursion" -- a veer off or overrun off the runway surface -- remained the fourth biggest killer, claiming the lives of about 449 people. Such accidents also resulted in nearly 90 external fatalities, according to the report. Today's mishap can be classified under the "runway excursion" category. Midair collisions have killed over 150 people on board and nearly 70 from outside during the said period.

The Success of Twenty-20 World Cup 2010

Twenty -20 world cup 2010 in West Indies is over.The growing popularity of Twenty20 cricket has been further cemented by the successful conduct of the just concluded ICC World Twenty20 in the Caribbean. From what one saw in the fortnight long competition it is no more just slam bang cricket. There is a lot of strategy and tactics involved and all countries have taken to the game's newest and shortest format very seriously. The very nature of the format - short and sweet - led one to initially think that is just hit and giggle. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Just for starters, it can be stated that the tactical errors of MS Dhoni were possibly the main reasons that led to India's exit at the Super Stage of the tournament. Persisting with Ravindra Jadeja, fielding just two quick bowlers on the fast and bouncy track at Bridgetown, not playing leg spinner Piyush Chawla and not using Yusuf Pathan as a floater in the batting order were some of the moves found wanting as far as strategic matters were concerned. It is important in Twenty20 to be more flexible rather than to follow a rigid policy and that is one of the truths driven home by events in the World Cup.

The tournament also underlined the fact that the format provides for an even contest between bat and ball. Initially, it was taken for granted that Twenty20 was a format by, for and of the batsmen. Of late thanks to the evolution of the format into a thinking man's game the gap between bat and ball has narrowed. In 27 matches, 200 was not notched up even once with the highest being 197 for seven by Australia in their successful run chase against Pakistan in the semifinal. Modest totals of 133, 139, 141 and 148 were defended successfully while totals of 168 and 169 were enough to win by convincing margins in contests between Test playing nations. An encouraging feature of the matches was that spin bowlers enjoyed almost as much success as the pacemen with Saeed Ajmal, Graeme Swann and Steve Smith being as much in the forefront as Dirk Nannes and Mitchell Johnson. The men were separated from the boys as the Super Eight stage began and it was proper that the eight leading teams battled it out for top honours. The result was cricket of a superbly high standard. Mercifully the weather did not play major havoc with the matches and in fact not even one game after the preliminary stage was decided on Duckworth/Lewis.

England's triumph - their first in any ICC Trophy tournament in 35 years - provided the icing on the cake. Few gave Paul Collingwood's men any chance of winning the competition given their past record where the best has been finalists in the 1979, 1987 and 1992 Fifty50 Cricket World Cup and runners-up again in the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy. Indeed, there were the only one of eight leading teams not to have won an ICC Trophy and they were up against formidable competition. But defying the odds, England shrugged off defeat under controversial circumstances in the rain ruined opener against the West Indies to win six matches in a row including one that mattered most - the title clash against favourites Australia. To their credit it must be said that Australia produced some wonderful cricket over the fortnight including a memorable victory over Pakistan in the semifinal in one of the finest Twenty20 matches ever played.

The participation of Afghanistan provided the fairytale story . There were innumerable stories about how the team members from that war ravaged country had overcome hurdles after hurdles to make it to the Caribbean. It really did not matter that they lost both their matches to Test opponents India and South Africa. Afghanistan were defeated but certainly not disgraced and it is hoped that they receive all help from the authorities as they take a firm path towards making a greater impact in international cricket.

Memories will linger and the most vivid will have to be Australia's victory over Pakistan from a seemingly hopeless situation and Mike Hussey's blinder of an innings that saw him hit 60 not out off just 24 balls. He cemented his position as Mr Cricket. Other memories must include Kevin Pietersen's swashbuckling batting, Mahela Jayawardene's silken touch that underlined that big hits alone need not be required to maintain a quick run rate, Cameron White on the other hand sending the ball into the stands and out of the ground over and over again, the bowling of the Australian and England pacemen and the many exciting finishes. But, perhaps, the single most outstanding feat was the five wicket maiden sent down by Pakistan's Mohammed Aamer against Australia - something that may never be performed again in Twenty20 internationals.

It was really two weeks to remember!

Twenty-20 World Cup in West Indies- Performance of Team India is Hampered by IPL and Its Night Party

After the debacle of Indian Cricket Team in Twenty-20 world cup in West Indies, Indian Captain M.S. Dhoni has blamed the IPL and after match parties for the failure of team India. Dhoni was right in one way. Players have to make their own choices about their bodies, but it's not always that easy - not if you're not Mahendra Singh Dhoni or Sachin Tendulkar or Rahul Dravid. Each party was invariably the same routine. Starting with a ramp show that lasted 30 to 45 minutes, then the models would come off and mix with the rest and the party would take off. There were cheerleaders and girls who we called 'escort service'. Beautiful women to add glamour to the mix, get the party moving. They were not allowed to talk to any player for more than five minutes. If they did, a manager would walk up and slickly move her away. But there were other women, willing and uninhibited. The big-name players who did attend generally handled themselves without a problem. They would hang around, chat, have a drink, pick up a happy girl, sometimes two, take her back to the hotel room and have some fun. Watching some of our younger players, the u-19 and u-22 kids, though, was scary. They had never been exposed to Bollywood stars, Page 3 personalities, endless cigarettes (all free), flowing booze, occasionally drugs and always women, willing women, everywhere. The boys lapped it up, and would party right through. Those that didn't drink or smoke did so to be part of the cool gang. The pressure lay more in the occasional hint dropped by an IPL official, a sponsor or a franchise official that it would be good if cricketers were there for a bit, that there were some people they would like me to meet. If he is not Tendulkar or Dravid, he couldn't say no, go back to the room and stay there and not be bothered. So one tell himself, 'I'll go down for an hour', only, it's never an hour. Before he knows it, it's 4am and he's heading back to his room, hurrying to pack up and head to another city, another game, another sponsor's commitment (which are endless), another shoot possibly and yes, another party.
The problem is to switch off mentally. Not on the field, not during the hours spent in airports when fans and the airport staff want an autograph, photograph or just a chat and not in the parties, where he'll be introduced to important people who will listen to him and perhaps, be important contacts who will make money for him. It's a choice and it's tiring but it's also business. They have to be switched on. It takes a toll, when one plays a game, party till 4am, pack and grab an hour's sleep before heading for the airport and spend six to 12 hours travelling. Places like Jaipur and Chandigarh don't have direct connections to everywhere else. That's one of the problem of IPL, not the matches, not the parties but the endless travel and exhaustion - and next year, with 34 games more, it will only get worse.

The IPL is intense; short bursts of highly charged games and then, nothing. There's no period of introspection.

Katrina Kaif - The Queen of Bollywood

Katrina Kaif has bagged a nomination at the coming 55th Filmfare Awards in best actor category for her role in 'New York'. Katrina says that she is happy with the nomination and won't mind if someone else wins the trophy. Everyone wants to win, everyone wants to be successful. When one makes a movie, he/she wants it to be successful. Similarly when one is nominated, of course he/she wants to win. But honestly as she is not used to winning that just the nomination is enough. She cannot complain as her awards have been so great from the audiences. She is happy just to be nominated. She would have a great time performing at the show. Katrina will perform at the the award function to be held Feb 27 at the Yash Raj Studios and she has teamed up with her favourite choreographer Ganesh Hegde to prepare for her performance. 'We haven't confirmed on which songs I am going to perform. We have only confirmed the choreographer and he is Ganesh Hegde. He is one of my favourites so I think it's going to be a phenomenal act this time. I am really excited and we are going to start practice this Thursday,' said Katrina.

Exercise- Does it Really Help or it is a Waste of Time

Are you a fitness freak? Do you do aerobics regularly? Stop! Here comes something for you to give a thought. Millions of people who try to be in shape with jogging, swimming or hours of exercise have been rendered useless after scientists claimed the activities might be a mere waste of time. Researchers at the University of London showed that nearly 20 per cent of people who do regular aerobic exercise did not gain any significant health benefits. Principal investigator James Timmons, from the Royal Veterinary College, said that the other ways of keeping healthy, such as improving diet or taking medication, may actually work better. The research, published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, was conducted in association with the Human Genomics Laboratory in Louisiana and the Centre for Healthy Ageing at the University of Copenhagen. So thin twice before bending your back!

Are Forests Helpful to Prevent Global Warming

Its the common notion that forests remove carbon dioxide from the air and prevent global warming . But it has some falacies according to a new study. There's a kind of forest that does remove carbon dioxide, but does not help prevent global warming because it heats up so much itself. Forests can directly absorb and retain heat, and, in at least one type of forest, these effects may be strong enough to cancel out a good part of the benefit in lowered carbon dioxide, says a discovery by chemistry researchers at the Weizmann Institute (WI), Israel.
For the past 10 years, WI has been operating a research station in the semi-arid Yatir Forest, a pine forest at the edge of the Negev Desert. This station is part of a worldwide project comprising over 400 stations, called FLUXNET, which probes the link among forests, the atmosphere and climate around the globe. Forests counteract the greenhouse effect by removing heat-trapping carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it in living trees. Over the years of measurement, Yakir's group has found that the semi-arid forest, even though not as luxuriant as temperate forests farther north, is a surprisingly good carbon sink - better than most European pine forests and about on par with the global average. This was unexpected news for a forest sitting at the edge of a desert, and it indicated that there is real hope for the more temperate forests if things heat up under future global change scenarios. But forests do more than just store carbon dioxide, and Yakir, together with Eyal Rotenberg, decided to look at the larger picture - the 'total energy budget' of a semi-arid forest. The first hint they had that other processes might be counteracting the cooling effect of carbon dioxide uptake came when they compared the forest's albedo - how much sunlight is reflected from its surface back into space - with that of the nearby open shrub land. They found that the dark forest canopy had a much lower albedo, absorbing quite a bit more of the sun's energy than the pale, reflective surface of surrounding area. In a cloudless environment with high levels of solar radiation, albedo becomes an important factor in surface heating.

Global Warming- Is It Really As Dangeous As Campaigned, Dangers of Gobal Warming- Are They Over Emphasized

Andy Pitman, an Australian scientist (co-authour the controversial climate change report) tried to defend the errors found in it. He said that one or two mistakes does not undermine the case of global warming. Andy Pitman, co-director of University of NSW climate change research centre and key author of the IPCC's 2001 and 2007 reports, said that there might be two paragraphs that have been questioned in a 1600-page document but there are the other 1599 pages that nobody has found any problems with. The prediction that Himalayan glaciers could disappear by 2035 has now been shown to be unfounded but Pitman said while the date may be wrong the outcome will be the same. Its not that the Himalayan glaciers are not vulnerable to climate change or are not melting or are not melting at an accelerated rate. It is the date of 2035 that is a bit doubtful. What is more worrying to Prof Pitman is the revelation that the IPCC chairman Rajendra Pachauri may have benefited from the errors by receiving funding for his research institute. This is yet another blow for climate scientists and Pitman said it will give climate change sceptics ammunition to continue their attacks. It's very clear that increased CO2 and other greenhouse gases are causing climate change but it certainly wont stop the sceptics using the information for their own purpose. Pitman said he believed concerted efforts by sceptics to attack and misinform the community are working, very similar to the efforts of tobacco lobbyists who deny the health effects of smoking. If climate scientists losethe fight with the sceptics , it will be the most unfortunate thing to the future of mankind.