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Pilot dies mid-flight prompting emergency landing

A Turkish Airlines pilot has tragically died in the middle of a flight from Seattle in the US to the Turkish city of Istanbul, prompting an emergency landing. Pilot İlçehin Pehlivan, 59, “lost consciousness” at some point after the flight took off, with the plane then landing in New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, almost five hours into the journey. The diversion came after initial medical intervention on board failed to revive the captain, with the second pilot and co-pilot making the landing in New York. Pehlivan was declared dead on arrival when the plane was met by authorities, and no cause of death has yet been released. Turkish Airlines spokesperson Yahya Üstün said the pilot, who worked for the airline since 2007, underwent a routine health check in March and “no health problem was detected that would prevent him from working”. He recalled the moment onboard, saying, "After the first medical evaluation to our captain on board was inconclusive, the cockpit crew ... decided to make an emergency landing, but our captain died before landing." “As Turkish Airlines, we deeply feel the loss of our captain and extend our sincerest condolences to his bereaved family, colleagues, and all his loved ones,” he added. Image credits: Shutterstock

Travel Trouble

Drunk couple forces emergency landing after mid-air meltdown

A Ryanair flight to Ibiza had to be diverted after a drunk couple allegedly assaulted cabin crew and other passengers. The plane, carrying holiday-makers from Manchester to Ibiza had to make an emergency landing in Toulouse, where police hauled the intoxicated passengers off the plane. A British traveller on the flight, who asked to remain anonymous, recalled the man "swigging duty free vodka" on the first hour of the flight, before he started arguing with a male cabin crew member and punched him in the face. As they tried to restrain him, the intoxicated man assaulted another passenger and spat at a woman, hurling verbal abuse at her. “He was kicking off with everyone, he was out of control,” the witness said. Flight attendants reportedly warned him that the flight would have to be diverted if he didn't calm down, but he replied: “I don’t give a f***.” The altercation lasted for about 40 minutes until Flight FR2626 had to land in Toulouse, and 12 police officers took him away in custody. Video of the attack showed the man shouting and swearing at the police, before assaulting another traveller as he was being escorted off the flight. After he left the plane, his partner started harassing another traveller, hitting him and calling him a "paedo". In another video, police were filmed physically restraining the woman, before removing her from the plane. The flight spent just over an hour and a half on the tarmac at the Toulouse-Blagnac Airport before continuing its journey to Ibiza. Just last week Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary called for flyers to be limited to two drinks at airports to crack down on disorderly behaviour on flights. “We don’t want to begrudge people having a drink," he said. “But we don’t allow people to drink-drive, yet we keep putting them up in aircraft at 33,000ft. “In the old days, people who drank too much would eventually fall over or fall asleep. But now those passengers are also on tablets and powder. “It’s the mix. You get much more aggressive behaviour that becomes very difficult to manage.” The airline has started carrying out hand luggage checks to stop passengers on flights to Ibiza and the Greek islands from smuggling duty-free alcohol on-board. A Ryanair spokesperson has apologised for the incident saying: “This flight from Manchester to Ibiza diverted to Toulouse after a small group of passengers became disruptive in-flight." “The crew called ahead for police assistance, who met the aircraft upon landing at Toulouse and offloaded two passengers before this flight continued to Ibiza. “We sincerely apologise to passengers for any inconvenience caused as a result of these unruly passengers’ behaviour, which was beyond Ryanair’s control. This is now a matter for local police.” Image: news.com.au

Travel Trouble

Almost half the men surveyed think they could land a passenger plane. Experts disagree

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/guido-carim-junior-1379129">Guido Carim Junior</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/chris-campbell-1414564">Chris Campbell</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/elvira-marques-1362476">Elvira Marques</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nnenna-ike-1490692">Nnenna Ike</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/tim-ryley-1253269">Tim Ryley</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a> Picture this: you’re nestled comfortably in your seat cruising towards your holiday destination when a flight attendant’s voice breaks through the silence: <blockquote> Ladies and gentlemen, both pilots are incapacitated. Are there any passengers who could land this plane with assistance from air traffic control? </blockquote> If you think you could manage it, you’re not alone. <a href="https://today.yougov.com/topics/politics/survey-results/daily/2023/01/02/fd798/3">Survey results</a> published in January indicate about one-third of adult Americans think they could safely land a passenger aircraft with air traffic control’s guidance. Among male respondents, the confidence level rose to nearly 50%. Can a person with no prior training simply guide everyone to a smooth touchdown? We’ve all heard stories of passengers who saved the day when the pilot became unresponsive. For instance, last year <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbMoyWukjbs">Darren Harrison</a> managed to land a twin-engine aircraft in Florida – after the pilot passed out – with the guidance of an air traffic controller who also happened to be a flight instructor. However, such incidents tend to take place in small, simple aircraft. Flying a much bigger and heavier commercial jet is a completely different game. <h2>You can’t always rely on autopilot</h2> A pilot spends about 90% of their time monitoring autopilot systems and making sure everything is working as intended. The other 10% is spent managing problems, taxiing, taking off and landing. Takeoffs and landings are arguably the most difficult tasks pilots perform, and are always performed manually. Only on very few occasions, and in a handful of aircraft models, can a pilot use autopilot to land the aircraft for them. This is the exception, and not the rule. For takeoff, the aircraft must build up speed until the wings can generate enough lift to pull it into the air. The pilot must <a href="https://youtu.be/16XTAK-4Xbk?si=66yDo5g5I086Q2y2&t=65">pay close attention</a> to multiple instruments and external cues, while keeping the aircraft centred on the runway until it reaches lift-off speed. Once airborne, they must coordinate with air traffic control, follow a particular path, retract the landing gear and maintain a precise speed and direction while trying to climb. Landing is even more complicated, and requires having precise control of the aircraft’s direction and descent rate. <a href="https://youtu.be/u_it9OiTnSM?si=xNZrLB9ZH870LEa3&t=360">To land successfully</a>, a pilot must keep an appropriate speed while simultaneously managing gear and flap configuration, adhering to air traffic regulations, communicating with air traffic control and completing a number of paper and digital checklists. Once the aircraft comes close to the runway, they must accurately judge its height, reduce power and adjust the rate of descent – ensuring they land on the correct area of the runway. On the ground, they will use the brakes and reverse thrust to bring the aircraft to a complete stop before the runway ends. This all happens within just a few minutes. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Nyx4NyMrvOs?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> Both takeoff and landing are far too quick, technical and concentration-intensive for an untrained person to pull off. They also require a range of skills that are only gained through extensive training, such as understanding the information presented on different gauges, and being able to coordinate one’s hands and feet in a certain way. <h2>Training a pilot</h2> The journey from student to commercial pilot is a long one. It normally starts with a recreational licence, followed by a private licence, and then a commercial licence (which allows them to fly professionally). Even before stepping into a cockpit, the student must study aerodynamics, air law and flight rules, meteorology, human factors, navigation, aircraft systems, and performance and flight planning. They also need to spend time learning about the specific aircraft they will be flying. Once the fundamentals are grasped, an instructor takes them for training. Most of this training is conducted in small, lightweight aircraft – with a simulator introduced briefly towards the end. During a lesson, each manoeuvre or action is demonstrated by the instructor before the student attempts it. Their attempt may be adjusted, corrected or even terminated early in critical situations. The first ten to fifteen lessons focus on takeoff, landing, basic in-flight control and emergency management. When the students are ready, they’re allowed to “go solo” – wherein they conduct a complete flight on their own. This is a great milestone. After years of experience, they are ready to transition to a commercial aircraft. At this point they might be able to take off and land reasonably well, but they will still undergo extensive training specific to the aircraft they are flying, including hours of advanced theory, dozens of simulator sessions and hundreds of hours of real aircraft training (most of which is done with passengers onboard). So, if you’ve never even learned the basics of flying, your chances of successfully landing a passenger aircraft with air traffic control’s help are close to zero. <h2>Yet, flying is a skill like any other</h2> Aviation training has been democratised by the advent of high-end computers, virtual reality and flight simulation games such as Microsoft’s <a href="https://www.flightsimulator.com/">Flight Simulator</a> and <a href="https://www.x-plane.com/">X-Plane</a>. Anyone can now rig up a desktop flight simulator for a few thousand dollars. Ideally, such a setup should also include the basic physical controls found in a cockpit, such as a control yoke, throttle quadrant and pedals. Flight simulators provide an immersive environment in which professional pilots, students and aviation enthusiasts can develop their skills. So if you really think you could match-up against a professional, consider trying your hand at one. You almost certainly won’t be able to land an actual passenger plane by the end of it – but at least you’ll gain an appreciation for the immense skill pilots possess.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218037/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/guido-carim-junior-1379129">Guido Carim Junior</a>, Senior Lecturer in Aviation, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/chris-campbell-1414564">Chris Campbell</a>, Adjunct Associate Professor, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/elvira-marques-1362476">Elvira Marques</a>, Aviation PhD candidate, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nnenna-ike-1490692">Nnenna Ike</a>, Research Assistant, Griffith Aviation, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/tim-ryley-1253269">Tim Ryley</a>, Professor and Head of Griffith Aviation, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/almost-half-the-men-surveyed-think-they-could-land-a-passenger-plane-experts-disagree-218037">original article</a>. </div>

Travel Trouble

The US just returned to the Moon after more than 50 years. How big a deal is it, really?

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/david-flannery-3906">David Flannery</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/queensland-university-of-technology-847">Queensland University of Technology</a> In the few short years since the COVID pandemic changed our world, China, Japan and India have all successfully landed on the Moon. Many more robotic missions have flown past the Moon, entered lunar orbit, or crashed into it in the past five years. This includes <a href="https://www.planetary.org/space-missions/kplo">spacecraft developed by South Korea</a>, <a href="https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2023/04/27/Dubai-s-ruler-announces-new-moon-mission-after-UAE-s-Rashid-Rover-lunar-crash-">the United Arab Emirates</a>, and an <a href="https://www.spaceil.com/">Israeli not-for-profit organisation</a>. Late last week, the American company <a href="https://www.intuitivemachines.com/">Intuitive Machines</a>, in collaboration with NASA, celebrated “America’s return to the Moon” with a successful landing of its Odysseus spacecraft. Recent <a href="https://theconversation.com/change-5-china-launches-sample-return-mission-to-the-moon-is-it-winning-the-new-space-race-150665">Chinese-built sample return missions</a> are far more complex than this project. And didn’t NASA ferry a dozen humans to the Moon back when microwaves were cutting-edge technology? So what is different about this mission developed by a US company? <h2>Back to the Moon</h2> The recent Odysseus landing stands out for two reasons. For starters, this is the first time a US-built spacecraft has landed – not crashed – on the Moon for over 50 years. Secondly, and far more significantly, this is the first time a private company has pulled off a successful delivery of cargo to the Moon’s surface. NASA has lately focused on destinations beyond the Earth–Moon system, including Mars. But with its <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/commercial-lunar-payload-services/">Commercial Lunar Payload Services</a> (CLPS) program, it has also funded US private industry to develop Moon landing concepts, hoping to reduce the delivery costs of lunar payloads and allow NASA engineers to focus on other challenges. Working with NASA, Intuitive Machines selected a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malapert_(crater)">landing site</a> about 300 kilometres from the lunar south pole. Among other challenges, landing here requires entering a polar orbit around the Moon, which consumes additional fuel. At this latitude, the land is heavily cratered and dotted with long shadows. This makes it challenging for autonomous landing systems to find a safe spot for a touchdown. NASA spent about US$118 million (A$180 million) to land six scientific <a href="https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Engineering_Technology/About_Payload_Systems">payloads</a> on Odysseus. This is relatively cheap. Using low-cost lunar landers, NASA will have an efficient way to test new space hardware that may then be flown on other Moon missions or farther afield. <h2>Ten minutes of silence</h2> One of the technology tests on the Odysseus lander, NASA’s <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/impact-story-navigation-doppler-lidar/">Navigation Doppler Lidar experiment</a> or NDL, appears to have proved crucial to the lander’s success. As the lander neared the surface, the company realised its navigation systems had a problem. NASA’s NDL experiment is serendipitously designed to test precision landing techniques for future missions. It seems that at the last second, engineers bodged together a solution that involved feeding necessary data from NDL to the lander. Ten minutes of silence followed before a <a href="https://twitter.com/Int_Machines/status/1760838333851148442">weak signal was detected</a> from Odysseus. Applause thundered through the mission control room. NASA’s administrator released a video congratulating everyone for returning America to the Moon. It has since become clear the lander is not oriented perfectly upright. The solar panels are generating sufficient power and the team is slowly receiving the first images from the surface. However, it’s likely Odysseus <a href="https://www.universetoday.com/165864/odysseus-moon-lander-is-tipped-over-but-still-sending-data/">partially toppled over</a> upon landing. Fortunately, at the time of writing, it seems most of the science payload may yet be deployed as it’s on the side of the lander facing upwards. The unlucky payload element facing downwards <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/23/world/odysseus-lunar-landing-sideways-scn/index.html">is a privately contributed artwork</a> connected <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/22/style/jeff-koons-moon-phases-odysseus-landing/index.html">to NFTs</a>. The lander is now likely to survive for at least a week before the Sun sets on the landing site and a dark, frigid lunar night turns it into another museum piece of human technology frozen in the lunar <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/regolith">regolith</a>. <h2>Win some, lose some</h2> NASA’s commercial approach to stimulating low-cost payload services all but guarantees some failures. But eventually NASA hopes that several commercial launch and landing providers will emerge from the program, along with a few learning experiences. The know-how accumulated at organisations operating hardware in space is at least as important as the development of the hardware itself. The market for commercial lunar payloads remains unclear. Possibly, once the novelty wears off and brands are no longer able to generate buzz by, for example, <a href="https://www.columbia.com/omni-heat-infinity/moon-mission/">sending a piece of outdoor clothing to the Moon</a>, this source of funding may dwindle. However, just as today, civil space agencies and taxpayers will continue to fund space exploration to address shared science goals. Ideally, commercial providers will offer NASA an efficient method for testing key technologies needed for its schedule of upcoming scientific robotic missions, as well as <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/">human spaceflight in the Artemis program</a>. Australia would also have the opportunity to test hardware at a reduced price. It’s worth noting that US budgetary issues, <a href="https://spacenews.com/nasa-warns-of-very-problematic-space-technology-budget-cuts/">funding cuts</a> and <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/jpl-workforce-update">subsequent lay-offs</a> do threaten these ambitions. Meanwhile, in Australia, we may have nothing to launch anyway. We continue to spend less <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_departments/Parliamentary_Library/Budget/reviews/2023-24/ScienceResearch">than the OECD average on scientific research</a>, and only a few Australian universities – who traditionally lead such efforts – <a href="https://business.gov.au/grants-and-programs/moon-to-mars-initiative-demonstrator-mission-grants/grant-recipients">have received funding</a> provided by the Australian Space Agency. If we do support planetary science and space exploration in the future, Australians will need to decide if we want to allocate our limited resources, competing with NASA and US private industry, to supply launch, landing and robotic services to the global space industry. Alternatively, we could leverage these lower-cost payload providers to develop our own scientific space program, and locally developed space technologies associated with benefits to the knowledge economy, education and national security.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224276/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/david-flannery-3906">David Flannery</a>, Planetary Scientist, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/queensland-university-of-technology-847">Queensland University of Technology</a> Image credits: Intuitive Machines This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-us-just-returned-to-the-moon-after-more-than-50-years-how-big-a-deal-is-it-really-224276">original article</a>.

International Travel

"32 years of safe landings": Pilot's surprise speech reduces passengers to tears

A pilot has brought his passengers to tears with an emotional speech on his final flight after 32 years in the skies. Jeff Fell, an American Airlines pilot, took off from Chicago on his retirement flight as he stood in front of his passengers and delivered a heartfelt message. At first, his message seemed routine, informing travellers of the weather and and flight time, before acknowledging it was strange for him to deliver the address from outside the cockpit. “I normally don’t stand up in front of everybody like this, I usually just stay in the cockpit and talk on the PA. If I get a little emotional please forgive me for that,” he said in the speech, which was captured on video by a passenger. With passengers still unaware of what was to come, he pointed out a group of “very important people” to him sitting at the back of the plane. “They’re the majority of my family who have come along with me on my retirement flight,” Mr Fell said. The plane was filled with applause as the pilot's voice wavered with emotion. “They’re on-board with me on my retirement flight after 32 years with American,” he said. He continued, fighting back tears, “Thank you all for coming along with me tonight and celebrating this very memorable time in my life. I love all of you." With another round of applause from his passengers, Mr Fell added:, “I didn’t want to get emotional but goodness gracious.” “Finally, for my wonderful wife Julie who has been at my side for the majority of my 32 years at American. She has been the rock, the solid rock in the foundation in our lives and our marriage. Her faith in the Lord, wisdom, strength and love has guided our marriage and family throughout these years. I love you and look forward to the next chapter in our lives. And welcome aboard everybody.” The video was uploaded to TikTok and has since gone viral, raking up millions of views, and you can watch the full video <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@realjharrison/video/7299484162648509738" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>. Thousands of social media users left comments of support, with many confessing the clip had brought them to tears. “As soon as he said retirement flight my tears came,” one person wrote, while another added, "32 years of safe landings also. God bless him and all pilots.” “To think of the amount of families, people, and cultures he has single-handedly connected throughout the world. Thank you!” penned a third person. “32 years of bringing people closer together. I’m crying!” agreed another. Image credits: TikTok

International Travel

“A lesson learned”: Uni student lands herself in an overdue book nightmare

A university graduate student received the shock of her academic career when an email arrived in her inbox to inform her she owed her school’s library a whopping $11,900 in overdue book fines. Hannah took to TikTok to share her story, posting a snippet of the horror email, and the news that her library account had amassed a debt of “$11,9000 owed for 119 lost books”. The books had been declared lost, though Hannah was quick to note that she was “still using” each of them, and had every intention of returning them once she was finished with her studies. To drive home the fact that the books were not missing, and instead safely in her scholarly possession, Hannah panned around the various piles of tomes stacked around her home, with a caption reading “the books aren’t lost, I’m just hoarding them until I finish my dissertation.” The email itself explained the books were marked as lost in the library’s system if they exceeded 30 days overdue, and that there was a flat rate of $100 per book in such instances. And according to the library, it was up to each patron to renew their books, and that Hannah “received overdue notices on the following dates prompting you to renew your library books before they are declared lost.” As she explained to The Daily Dot, she had checked out her collection three years prior while she’d been preparing for exams, and confirmed that she had received four reminders to either renew or return the books, but she’d put it off each time. “Then I got the automatic email,” she added, “saying all of the books were marked as lost and my account was charged $100 per book.” Hannah’s woe drew a mixed response from her audience, with some surprised that her library had even let her withdraw that many books in the first place, others unable to wrap their heads around the fact she could have let her situation get so bad, and many quick to defend the librarian, who they declared had only been doing her job. “My library only lets me check out 5 books at a time,” one wrote. “That’s why keeping library books past their due date is considered stealing,” another said, to which Hannah responded to promise her lesson had been learned. “Only 30 days over due??? Damn give a lil more time,” said one, with Hannah informing them that she’d had the books for years by that point. It wasn’t all bad for the budding scholar though, with Hannah explaining in another comment that “it was hunky dory”, as the library had waived her fees as soon as she’d responded to them, and that she’d been allowed to keep all 119 for an additional year. And, as she told another follower, “I’ve never replied to an email faster.” Images: TikTok

Books

24-year-old flight attendant dies as plane lands

A flight attendant who died suddenly when her plane landed shared how much she “loved her job” in a final Instagram post. Greta Dyrmishi, 24, was a cabin crew member for Air Albania and was travelling from Tirana, the Albanian capital, to Essex in the UK when she suddenly fainted on the tarmac. Paramedics arrived on the scene, giving CPR after reports of a woman being seriously ill, but unfortunately, they were unable to save her. A post-mortem found that the Ms Dyrmishi had died from “sudden adult death syndrome”. The 24-year-old, who was very active on Instagram and regularly posted about her travels, shared an aerial view of city lights at night, paired with the words, “That’s why I love my job.” She shared a clip from a plane window, roughly nine weeks before she passed away, showcasing the ocean, buildings and countryside. Ms Dyrmishi also shared footage on Instagram where she was seen enjoying a night out with co-workers. Essex Coroner’s Court was informed the young woman was given basic first aid on the tarmac when she fainted. “Ten minutes later there was no pulse and CPR commenced. Paramedics treated her and confirmed she had passed away,” Michelle Brown, area coroner for Essex, said. “A post-mortem found her cause of death to be sudden adult death syndrome.” According to the British Heart Foundation, Sudden Adult Death syndrome, also referred to as Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome (SADS), is “when someone dies suddenly and unexpectedly from a cardiac arrest, but the cause of the cardiac arrest can’t be detected. The Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute in Australia revealed SADS is one of the biggest causes of death for Australians under 50 and is five times more likely to affect men. “The primary cause of SCD in adults 35 and over is coronary heart disease. In younger people under 35, it is congenital heart conditions and heart rhythm disorders,” it says on its <a href="https://baker.edu.au/health-hub/sudden-cardiac-death#:~:text=Sudden%20cardiac%20death%20%E2%80%94%20also%20sudden,over%20is%20coronary%20heart%20disease." target="_blank" rel="noopener">site</a>. Ms Brown stated at the time of the incident that Ms Dyrmishi was at the front by the doors on the plane at Stansted Airport. “This is suitable for a documentary inquest in due course,” she said. At the time of her death, Air Albania issued a statement that said, “On December 21, after disembarking the passengers from our flight to London, one of our cabin crew Greta Dyrmishi had a heart attack. “Even after all medical assistance was provided immediately, we still lost her. “She was taken to the hospital in London, and procedures are being followed. “From the first moments, Air Albania contacted her family, and we continue to be close to them in these difficult moments. “In respect to Greta and her family, we decided to share the news with the public at the appropriate time. “We will always remember Greta as a passionate professional, an excellent co-worker, and a great friend to all of us. May God mercy her and give peace to the family. Air Albania will continue to be with her family.” Image credit: Instagram

Travel Trouble

New research in Arnhem Land reveals why institutional fire management is inferior to cultural burning

One of the conclusions of this week’s shocking <a href="https://soe.dcceew.gov.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">State of the Environment report</a> is that climate change is lengthening Australia’s bushfire seasons and raising the number of days with a fire danger rating of “very high” or above. In New South Wales, for example, the season now extends to almost eight months. It has never been more important for institutional bushfire management programs to apply the principles and practices of Indigenous fire management, or “cultural burning”. As the report notes, cultural burning reduces the risk of bushfires, supports habitat and improves Indigenous wellbeing. And yet, the report finds: <blockquote> with significant funding gaps, tenure impediments and policy barriers, Indigenous cultural burning remains underused – it is currently applied over less than 1% of the land area of Australia’s south‐eastern states and territory. </blockquote> Our <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-12946-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recent research</a> in Scientific Reports specifically addressed the question: how do the environmental outcomes from cultural burning compare to mainstream bushfire management practices? Using the stone country of the Arnhem Land Plateau as a case study, we reveal why institutional fire management is inferior to cultural burning. The few remaining landscapes where Aboriginal people continue an unbroken tradition of caring for Country are of international importance. They should be nationally recognised, valued and resourced like other protected cultural and historical places. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Different indigenous fire application today with a country full of weeds. First burn of of two applications this year. This is what we have to do to make country have less flammable vegetation. Walk through, More time and love put into country. <a href="https://t.co/pnoWFQbq6C">pic.twitter.com/pnoWFQbq6C</a> — Victor Steffensen (@V_Steffensen) <a href="https://twitter.com/V_Steffensen/status/1505384041402748930?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 20, 2022</a></blockquote> Ancient fire management The rugged terrain of the Arnhem Plateau in Northern Territory has an ancient human history, with archaeological evidence <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2017-07-20/aboriginal-shelter-pushes-human-history-back-to-65,000-years/8719314#:%7E:text=New%20excavations%20of%20a%20rock,earlier%20than%20archaeologists%20previously%20thought." target="_blank" rel="noopener">dated at 65,000 years</a>. Arnhem Land is an ideal place to explore the effects of different fire regimes because fire is such an essential feature of the natural and cultural environment. Australia’s monsoon tropics are particularly fire prone given the sharply contrasting wet and dry seasons. The wet season sees prolific growth of grasses and other flammable plants, and dry season has reliable hot, dry, windy conditions. Millennia of <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-worlds-best-fire-management-system-is-in-northern-australia-and-its-led-by-indigenous-land-managers-133071" target="_blank" rel="noopener">skilful fire management</a> by Indigenous people in these landscapes have allowed plants and animals needing infrequently burnt habitat to thrive. This involves shifting “mosaic” burning, where small areas are burned regularly to create a patchwork of habitats with different fire histories. This gives wildlife a diversity of resources and places to shelter in. Conservation biologists suspect that the loss of such patchy fires since colonisation has contributed to the <a href="http://132.248.10.25/therya/index.php/THERYA/article/view/236/html_66" target="_blank" rel="noopener">calamitous demise</a> of wildlife species across northern Australia, such as northern quolls, northern brown bandicoots and grassland melomys. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> "Fire is the way to really look after the land and the people. Since we started here, we've been using fire. And we need to bring it back because it unites the people and the land." Jacob Morris, Gumea-Dharrawal Yuin man. 🎥 Craig Bender & <a href="https://twitter.com/VeraHongTweets?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VeraHongTweets</a> <a href="https://t.co/Afh6iwIrOX">pic.twitter.com/Afh6iwIrOX</a> — FiresticksAlliance (@FiresticksA) <a href="https://twitter.com/FiresticksA/status/1436177617049296901?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2021</a></blockquote> Collapse of the cypress pine Our study was undertaken over 25 years, and wouldn’t have been possible without the generous support and close involvement of the Traditional Owners over this time. It compared an area under near continuous Indigenous management by the Kune people of Western Arnhem Land with ecologically similar and unoccupied areas within Kakadu National Park. We found populations of the cypress pine (Callitris intratropica) remained healthy under continual Aboriginal fire management. By contrast, cypress pine populations had collapsed in ecologically similar areas in Kakadu due to the loss of Indigenous fire management, as they have across much of northern Australia. The population of dead and living pines is like a barcode that records fire regime change. The species is so long lived that older trees were well established before colonisation. The timber is extremely durable and termite resistant, so a tree killed by fire remains in the landscape for many decades. And mature trees, but not juveniles, can tolerate low intensity fires, but intense fires kill both. <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475072/original/file-20220720-22-odbe84.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475072/original/file-20220720-22-odbe84.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475072/original/file-20220720-22-odbe84.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475072/original/file-20220720-22-odbe84.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475072/original/file-20220720-22-odbe84.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475072/original/file-20220720-22-odbe84.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475072/original/file-20220720-22-odbe84.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475072/original/file-20220720-22-odbe84.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /></a><figcaption>Cypress pine timber can remain in the landscape decades after the tree died. Michael Hains/Atlas of Living Australia, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CC BY-NC-SA</a></figcaption></figure> Since 2007, park rangers have attempted to emulate cultural burning outcomes. They’ve used aircraft to drop incendiaries to create a coarse patchwork of burned and unburned areas to improve biodiversity in the stone country within Kakadu. Unfortunately, our research found Kakadu’s fire management interventions failed to restore landscapes to the healthier ecological condition under traditional Aboriginal fire management. While the Kakadu aerial burning program increased the amount of unburnt vegetation, it didn’t reverse the population collapse of cypress pines. Searches of tens of kilometres failed to find a single seedling in Kakadu, whereas they were common in comparable areas under Aboriginal fire management. Our study highlights that once the ecological benefits of cultural burning are lost, they cannot be simply restored with mainstream fire management approaches. But that’s not to say the ecological impacts from the loss of Aboriginal fire management cannot be reversed. Rather, restoring fire regimes and ecosystem health will be slow, and require special care in where and how fires are set. This requires teams on the ground with deep knowledge of the land, rather than simply spreading aerial incendiaries from helicopters. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> After 60 years of fire exclusion, another magic day restoring fire to Arakwal-Bundjalung-Bumberlin country. <a href="https://t.co/xRRNb4ELdQ">pic.twitter.com/xRRNb4ELdQ</a> — Dr. Andy Baker (@FireDiversity) <a href="https://twitter.com/FireDiversity/status/1537768580455931905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 17, 2022</a></blockquote> There’s much to learn There remains much for Western science to learn about <a href="https://theconversation.com/fighting-fire-with-fire-botswana-adopts-indigenous-australians-ancient-burning-tradition-135363" target="_blank" rel="noopener">traditional fire management</a>. Large-scale institutional fire management is based on concepts of efficiency and generality. It is controlled by bureaucracies, and achieved using machines and technologies. Such an “industrial” approach cannot replace the placed-based knowledge, including close human relationships with Country, underpinning <a href="https://www.firesticks.org.au/about/cultural-burning/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cultural burning</a>. Cultural burning and institutional fire management could be thought of as the differences between home cooking and fast food. Fast food is quick, cheap and produces the same product regardless of individual needs. Home cooking takes longer to prepare, can cater to individual needs, and can improve wellbeing. But restoring sustainable fire regimes based on the wisdom and practices of Indigenous people cannot be achieved overnight. Reaping the benefits of cultural burning to landscapes where colonialism has disrupted ancient fire traditions take time, effort and resources. It’s urgent remaining traditional fire practitioners are recognised for their invaluable knowledge and materially supported to continue caring for their Country. This includes: <ul> <li>actively supporting Indigenous people to reside on their Country</li> <li>to pay them to undertake natural resource management including cultural burning</li> <li>creating pathways enabling Indigenous people separated from their country by colonialism to re-engage with fire management.</li> </ul> Restoring landscapes with sustainable cultural burning traditions is a long-term project that will involve training and relearning ancient practices. There are extraordinary opportunities for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people alike to learn how to Care for Country. <hr /> The authors gratefully acknowledge the contribution of Victor Steffensen, the Lead Fire Practitioner at the Firesticks Alliance Indigenous Corporation, who reviewed this article.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/184562/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/david-bowman-4397" target="_blank" rel="noopener">David Bowman</a>, Professor of Pyrogeography and Fire Science, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-tasmania-888" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Tasmania</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/christopher-i-roos-1354187" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Christopher I. Roos</a>, Professor, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/southern-methodist-university-1988" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Southern Methodist University</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/fay-johnston-90826" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fay Johnston</a>, Professor, Menzies Institute for Medical Research, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-tasmania-888" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Tasmania</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-research-in-arnhem-land-reveals-why-institutional-fire-management-is-inferior-to-cultural-burning-184562" target="_blank" rel="noopener">original article</a>. Image: @FireDiversity (Twitter)

Domestic Travel

Queen’s private jet forced to abort landing

A plane carrying Queen Elizabeth II was forced to abandon its initial landing due to severe weather conditions. The pilot was due to land at RAF Northolt, about 20km from Windsor Castle, after leaving Aberdeen but was unable to because of a severe electrical storm, rain and hail. The plane remained in the air for an extra 15 minutes before the pilot successfully pulled off a second attempt at landing. The 96-year-old monarch was then taken to Windsor Castle to prepare for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations that will run until June 5. Revellers have already begun camping outside the castle hoping to get a glimpse of the royals during the exciting days ahead. The Platinum Jubilee will kick off with Trooping the Colour Parade on Thursday. It remains unclear how many events the Queen will attend due to her mobility issues, with the Palace no longer announcing whether she will attend an event in person until the day. Instead, it is assumed that her son Prince Charles, 73, will take her place as he has been doing for quite some time. Image: Getty

Travel Trouble

Florida man with no flying experience lands plane

A passenger on a small plane has kept his cool after the pilot collapsed at the controls, forcing him to take over and land the plane with zero flying experience. Darren Harrison told NBC’s Today show that he had been relaxing in the back of the single-engine Cessna on his return from a fishing trip in the Bahamas when the pilot told him and another passenger: “Guys, I gotta tell you I don’t feel good”. “He said, ‘I’ve got a headache and I’m fuzzy and I just don’t feel right’,” the 39-year-old Florida man said. “And I said, ‘What do we need to do?’ and, at that point, he didn’t respond at all.” After climbing into the cockpit, Mr Harrison discovered the unconscious pilot and that the plane was diving fast. “All I saw when I came up to the front was water out the right window and I knew it was coming quick. At that point, I knew if I didn’t react, that we would die,” he recalled. The flooring salesman then reached over the pilot, grabbed the controls, and slowly pulled back the stick to level the plane, which he said was simply common sense. “I knew if I went up and yanked that, the airplane would stall,” he explained. “And I also knew that at the rate we were going, we were going way too fast, and it would probably rip the wings off of the airplane.” He said that thought was “the scariest part of the whole story”. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> What if your pilot became ill and you had to fly the plane? That’s what happened over the ocean, 25 miles from <a href="https://twitter.com/flyPBI?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@flyPBI</a>. Air traffic controllers sprang to action and calmly guided a passenger to land safely. Read about the miracle at 7,000 ft on our blog <a href="https://t.co/4Hn7JzNKN5">https://t.co/4Hn7JzNKN5</a>. <a href="https://t.co/2KPhpmqG2S">pic.twitter.com/2KPhpmqG2S</a> — The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) <a href="https://twitter.com/FAANews/status/1524498223749996544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 11, 2022</a></blockquote> The other pilot - who he said was a friend of the pilot - helped him move the pilot out of the seat so that Mr Harrison could take his place. But, when he put on the headset, he realised the wires were frayed and the plug was gone and took the headset from the other passenger. He reached out to an air traffic controller in Florida but, when asked if knew the plane’s position, said the GPS was out so he had no idea. The air traffic controller then asked what he could see, with Mr Harrison telling him: “I see the state of Florida and I see a small airport”. He recalled refusing to let fear set in at that moment, with the knowledge that landing the plane was his only choice. “When I was flying and saw the state of Florida, at that second I knew I’m going to land there,” he said. “I don’t know what the outcome’s going to be, I don’t know how it’s going to happen, but I knew I’m going to have to land this airplane because there’s no other option.” Mr Harrison said he had to get home to his wife, Britney, who was seven months pregnant with their first child. “People said what if you had crashed and died? You could have at least called her, you could have reached out to her, you had time,” he said. “In my mind I knew I wasn’t going to die, and the thought never crossed my mind to call and tell my wife, ‘bye’.” With the help of air traffic controller Robert Morgan, Mr Harrison safely landed the plane at Palm Beach International Airport. “I said thank you for everything and threw the headset on the dash and I said the biggest prayer I’ve ever said in my life,” he recalled. “That’s when all the emotion set in.” Mr Harrison recalled offering a “thankful prayer for the safety and everything that had happened”, with the strongest part of the prayer going to the “guy in the back because I knew it was not a good situation”. The pilot was taken to hospital and is expected to be released this week, according to Mr Harrison. After landing, Mr Harrison then called his wife, who wasn’t expecting to hear from him so early. Britney said that last year, her brother-in-law died when her sister was six months pregnant, “so honestly, I took a deep breath and prepared myself for it not to be him on the other line”. “I told myself, ‘God we can’t do this again’. I don’t think I could do it again. And thankfully we didn’t have to.” Image: Twitter

Travel Trouble

The new enclosure: how land commissions can lead the fight against urban land-grabs

When Boris Johnson sold the 35-acre <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/f7b5599c-c7b0-11e2-9c52-00144feab7de">Royal Albert Docks in London</a> to Chinese buyers in 2013, it was his biggest commercial property deal as mayor of London and one of China’s largest investments in the UK. The Greater London Authority sold off further parcels of land in the area in a bid to regenerate the Royal Docks, which had fallen into disrepair with the decline of the docklands from the 1960s. Over the past few decades, huge transfers of land from public to private ownership have occurred throughout Britain. Since Margaret Thatcher was elected prime minister in 1979, <a href="https://www.versobooks.com/books/3050-the-new-enclosure">one-tenth</a> of the entire British landmass, or about half of the land owned by all public bodies, has been privatised. This has included, for instance, dozens of <a href="https://www.forces.net/services/tri-service/more-50-bases-go-mod-estate-sell">former military bases</a> on Ministry of Defence land. In our cities, one result of this land privatisation has been the long-term shift from public to private housing tenure: social rented housing <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13604813.2012.709403">declined</a> from 31% of Britain’s total housing stock in 1981 to just 18% in 2012. As what was effectively our <a href="https://theconversation.com/urban-commons-are-under-siege-in-the-age-of-austerity-heres-how-to-protect-them-121067">common wealth</a> is sold off, local authorities are losing the capacity to address the interconnected housing and climate change <a href="https://www.tcpa.org.uk/blog/blog-the-need-for-better-environmental-standards-in-homes-old-and-new">crises</a>. From London to Leeds, this transformation of land has <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0264275115300299">impeded democratic involvement</a> in urban planning. It has <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13604813.2012.709403?needAccess=true">displaced</a> working-class communities. And it has <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13604813.2012.754190">heightened</a> social inequalities. In a bid to make Liverpool the fairest and most socially inclusive city region in the UK, the mayor, Steve Rotherham, launched England’s first land commission in September 2020. The commission’s findings chime with <a href="http://www.gmhousingaction.com/who-owns-the-city/">our research</a>. It argues for a fundamentally new understanding of what land is. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433148/original/file-20211122-17-1h5hnoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="Panoramic view of London from Highgate Hampstead Park" /> Even many of our so-called urban commons don’t belong to the people at all. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/panoramic-view-london-highgate-hampstead-park-632934269" class="source">pabmap | Shutterstock</a> <h2>What is a land commission?</h2> Liverpool was the first metropolitan area in England to establish a participatory land commission. The participants were from the public, private and voluntary sectors as well as from academia. They were <a href="https://www.liverpoolcityregion-ca.gov.uk/steve-rotheram-launches-englands-first-land-commission-focused-on-community-wealth-building/">tasked</a> with a radical year-long mission: to figure out how to make the best use of publicly owned land in the city region. The idea is to build what economists call <a href="https://cles.org.uk/community-wealth-building/what-is-community-wealth-building/">community wealth</a>. In response, the commission released its <a href="https://cles.org.uk/publications/our-land/">final report</a> in June 2021, in concert with the Manchester-based <a href="https://cles.org.uk/">Centre for Local Economic Strategies</a>. Public authorities in recent decades have largely looked at urban land through a narrow economic growth lens. This has focused on <a href="https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/man-city-champions-league-final-20494480">attracting investment</a> at the expense of wider community needs – social housing, say, or public green space. By contrast, the commission recognises that land plays an important function in <a href="https://landforthemany.uk/">addressing</a> social and environmental, as well as economic, needs. This challenges the processes of privatisation, commodification and wealth extraction that have characterised urban development since the 1980s, and which political economist Brett Christophers has described as the <a href="https://www.versobooks.com/books/3050-the-new-enclosure">“new enclosure”</a>. Similar processes can be seen in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X16305484">other countries</a> around the world too. <a href="https://www.thelandmagazine.org.uk/articles/enclosure-grand-scale">Karl Marx</a> and <a href="https://www.dukeupress.edu/the-invention-of-capitalism">others</a> drew a direct connection between the <a href="https://www.pmpress.org/index.php?l=product_detail&p=568">enclosure of the commons</a>, which took place during the 16th-19th century in England, and the concentration of wealth in the hands of the elite. If enclosure led to the dispossession of the rural peasantry, that storing up of wealth by the privileged few, in turn, led to the rise of capitalism in western Europe. As historical <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520260009/the-magna-carta-manifesto">research</a> shows, the very notion of the commons is revolutionary. It defines land as collective wealth that belongs to everyone. This stands in stark contrast to the capitalist model of private property. It is this idea that motivated the 17th-century reformer, <a href="https://www.culturematters.org.uk/index.php/culture/theory/item/2978-a-common-treasury-for-all-gerrard-winstanley-and-the-diggers">Gerard Winstanley</a>, along with a group of men and women who became known as the Diggers, to create a social order based on common ownership of the land. This historical tradition animates the Liverpool land commission’s vision of how urban land can be managed for the benefit of the many rather than the few. The report explicitly situates the commission’s work within that long history of enclosure and resistance, quoting a <a href="http://jacklynch.net/Texts/winstanley.html">1649 pamphlet</a> from Winstanley: “The earth was not made for you, to be Lords of it, and we to be your Slaves, Servants and Beggars; but it was made to be a common Livelihood to call, without respect of persons.” <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433146/original/file-20211122-25-nausrs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433146/original/file-20211122-25-nausrs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="Overhead view of the Three Graces and the Liverpool waterfront" /></a> Urban land is increasingly seen as an economic asset, at the expense of its social functions. <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/lrG9KIuxQzo" class="source">Phil Kiel | Unsplash</a>, <a href="http://artlibre.org/licence/lal/en" class="license">FAL</a> <h2>Practical steps</h2> The commission’s report includes a series of practical recommendations to reclaim the social function of urban land. These include establishing a citizen-led body for governing public land. It recommends making public land available to community organisations for socially valuable projects such as cooperatives, green spaces and social enterprises. And it suggests establishing an online map of public land resources, including empty land, that is currently held by councils. Further, it recommends capturing rising land values (future profits derived from the development of currently underused land) to fund reparations for Liverpool’s historic role in the transatlantic slave trade. And it suggests using public land to install the green infrastructure needed to combat climate change. If adopted, these recommendations will mark a rupture from the Thatcherite approach to <a href="https://theconversation.com/ending-austerity-stop-councils-selling-off-public-assets-113858">selling off public assets</a> that has dominated since the 1980s. As such, the commission demonstrates how decisions about urban land use can be undertaken in a democratic, participatory and transparent manner. <a href="http://www.gmhousingaction.com/who-owns-the-city/">Our research</a> on public land privatisation in the neighbouring city of Manchester suggests that the land commission approach needs to be expanded to other UK cities. We raised a number of concerns about public land sales by Manchester City Council, including the lack of transparency around deals and the fact that large amounts of public land have been sold to private developers to build <a href="http://www.gmhousingaction.com/report_launched_on_housing_finance_gm/">city centre apartment blocks</a> that contain no social or affordable housing. In response to this research, over 60 civil society organisations <a href="http://www.gmhousingaction.com/gm-land-commission-letter/">signed an open letter</a> calling for the mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, to stick to his <a href="https://andyformayor.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Andy-Burnham-Manisfesto-v2.1-002.pdf">manifesto</a> commitment to establish a Greater Manchester land commission. The UK government’s “<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/56238260">levelling-up</a>” programme has brought regional inequality and postindustrial urban decline to the fore once again. But addressing these longstanding issues will require a fundamental rethink about what land is for and the purpose it serves in today’s society. The Liverpool land commission has opened the door to the future. Which cities will follow?<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167817/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jonathan-silver-534810">Jonathan Silver</a>, Senior Research Fellow, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sheffield-1147">University of Sheffield</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/tom-gillespie-1253447">Tom Gillespie</a>, Hallsworth Research Fellow, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-manchester-1204">University of Manchester</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-new-enclosure-how-land-commissions-can-lead-the-fight-against-urban-land-grabs-167817">original article</a>. Image: Songquan Deng | Shutterstock

Real Estate

Using valuable inner-city land for car parking? In a housing crisis, that just doesn’t add up

When I first moved to New Zealand – even after living in some of the highest-priced US property markets – I was taken aback by house prices. My shock was reinforced by the condition of the houses, many of which lack sufficient insulation, adequate heating or cooling, or double-glazed windows. I wondered why I’d pay so much for a house that needed so much attention. Then I overheard someone quip, “In New Zealand, you pay for the land and the house comes for free.” Suddenly things made a lot more sense. Unlike in the US, where land is valued at a small fraction of the “improvements” (the building that stands on the section), in New Zealand it’s the exact opposite. But it also raised a big question: in a country where the cost of land is so exorbitantly high and the supply of housing so scarce, how could so many surface car parks exist? <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423711/original/file-20210929-20-1wzh8e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /> Auckland’s Wynyard Quarter: apartments, restaurants, playgrounds – and car parks. Shutterstock <h2>The price of parking</h2> Take Auckland, for example, arguably the most housing-constrained market in New Zealand. Specifically, the still developing Wynyard Quarter on the downtown waterfront presents a clear case of car parking over potential housing. One of the several abundant surface car parks is located on Jellicoe Street. It encompasses 8,146 square metres of tar, paint and parked cars. The massive lot has a NZ$37,000,000 <a href="https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/property-rates-valuations/Pages/rates-details-results.aspx?an=12343250744">valuation</a>, with the improvements valued at $1,000,000 — presumably all that pavement and paint. The next part is a bit more difficult to swallow. The land is valued at just over $4,500 per square metre. With the average parking spot occupying 15 square metres, that means each spot is worth about $68,000. That’s just for the parking spots themselves, not all the land required for people to drive in and out and around the car park. <h2>What parking earns</h2> Now things get interesting. The Jellicoe Street car park is maintained by Auckland Transport which provides people who drive to the CBD the courtesy of a free initial hour of parking followed by a rate of $6 per hour. So for just $18 drivers can park for four hours. On the weekend those four hours of parking will cost a mere $6. Assuming a parking space is fully occupied during all operating hours (from 7am to 10pm Monday to Sunday), it could optimistically take in $480. Extended over an entire year, a single space might earn just under $25,000. Ignoring overhead costs and more realistic occupancy rates, it would take almost three years for a single open-air parking space to earn back the cost of the land it sits on. Perhaps this sounds economically viable. But what isn’t in this equation is the actual, very high cost of cheap and plentiful parking. <h2>Parking expectations</h2> The widespread availability of low-priced parking in high-demand locations has significant impacts on our cities. When people expect parking to be available in these locations, they often choose to drive rather than use a more sustainable mode such as public transport. This means people buy more cars and take more trips by personal vehicle. When cheap parking spots fill up during peak hours, people tend to <a href="https://www.oecd.org/officialdocuments/publicdisplaydocumentpdf/?cote=ENV/WKP(2019)4&docLanguage=En">cruise for a parking space</a> rather than search out slightly more expensive and less convenient alternative locations. That is, they circle a car park or a city block until someone else leaves. When enough drivers do this it <a href="https://thespinoff.co.nz/money/19-04-2021/its-car-vs-car-on-the-central-auckland-street-where-parking-is-free/">creates more</a> congestion, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. The long-term availability of cheap urban parking also implies that parking in such locations is a public good. People expect parking to always be in these places and will fight to keep the land from being used for higher and better purposes. This is where the rubber hits the road. Open-air parking is the least productive use of important urban land. In the midst of the greatest <a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/money/2021/02/housing-crisis-auckland-housing-affordability-among-fastest-deteriorating-in-the-world-report.html">housing affordability crisis</a> in perhaps a generation, we could stand to lose some of this car space in favour of apartments. <h2>People before parking</h2> According to the <a href="http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/council/documents/central/pdfs/appendix12.pdf">Auckland District Plan</a>, a one bedroom/one bathroom apartment should occupy about 45 square metres — precisely three parking spaces. The good thing about an apartment building compared to an open-air car park is that we can build it up. Instead of some 200 spots for cars, we can build more than 600 apartments across ten storeys. Rather than storing a couple of hundred cars for part of the day, with bare pavements overnight, we could provide living space for up to 1,200 people around the clock. We could do the same thing with the car park across the street and the one a block over and so on — until we are a city and a country that focuses more on housing people than parking cars. It will be hard to let go of the car parks. Where some see an <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/auckland-council-plans-to-sell-downtown-carpark-with-new-skyscraper-likely-instead/SGE2OD2KCB3AOY33WKYXSAJJPM/">opportunity for urban regeneration</a> through the development of under-utilised space, others see the loss of car parking as another <a href="https://www.autocar.co.nz/autocar-news-app/life-s-about-to-get-tougher-for-auckland-cbd-workers-with-cars">impediment</a> for city workers to overcome. But we simply have too much space in our cities dedicated to the car. Our land is far too valuable to pave over. It’s time to use a fraction of that space to house many people instead of a few machines.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/168745/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/timothy-welch-1252494">Timothy Welch</a>, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-auckland-1305">University of Auckland</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/using-valuable-inner-city-land-for-car-parking-in-a-housing-crisis-that-just-doesnt-add-up-168745">original article</a>. Image: Shutterstock

Real Estate

Drying land and heating seas: why nature in Australia’s southwest is on the climate frontline

In a few days world leaders will descend on Glasgow for the United Nations climate change talks. Much depends on it. We know climate change is already happening, and nowhere is the damage more stark than in Australia’s southwest. The southwest of Western Australia has been <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/factsheets/IPCC_AR6_WGI_Regional_Fact_Sheet_Australasia.pdf">identified</a> as a global drying hotspot. Since 1970, winter rainfall has declined up to 20%, river flows have plummeted and heatwaves spanning water and land have intensified. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-has-already-hit-australia-unless-we-act-now-a-hotter-drier-and-more-dangerous-future-awaits-ipcc-warns-165396">warns</a> this will continue as emissions rise and the climate warms. Discussion of Australian ecosystems vulnerable to climate change often focuses on the Great Barrier Reef, as well as our rainforests and alpine regions. But for southwest Western Australia, climate change is also an existential threat. The region’s wildlife and plants are so distinctive and important, it was listed as Australia’s first <a href="https://www.cepf.net/our-work/biodiversity-hotspots">global biodiversity hotspot</a>. Species include thousands of endemic plant species and animals such as the quokka, numbat and honey possum. Most freshwater species and around 80% of marine species, including 24 shark species, live nowhere else on Earth. They <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-south-west-a-hotspot-for-wildlife-and-plants-that-deserves-world-heritage-status-54885">evolved in isolation</a> over millions of years, walled off from the rest of Australia by desert. But climate heating means this remarkable biological richness is now imperilled – a threat that will only increase unless the world takes action. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428719/original/file-20211027-17-1xrecip.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="Banksia in flower" /> Hooker’s Banksia is an iconic West Australian species. Dr Joe Fontaine, Author provided <h2>Hotter and drier</h2> Southwest WA runs roughly from Kalbarri to Esperance, and is known for its Mediterranean climate with very hot and dry summers and most rainfall in winter. But every decade since the 1970s, the region’s summertime maximum temperatures have risen 0.1-0.3℃, and winter rainfall has fallen 10-20 millimetres. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428742/original/file-20211027-25-1jl7l8r.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /> Decadal trends in winter precipitation. Australian Bureau of Meteorology. And remarkably, a 1℃ increase in the average global temperature over the last century has already <a href="https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.17348">more than doubled</a> the days over 40℃ in Perth. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428994/original/file-20211028-21-ibw728.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428994/original/file-20211028-21-ibw728.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" alt="Graph showing temperatures over 40 degrees at Perth Airport" /></a> Cumulative number of days over 40° at Perth Airport over 30-year periods between 1910-1939 (historic) and 1989-2018 (current). Author provided This trend is set to continue. Almost all climate models <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2019EF001469">project a further</a> drop in winter rainfall of up to 30% across most of the southwest by 2100, under a high emissions scenario. The southwest already has very hot days in summer, thanks to heat brought from the desert’s easterly winds. As climate change worsens, these winds are <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00382-016-3169-5">projected to get more intense</a>, bringing still more heat. <h2>Drying threatens wildlife, wine and wheat</h2> Annual rainfall in the southwest has fallen by a fifth since 1970. That might not sound dangerous, but the drop means river flows have already fallen by an alarming 70%. It means many rivers and lakes now dry out through summer and autumn, causing major problems for freshwater biodiversity. For example, the number of invertebrate species in 17 lakes in WA’s wheatbelt fell from over 300 to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/gcb.15890">just over 100</a> between 1998 and 2011. The loss of water has even killed off common river invertebrates, such as the endemic Western Darner dragonfly, with most now <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/gcb.15673">found only</a> in the last few streams that flow year round. The drying also makes it very hard for animals and birds to find water. Most native freshwater fish in the southwest are <a href="https://www.dpaw.wa.gov.au/plants-and-animals/threatened-species-and-communities/threatened-animals">now officially considered</a> “threatened”. As river flow falls to a trickle, fish can no longer <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcb.12444">migrate to spawn</a>, and it’s only a short march from there to extinction. To protect remaining freshwater species we must <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2017.02.007">develop perennial water refuges</a> in places such as farm dams. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428721/original/file-20211027-27-1mvytaa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428721/original/file-20211027-27-1mvytaa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" alt="Freshwater crayfish - marron - moving through fresh water" /></a> Smooth Marron moving as a group in a reservoir. Dr Stephen Beatty, Author provided The story on land is also alarming, with intensifying heatwaves and chronic drought. This was particularly dire in 2010/2011, when <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-31236-5">all ecosystems in the southwest</a> suffered from a deadly drought and heatwave combination. What does that look like on the ground? Think beetle swarms taking advantage of forest dieback, a sudden die off of endangered Carnaby’s Black Cockatoos, and the deaths of one in five shrubs and trees. Long term, the flowering rates of banksias have declined <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1890/140231">by 50%</a>, which threatens their survival as well as the honey industry. For agriculture, the picture is mixed. Aided by innovation and better varieties, wheat yields in the southwest have actually increased since the 1970s, despite the drop in rainfall. But how long can farmers stay ahead of the drying? If global emissions aren’t drastically reduced, droughts in the region <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1029/2020GL087820">will keep getting worse</a>. Increased heating and drying will also likely threaten Margaret River’s famed wine region, although the state’s northern wine regions will be <a href="https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/apme/56/7/jamc-d-16-0333.1.xml">the first at risk</a>. <h2>Hotter seas, destructive marine heatwaves</h2> The seas around the southwest are another climate change hotspot, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11160-013-9326-6">warming faster than 90%</a> of the global ocean since the middle of last century. Ocean temperatures off Perth <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/mf/MF07082">have risen by an average</a> of 0.1-0.3℃ per decade, and are now almost 1℃ warmer than 40 years ago. The waters off the southwest are part of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-other-reef-is-worth-more-than-10-billion-a-year-but-have-you-heard-of-it-45600">Great Southern Reef</a>, a temperate marine biodiversity hotspot. Many species of seaweeds, seagrasses, invertebrates, reef fish, seabirds and mammals live nowhere else on the planet. As the waters warm, species move south. Warm-water species move in and cool-water species flee to escape the heat. Once cool-water species reach the southern coast, there’s nowhere colder to go. They can’t survive in the deep sea, and are at risk of going extinct. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428961/original/file-20211028-27-1yipdxz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" alt="Marine heatwave map" /> Temperature anomalies over land and ocean in March 2011. Scientific Reports, Author provided Marine heatwaves are now striking alongside this long-term warming trend. In 2011, a combination of weak winds, water absorbing the local heat from the air, and an unusually strong flow of the warm Leeuwin Current led to the infamous marine heatwave known as <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/srep01277">Ningaloo Nino</a>. Over eight weeks, ocean temperatures soared by more than 5℃ above the long-term maximum. Coral bleached in the state’s north, fish died en masse, <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-much-do-marine-heatwaves-cost-the-economic-losses-amount-to-billions-and-billions-of-dollars-170008">34% of seagrass died</a> in Shark Bay, and kelp forests along 100km of WA’s coast were wiped out. Following the heatwave came sudden distribution changes for species like sharks, turtles and many reef fish. Little penguins starved to death because their usual food sources were no longer there. Recreational and commercial fisheries were forced to close to protect ailing stocks. Some of these fisheries have not recovered 10 years later, while others are only now reopening. This is just the start. <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2019.00734/full">Projections suggest</a> the southwest could be in a permanent state of marine heatwave within 20-40 years, compared to the second half of the 20th century. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428980/original/file-20211028-17-1o7ypsp.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428980/original/file-20211028-17-1o7ypsp.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="Comparative pictures of a kelp forest before and after a heatwave" /></a> Reef in Kalbarri before (left) and after (right) the 2011 Ningaloo Nino. Dense kelp covered reefs before the heatwave. Afterwards, kelp died and the reefs were covered by sediment and turf algae. <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-030-71330-0_12#DOI" class="source">Professor Thomas Wernberg</a>, Author provided <h2>Adaptation has limits</h2> Nature in the southwest cannot adapt to these rapid changes. The only way to stem the damage to nature and humans is to stop greenhouse gas emissions. Australia must take responsibility for its emissions and show ambition beyond the weak promise of net-zero by 2050, and commit to real 2030 targets consistent with the Paris climate treaty. Otherwise, we will witness the collapse of one of Australia’s biological treasures in real time.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170377/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jatin-kala-1283114">Jatin Kala</a>, Senior Lecturer and ARC DECRA felllow, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/murdoch-university-746">Murdoch University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/belinda-robson-1283377">Belinda Robson</a>, Associate Professor, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/murdoch-university-746">Murdoch University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/joe-fontaine-136827">Joe Fontaine</a>, Lecturer, Environmental and Conservation Science, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/murdoch-university-746">Murdoch University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/stephen-beatty-1144778">Stephen Beatty</a>, Research Leader (Catchments to Coast), Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Ecosystems, Harry Butler Institute, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/murdoch-university-746">Murdoch University</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/thomas-wernberg-116019">Thomas Wernberg</a>, Professor, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-western-australia-1067">The University of Western Australia</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/drying-land-and-heating-seas-why-nature-in-australias-southwest-is-on-the-climate-frontline-170377">original article</a>. Image: Author provided

Domestic Travel

The incredibly lucky landing of Tom Cruise in a family’s backyard

Tom Cruise gave one U.K. family the surprised of their life after he landed right in their backyard. The 59-year-old Mission: Impossible actor landed his helicopter in Alison Webb’s field while filming for his latest film in Birmingham. The neighbour airport was unfortunately closed, so he opted for his next best option. Ms Webb told CBS News that Cruise’s team asked if an unnamed “VIP” could land his chopper on her land as he was “running late”. When Tom Cruise exited from the helicopter, Webb says she could hardly believe it. “I thought it would be kind of cool for the kids to see the helicopter land in the garden,” Webb recalled “He [Tom Cruise] basically arrived and got out and it was like, wow.” Webb went on to explain that Cruise immediately made his way over to her children and “elbow bumped” them to say hello and thank them. “Then he said if the kids would like they could go up in the helicopter,” she said. Cruise let the kids take a ride while he went to a meeting. “It turned out to be an incredible day,” Webb said. “It was surreal, I still now can’t believe it happened.” The Hollywood heavyweight has been spending the last few months of 2021 in Europe while filming the seventh instalment of the Mission: Impossible series.

Movies

The travel bubble loophole that could land you in jail

Travellers who are considering using the newly-opened travel bubble to New Zealand to head to other countries risk receiving massive fines and even jail time. With quarantine-free flights now available between New Zealand and Australia, news of a ‘loophole’ appeared that could enable Australian travellers to enter other international destinations. Current COVID restrictions mean that Australians have been banned from leaving the country unless they have an exemption. But, since Aussies can now travel to New Zealand, our kiwi neighbour could act as a stepping stone to other foreign countries. <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CN1YbWXDwFT/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CN1YbWXDwFT/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by New Zealand (@purenewzealand)</a> </div> </blockquote> To prevent unnecessary travel, Health Minister Greg Hunt signed off on a new amendment to the Australian Government’s <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2021L00456?fbclid=IwAR1laL3vGPRQAr_JErYR1Uf59sHszZ15SjuCjd0YIN-HCyoR628MXhSOhyk" target="_blank">Biosecurity Legislation (Human Coronavirus with Pandemic Potential)</a>, which comes into effect on Monday. The change will see Australian citizens and residents penalised if they travel to a foreign country beyond New Zealand unless they have an exemption to travel for a compassionate reason, such as the death or serious illness of a close family member, or they require medical treatment that isn’t reasonably available in Australia or New Zealand. According to the document, those who break the rules “may contravene a civil penalty provision’ set out in section 46 of the Biosecurity Act. The minimum penalty for failing to comply with entry and exit requirements in the Biosecurity Act starts at $6300. But, the penalty listed on the Australian Parliament website is much harsher, with people who intentionally disobey the rules facing up to five years’ jail time and a $63,000 fine. Despite still being in its early days, a new community COVID case in Auckland has Australian health authorities concerned that the trans-Tasman bubble could pop. <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CGYrBcPj2eH/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CGYrBcPj2eH/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Aussiepomm (@aussiepomm)</a> </div> </blockquote> New Zealand’s Ministry of Health announced the case just a day after the quarantine requirements were lifted for those travelling between Australia and New Zealand. The case is believed to have contracted the virus from a passenger who arrived on an international flight from a ‘red zone’ (high risk) country. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the new case shouldn’t impact the trans-Tasman travel arrangements. ‘These are the kind of scenarios where we would anticipate movement continuing,’ she said. ‘Our Minister of Health has kept in touch with his counterpart. They’re directly communicating and so are our officials.’

Travel Trouble

Chris Hemsworth lands new role in prequel to Aussie cult classic

Chris Hemsworth has said he is “pretty damn fired up” after confirming he will star in a Mad Max prequel alongside Anya Taylor-Joy. The Aussie actor said it will be an “honour” to appear in George Miller’s eagerly awaited follow-up to acclaimed 2015 blockbuster Mad Max: Fury Road. The movie, called Furiosa, will see Taylor-Joy in the lead role and will also feature 34-year-old American actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. It will explore the story of a character played by Charlize Theron in Fury Road, which garnered praise for its portrayal of the strong female lead. The Thor actor took to Instagram to say: "Pretty damn fired up to be a part of a franchise that meant the world to me as a kid growing up in Australia. "Mad Max was the pinnacle and a huge reason why I got into the business of telling stories. "The fact that I'll have the honour of not only being directed by its original visionary in George Miller but also take part in Furiosa's origin story is incredibly exciting." The Hollywood star said he has “huge respect” for Miller, Theron and her Fury Road co-star Tom Hardy, and added: "I'll do my best to continue the tradition of cinematic badassery." Australian filmmaker said he originally thought of recasting 45-year-old Theron as Furiosa and with the use of de-aging technology, she could discover the character’s origins. But he then decided to cast 24-year-old Taylor-Joy, an American-born Argentine-British actress. Fury Road was a huge critical and commercial success and scored 10 Oscar nominations, including for best picture and best director. It won six, including for costume design and production design.

Movies

Passenger plane with 100 passengers makes emergency landing in Russia

A Russian plane has crash landed and skidded across an icy runway as it was forced to rapidly evacuate the 100 passengers on board due to fears of fire. Passengers used the emergency chutes and climbed over the wing to get out of the plane as it lay on the tarmac at Usinsk airport in Komi, 1,900 kilometres out of Moscow. The plane hit the runway tail first due to problems with its landing gear. None of the 94 passengers or crew members were injured, but one woman sought medical assistance according to local authorities. <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B8WxPuvBQr7/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B8WxPuvBQr7/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Toby’s Aviation (@tobys_aviation)</a> on Feb 9, 2020 at 10:13am PST </div> </blockquote> Passenger Alexander Panin explained his experience on the flight to local authorities, according to <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7983715/Boeing-plane-makes-hard-landing-northwest-Russia-no-injuries.html">The Daily Mail</a>. “The flight was normal but as we were landing either due to bad weather or some other reason the plane violently shook horizontally. “It hit the ground so that the landing gear was torn off and we felt that were skidding along the runway as if not able to brake at all,” he said. “We all realised that the landing gear was broken. We didn’t feel that the plane was stopping - we were skidding towards the end of the runway.” The pilot then turned the plane into thicker snow on the side of the runway to avoid damaging the plane. “The right wing was broken and we saw the fuel gushing out. It was all happening very quickly,” he continued. “The crew has ordered us to evacuate from the left side, and we got out quickly. Naturally by the end of it there was quite a panic. “The crew acted very fast and confidently, and helped with their actions to avoid more panic. Fire appliances were by the plane in minutes.” The airline has since thanked the crew for their “prompt and highly professional actions”.

Travel Trouble

Blue Acceleration: our dash for ocean resources mirrors what we’ve already done to the land

Humans are leaving a heavy footprint on the Earth, but when did we become the main driver of change in the planet’s ecosystems? Many scientists point to the 1950s, when all kinds of socioeconomic trends began accelerating. Since then, <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/09/the-countries-with-the-biggest-populations-from-1950-to-2060/">the world population has tripled</a>. Fertiliser and water use expanded as <a href="https://theconversation.com/can-the-earth-feed-11-billion-people-four-reasons-to-fear-a-malthusian-future-43347">more food was grown than ever before</a>. The construction of motorways sped up to accommodate rising car ownership while international flights took off to satisfy a growing taste for tourism. The scale of human demands on Earth grew beyond historic proportions. This post-war period became known as the “<a href="https://theconversation.com/anthropocene-began-in-1965-according-to-signs-left-in-the-worlds-loneliest-tree-91993">Great Acceleration</a>”, and many believe it gave birth to the Anthropocene – the geological epoch during which human activity surpassed natural forces as the biggest influence on the functioning of Earth’s living systems. But researchers studying the ocean are currently feeling a sense of déjà vu. Over the past three decades, patterns seen on land 70 years ago have been occurring in the ocean. We’re living through a “<a href="https://www.cell.com/one-earth/fulltext/S2590-3322(19)30275-1">Blue Acceleration</a>”, and it will have significant consequences for life on the blue planet. Why is the Blue Acceleration happening now? As land-based resources have declined, hopes and expectations have increasingly turned to the ocean as a new engine of human development. Take deep sea mining. The international seabed and its mineral riches have excited commercial interest in recent years due to soaring commodity prices. According to the <a href="https://data.imf.org/commodityprices">International Monetary Fund</a>, the price of gold is up 454% since 2000, silver is up 317% and lead 493%. Around 1.4 million square kilometres of the seabed has been leased since 2001 by the International Seabed Authority for exploratory mining activities. In some industries, technological advances have driven these trends. Virtually all offshore windfarms were installed <a href="https://www.irena.org/Statistics">in the last 20 years</a>. The marine biotechnology sector scarcely existed at the end of the 20th century, and over <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/6/eaar5237">99% of genetic sequences from marine organisms</a> found in patents were registered since 2000. During the 1990s, as the Blue Acceleration got underway, <a href="https://www.infoplease.com/world/population-statistics/total-population-world-decade-1950-2050">the world population reached 6 billion</a>. Today there are around <a href="https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/">7.8 billion people</a>. Population growth in water-scarce areas like the Middle East, Australia and South Africa has caused a <a href="https://www.desaldata.com/">three-fold growth in volumes of desalinated seawater</a> generated since 2000. It has also meant a nearly <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IS.SHP.GOOD.TU">four-fold increase</a> in the volume of goods transported around the world by shipping since 2000. Why does the Blue Acceleration matter? The ocean was once thought – even among prominent scientists – to be too vast to be changed by human activity. That view has been replaced by the uncomfortable recognition that not only can humans change the ocean, but also that the current trajectory of human demands on the ocean simply isn’t sustainable. Consider the coast of Norway. The region is home to a multi-million dollar ocean-based oil and gas industry, aquaculture, popular cruises, busy shipping routes and fisheries. All of these interests are vying for the same ocean space, and their demands are growing. A five-fold increase in the number of salmon grown by aquaculture is expected by 2050, while the region’s tourism industry is predicted to welcome a five-fold increase in visitors by 2030. Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.offshorewind.biz/2019/06/19/norway-ponders-3-5gw-offshore-wind-move/">vast offshore wind farms</a> have been proposed off the southern tip of Norway. The ocean is vast, but it’s not limitless. This saturation of ocean space is not unique to Norway, and a densely populated ocean space runs the risk of conflict across industries. Escapee salmon from aquaculture have <a href="https://www.regjeringen.no/en/topics/food-fisheries-and-agriculture/fishing-and-aquaculture/1/farmed-salmon/fish-healthsalmon-lice/id607091/">spread sea lice in wild populations</a>, creating tensions with Norwegian fisheries. An industrial accident in the oil and gas industry could cause significant damage to local seafood and tourism as well as the seafood export market. More fundamentally, the burden on ocean ecosystems is growing, and we simply don’t know as much about these ecosystems as we would like. An ecologist once quipped that fisheries management is the same as forestry management. Instead of trees you’re counting fish, except you can’t see the fish, and they move. Exploitation of the ocean has tended to precede exploration. One iconic example is <a href="https://theconversation.com/sea-pangolin-the-first-ever-species-endangered-by-potential-deep-sea-mining-120624">the scaly-foot snail</a>. This deep sea mollusc was discovered in 1999 and was on the IUCN Red List of endangered species by 2019. Why? As far as scientists can tell, the species is only found in three hydrothermal vent systems more than 2,400 metres below the Indian Ocean, covering less than 0.02 square kilometres. Today, two of the three vent systems fall within exploratory mining leases. What next? Billionaires dreaming of space colonies can dream a little closer to home. Even as the Blue Acceleration consumes more of the ocean’s resources, this vast area is every bit as mysterious as outer space. The surfaces of Mars and the Moon have been mapped in <a href="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/mapping-our-planet-one-ocean-time">higher resolution than the seafloor</a>. Life in the ocean has existed for two billion years longer than on land and an estimated <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.1001127">91% of marine species have not been described by science</a>. Their genetic adaptations could help scientists develop the <a href="https://theconversation.com/nature-is-a-rich-source-of-medicine-if-we-can-protect-it-107471">antibiotics and medicines of tomorrow</a>, but they may disappear long before that’s possible. The timing is right for guiding the Blue Acceleration towards more sustainable and equitable trajectories. The <a href="https://en.unesco.org/ocean-decade">UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development</a> is about to begin, a new <a href="https://www.un.org/bbnj/">international treaty on ocean biodiversity</a> is in its final stages of negotiation, and in June 2020, governments, businesses, academics and civil society will assemble for the <a href="https://oceanconference.un.org/">UN Ocean Conference</a> in Lisbon. Yet many simple questions remain. Who is driving the Blue Acceleration? Who is benefiting from it? And who is being left out or forgotten? These are all urgent questions, but perhaps the most important and hardest to answer of all is how to create connections and engagement across all these groups. Otherwise, the drivers of the Blue Acceleration will be like the fish in the ecologist’s analogy: constantly moving, invisible and impossible to manage – before it is too late. Written by Robert Blasiak. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/blue-acceleration-our-dash-for-ocean-resources-mirrors-what-weve-already-done-to-the-land-130264">The Conversation.</a>

Cruising

Jetstar pilots forgot to lower landing gear on approach

Pilots of a Jetstar flight forgot to lower the plane’s landing gear on approach to a NSW airport due to “a series of distractions”, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau has found. The pilots of a Jetstar A320 aircraft were approaching Ballina-Byron Gateway Airport on May 18, 2018 when they were forced to abort two landings due to the oversight, a report by the bureau found. It was found that on the first attempt, the flight crew “<a href="https://7news.com.au/travel/air-aviation/pilot-of-jetstar-flight-forgot-to-lower-landing-gear-on-approach-to-ballina-airport-report-c-599719">conducted a go-around</a>” because the captain found the plane’s airspeed and altitude were higher than normal for an approach. The crew realised the landing gear was not down on the second attempt, and the flight landed safely on its third attempt. The ATSB found the crew did not follow Jetstar’s standard procedures during the first go-around, resulting in distractions that contributed to the landing gear oversight. “During the downwind leg following the first go-around, the flight crew did not select the landing gear down as they had commenced the configuration sequence for landing at the Flaps 3 setting,” the report said. “Furthermore the flight crew incorrectly actioned the landing checklist, which prevented the incorrect configuration for landing being identified and corrected.” Dr Stuart Godley, ATSB Director Transport Safety Director, said the incident showed how “<a href="https://10daily.com.au/news/australia/a191210fmrex/distracted-jetstar-pilots-forgot-to-lower-landing-gear-20191211">unexpected events during approach and landing</a>” can “substantially” increase the flight crew’s workload. “Following standard procedures mitigates the risk of the selection of inappropriate auto-flight modes, unexpected developments, or confusion about roles or procedures that can contribute to decisions and actions that increase the safety risk to the aircraft and its passengers,” Godley said. Following the incident, Jetstar Airways said the flight crew members involved attended debriefings with flight operations management and were provided with related simulator and line flying training.

Travel Trouble

Australian model lands herself in hot water again

A Sudanese-Australian model who narrowly avoided jail time in the US after a drunken rampage on a flight, has been arrested again and this time - has been sitting in an immigration detention center since September. Adau Mornyang, 25, reportedly attacked a male flight attendant, called his colleague a “white trash b” and hit an air host when she was cut off from drinking on a United Airlines flight from Melbourne to Los Angeles in January. The model faced 21 years in jail after being found guilty of assault in March, but narrowly escaped with 100 hours of community service and three years probation. <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BTLT5V0BgvO/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BTLT5V0BgvO/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Pageant Times (@pageanttimes)</a> on Apr 21, 2017 at 10:58pm PDT </div> </blockquote> However it has been revealed Mornyang had been arrested on September 17 by US immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in a surprise ambush. “Adau was shocked, since she knew she never entered the United States illegally nor overstayed her visa,” her sister Maria wrote on a GoFundMe page to raise funds to cover her legal costs. Maria said her sister entered the US with a valid 01 visa that expires on December 26, 2021. “She's not in the country illegally,” she wrote. A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson confirmed the department is assisting an Australian being held in US detention. “The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to an Australian detained in the US. Owing to our privacy obligations we will not provide further comment,” a spokesman told Daily Mail Australia. The GoFundMe page claims ICE agents revoked Mornyang's visa without telling her as pay back for her avoiding a prison sentence. <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BUQMivNDshw/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BUQMivNDshw/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Black Pageant Queens (@blackpageantqueens)</a> on May 18, 2017 at 5:01pm PDT </div> </blockquote> “This no-jail outcome must've infuriated ICE officials who proceeded (without Adau's knowledge) to revoke her valid visa and subsequently arrested her for being in the country illegally,” Maria wrote. ' “Meanwhile, a judge never ordered that Adau should leave the country. My sister has been in jail for over two months, she's not been given any trial since arrest by ICE nor found guilty of overstaying her visa, just kept in jail indefinitely. “Adau expected that she was going to be deported after her arrest on September 17, 2019 - that didn't happen either.” The 25-year-old, who was born in South Sudan before moving to Australia as a refugee when she was 10, was convicted of felony interference with a flight crew and misdemeanour assault. She was acquitted of a third count of assaulting an air marshal. In March a jury heard Mornyang ordered “several glasses of wine” on the January 21 United Airlines flight. Passengers complained to staff about Mornyang's behaviour around nine hours into the flight. “When the flight attendant approached to assess the situation, Mornyang began to shout at the flight attendant and then slapped him across his face,” the court heard. After she was reportedly cut off from drinking more, she yelled obscenities, struck a flight attendant, had to be handcuffed by an air marshal, refused to leave a toilet and had to be held at the rear of the plane. The flight attendant said he was so shocked after he was assaulted he “could not physically do anything except sit for nearly half an hour to process what had happened to him”. Prosecutors said air marshals had to come out from undercover to help deal with her. <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BUik6LPlibU/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BUik6LPlibU/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Adau M (@themodeladau)</a> on May 25, 2017 at 8:20pm PDT </div> </blockquote> The former Miss Australia finalist claimed to have no recollection of the commotion. “All I remember was waking up after sleeping for eight hours,” she said in a text message after the incident occurred. The models claims to have mixed two glasses of wine with prescription pills to help her sleep, but flight attendants say it was closer to five or six glasses before she had to be cut off. Mornyang said she “was so confused and begging and pleading for them to tell me what I did. “I was ignored, I was in and out of consciousness, and was later locked up in federal prison still with no memory of what I was arrested for. “This whole alleged slapping is a big shock to me and I cry every night wondering why I have no memory of it. How I could of done it while asleep,” she said. In March, a Los Angeles jury found Mornyang guilty of a felony charge of interference with a flight crew member and a misdemeanour count of assault. Mornyang was required throughout her three-year probation to submit to drug tests and receive counselling for mental health issues. The model was previously a global campaign face for makeup giant Sephora and was a Miss World Victoria top eight state finalist in 2017. Mornyang arrived as a refugee to Australia when she was just ten and used her promising modelling career as a platform to become an outspoken advocate on social issues, particularly any plaguing South Sudanese communities.

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