Solar plane set for landmark round-the-world flight

Yahoo – AFP, Wissam Keyrouz, 20 Jan 2015

Emirati men stand near the Solar Impulse 2, the first solar-powered plane to be able

 to fly for several days and nights, on January 20, 2015 at an Abu Dhabi airport, on

the sidelines of the eighth edition of the World Future Energy Summit (AFP)

A plane with the top speed of a homing pigeon is set to embark on a landmark round-the-world flight powered only by the sun's energy, organisers said Tuesday.

Solar Impulse 2, the first solar-powered plane to be able to fly for several days and nights, will land 12 times along its roughly 35,000 kilometre (22,000 mile) trip -- including a five-day stretch above the Pacific Ocean without a drop of fuel.

"We want to demonstrate that clean technology and renewable energy can achieve the impossible," said Solar Impulse chairman Bertrand Piccard, the scion of a dynasty of Swiss scientists-cum-adventurers.

The Cockpit element of the solar-powered

 plane the Solar Impulse 2 is loaded to 

Cargolux Boeing 747 cargo aircraft on

January 5, 2015 at Payerne airport

"Renewable energy can become an integral part of our lives, and together we can help save our planet's natural resources."

The plane's route was unveiled Tuesday in Abu Dhabi, where it will begin the journey in late February or early March.

It will first stop at Muscat in Oman, to benefit from the Gulf's low-cloud conditions, before crossing the Arabian Sea to India and heading on to Myanmar, China, Hawaii and New York.

Landings are also earmarked for the midwestern United States and either southern Europe or north Africa, depending on weather conditions.

The longest single leg will see a pilot fly the plane non-stop for five days and nights across the Pacific between Nanjing in China and Hawaii -- a distance of 8,500 kilometres.

It will take around 25 days of total flying time for Si2 to complete its round-the-world journey.

'Virtually unlimited autonomy'

Although groundbreaking in distance, the trip will not be undertaken at a lightning pace.

With flight speeds of 50-100 kilometres (30-60 miles) per hour, the entire round-the-world journey is expected to take five months to complete.

The plane is the successor of Solar Impulse, a pioneering craft which notched up a 26-hour flight in 2010, proving its ability to store enough power in lithium batteries during the day to keep flying at night.

This year's flight marks the culmination of 12 years of research and testing, organisers say.

Si2, whose makers claim it is the most energy efficient aircraft ever built, has a wider wingspan than a Boeing 747 but, thanks to its innovative design, weighs about as much as a family 4x4.

The Cockpit element of the solar-powered plane the Solar Impulse 2 is secured

 in place after being loaded to Cargolux Boeing 747 cargo aircraft on January 5,

2015 at Payerne airport

The carbon fibre, single seater plane has 17,249 solar cells built into its wings that will supply four electric motors and the rechargeable lithium batteries.

Speed at night will be limited to prevent the batteries from being run down too quickly.

Designers say the system gives Si2 "virtually unlimited autonomy".

Aviation enthusiasts will be able to watch a live video stream of the plane's progress once it sets off from Abu Dhabi on its pioneering voyage on the firm's website www.solarimpulse.com.

"Solar Impulse 2 must accomplish what no other plane in the history of aviation has achieved -- flying without fuel for five consecutive days and nights with only one pilot in the unpressurised cockpit," said Andre Borschberg, a former Swiss air force pilot and the company's co-founder and chief executive.

App and use of hard shoulder to relieve traffic jams around Amsterdam

DutchNews.nl, January 19, 2015

Amsterdam is launching the pilot of an app on Monday that will help motorists to avoid traffic jams before they begin. 

The app ADAM is connected to traffic information systems of motoring organisation Rijkswaterstaat, Amsterdam council and the province of Noord-Holland, allowing motorists to see the quickest route to their destination, broadcaster Nos reports.

The app also allows governmental control rooms to steer motorists away from problems before traffic builds up. For instance, if there is an accident, motorists can be advised to take another route. Or where one lane is closed, some motorists can be rerouted while others drive straight on, ensuring that traffic does not back up.

The pilot will be deemed a success if motorists follow its advice, according to Patrick Potgraven of the Traffic information service. Of course, there is the risk that ‘know-it-all’ drivers will ignore the detours, he said. ‘That is the exciting thing. Will people follow the advice.’ 

If the app is successful, it will be introduced in other cities.

Hard shoulder 

Meanwhile, transport Melanie Schultz van Haegen has given the go-ahead to open the hard shoulder of the A7 and A8 motorways to traffic during rush hours, the Telegraaf says on Monday.

At the moment, traffic builds up long before the Coen tunnel into Amsterdam, but the minister hopes using the hard shoulder between Purmerend-South and Oostzaan during morning rush hour will free up traffic flows into the north of the city. 

In addition, the existing extra lane between Zaandam and Purmerend will begin before the junction Zaandam on the A8, allowing traffic to flow more smoothly in the evening rush hour.

Francis thrills in Philippines with 'jeepney' popemobile

Yahoo – AFP, 18 Jan 2015

Pope Francis waves to people as he leaves in his "popemobile" after attending

a mass at a park in Manila on January 18, 2015 (AFP Photo/Giuseppe Cacace)

Manila (AFP) - Pope Francis made a triumphant entrance for a mass with millions in the Philippines on Sunday aboard a "popemobile" styled after the nation's iconic, flamboyant and much-loved "jeepney" minibus.

The pontiff, standing in the elevated open body of the uniquely Filipino version of his popemobile, travelled through the streets of the capital Manila for the main event of his five-day visit.

Wearing a thick plastic yellow poncho over his vestments, the 78-year-old pontiff smiled and waved to hundreds of thousands who had lined the route to the venue for the mass.

The rectangular vehicle with a distinctive giant grille repeatedly stopped so he could reach into the cheering masses and pick up babies to kiss and bless them.

The pope rode the jeepney popemobile to Rizal Park where millions had gathered to hear him celebrate mass, in one of the world's biggest papal gatherings.

The jeepneys are regarded by many Filipinos as a symbol of national ingenuity. Locals created them from surplus US military jeeps after American forces left at the end of World War II.

The bodies of the jeeps were extended, seats were added and a fixed roof put in place. The vehicles were then painted with colourful and Catholic designs.

They proved to be strong vehicles with decades-long lifespans, and can be seen ferrying people through city streets and animals on mountain roads.

However the diesel-powered vehicles are also one the nation's chief air pollution culprits.

Francis's jeepney was an all-white popemobile. It had no doors, after the pope told local organisers he did not want a bulletproof vehicle so he could reach out and touch his followers.

Pope Francis (top L) kisses a child as he arrives to celebrate a mass

at a park in Manila on January 18, 2015 (AFP Photo/Ted Aljibe)

Related Articles:

Pope attracts world-record crowd in wet Philippines

Pope braves storm for emotional Philippine typhoon memorial

Pope demands Philippine leaders end graft, fight poverty

Pope Francis, wearing a plastic raincoat, waves to well-wishers after

a mass in Tacloban, on January 17, 2015 (AFP Photo/Johannes Eisele)

Charging remains major challenge for Tesla in China

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2015-01-18

A Tesla car being charged in a station in Hangzhou's Dragon Hotel, Aug. 28,
2014. There are 12 power chargers at the hotel. (File photo/ CNS)

Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk revealed on Jan. 13 weak sales in the fourth quarter in China due to concerns over charging its electric vehicles. As a result, the auto maker's share price dropped US$14 in a 6.85% fall at the close of trading on the same day.

Tesla attributed to the slowed sales to Chinese potential consumers' "misperceptions about the ease of charging" and that the company is working on clearing up the misconceptions by explaining "the ease and convenience of charging," reported US's Business Insider.

Tesla China told Tencent's tech news portal that sales in the fourth quarter were "not bad" but not as good as expected.

Not enough charging locations and the fact that the car maker's charging portal is incompatible with the new government-built charging network are holding Chinese buyers back, said Tencent.

Tesla continues to expand the charging network in China, said Tesla communications chief Ricardo Reyes. Over the last year, Tesla has expanded the number of service centers and charging stations in major Chinese cities. More than 800 charging stations in over 70 cities' malls and office buildings, and 52 supercharger stations in over 20 cities have been built.

The electric car maker additionally provides options for home chargers that could fill the battery overnight. Charging at a supercharger station takes 30 minutes to fill a car to run about 250 km, and a general charging location could charge at a speed between the previous two.

But this is far from enough, said Tencent. China does not yet have the long-distance charging networks seen on US highways. For a Chinese driver who wishes to go hundreds of kilometers from Beijing to Guangzhou, it would be rather time- and effort-consuming.

To make matters worse, the Tesla charging portal is incompatible with the specifics applied in the nationally-owned charging networks, which work for local electronic car brands. In January, a new charging network built by the government was launched in Beijing and Shanghai.

Tesla said as authorities revise the nation's standard specifics for charger portals, the car maker will make adjustments to their designs accordingly once the new regulations are announced.

Despite falling sales and customer anxiety about charging issues, Tencent said that Tesla still holds great hope for the Chinese market as the car maker looks to adjust the car based on feedback from the Chinese customers. For example, the height of seats has been slightly adjusted, and the cushions are stuffed with softer material to improve rider comfort.

Tesla sold more than 22 million cars in China in 2013, which accounted for over 25% of its global sales. The company's shares had gained 48% in 2014 but is down 13% this year.

New energy car promotion continues in China

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2015-01-18

An electric car at the 13th international automobile exhibition in Tianjin,
Oct. 1, 2014. (Photo/Xinhua)

The first expressway charging network located between Beijing and Shanghai was inaugurated on Jan. 15 and additional policy measures are expected to be introduced this year to promote the use of new energy cars, state news agency Xinhua reports.

China saw sales of new energy cars jump 3.2 times to 74,800 in 2014 compared with the data recorded in 2013, of which over 60% were purchased for private use, Xinhua said.

The news agency cited Industry and Information Technology minister Miao Yu, who said that the faster launch of the new models of new energy cars reflected the growing confidence of the local auto companies.

SAIC Motor vice president Wang Xiaobo noted that the company had invested more than 6 billion yuan (US$967 million) in new energy vehicles between 2009 and 2014 because of a series of policy incentives offered by the government.

In addition, Beijing Automotive Industry Holding chairman Xu Heyi said that his company had established two production bases for new energy cars and plans to introduce a model that can run up to 400 kilometers on a single charge in 2016.

Volkswagen Group China CEO Jochem Heizmann said that the growth in sales reflected the effectiveness of the Chinese government's new energy car policy and subsidies.

Director of the Economic Construction Department of the Ministry of Finance Zeng Xiao'an said that the fiscal support for the next phase of new energy car development will be published as soon as possible. Zeng added that the subsidies for conventional vehicles will be reduced.

Sources told Xinhua that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development plan to include the addition of an electric vehicle charging facility as a requirement for all new housing projects.

Auto industry insiders said that the steep decrease in oil prices, which has now fallen below US$50 per barrel, may lead to slower sales of new energy cars in 2015.

Experts are also said that China lags behind in fuel cell production and charging infrastructure despite the 712 charging stations and 28,900 charging poles built around the country.

Helen Xu, the China automotive head at Germany's Infineon Technologies, predicted that China may record sales of more than 100,000 new energy cars in 2015, surpassing the United States.

Related Article:

Taiwan license tax exemption for electric cars extended

Sri Lanka flag-carrier ditches ex-president's 'vanity' airport

DailyMail – AFP, 17 Jn 2015

Cultural performers dance after the landing of a Sri Lankan airlines Airbus A-340
carrying President Mahinda Rajapakse, the first passenger at the new Mattala
 Rajapaksa International Airport in Mattala, on March 18, 2013 (Ishara S.Kodikara/
AFP/File)

  

Sri Lanka's national airline on Saturday announced it will stop all flights to the country's second international airport built and named after Mahinda Rajapakse, after he was defeated in last week's presidential elections.

Sri Lankan Airlines said operating flights via the Rajapakse International airport in the former president's home constituency of Hambantota was a huge drain on the already heavily debt-laden carrier.

The state-owned airline -- under new management after new President Maithripala Sirisena assumed office last week -- has decided to cut back uneconomical flights, including operations via Rajapakse International.

"This translates to an annual bottom line improvement of approximately $18 million," the airline said in a statement.

The airline is weighed down with debts of nearly $650 million.

Rajapakse opened his pet-project airport in March 2013, hoping it would become a new economic hub and act as a gateway to the island's southeast.

But the former government said in parliament that the airport earned 16,000 rupees ($125) in the month of May last year, recording a turnover less than that of a corner grocery store.

The only foreign airlines which operate services through the airport are UAE-based Fly Dubai and Rotana Jet Aviation.

Two budget carriers pulled out of the airport last year saying it was uneconomical due to insufficient traffic, but Sri Lankan Airlines maintained flights for political reasons, according to official sources.

Local media dismissed the airport as a vanity project for Rajapakse who had also named a sea port, a performing arts centre and a conventions centre after himself.

Built with funding from China's Export-Import Bank, the new $206 million facility could accommodate the Airbus A380, the biggest airliner in service. Attempts to attract an aircraft maintenance facility there had drawn a blank.

Last week's election was fought partly on allegations of corruption and waste by the Rajapakse administration, which is facing allegations of padding infrastructure projects to syphon off money.

Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse (C) waves outside a

polling station in his native town of Tangalla, about 195 kms from

the capital Colombo on January 8, 2015 (Photo by Lakruwan

Wanniarachchi / AFP)

Related Articles:

Sri Lanka's Rajapakse concedes election defeat

Sri Lanka's Rajapaksa facing electoral rebellion

Sirisena, who had also been No. 2 figure in the ruling Sri Lankan

 Freedom Party (SLFP), quit Sri Lanka's cabinet on Friday, accusing

President Rajapaska of moving the country "towards a dictatorship."

"Recalibration of Knowledge" – Jan 14, 2012 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: Channelling, God-Creator, Benevolent Design, New Energy, Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Reincarnation, Gaia, Old Energies (Africa, Terrorists, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela ... ), Weather, Rejuvenation, Akash, Nicolas Tesla / Einstein, Cold Fusion, Magnetics, Lemuria, Atomic Structure (Electrons, Particles, Polarity, Self Balancing, Magnetism), Entanglement, "Life is necessary for a Universe to exist and not the other way around", DNA, Humans (Baby getting ready, First Breath, Stem Cells, Embryonic Stem Cells, Rejuvenation), Global Unity, ... etc.) - (Text Version)

“…  I want you to watch some countries. I don't have a clock [this statement is Kryon telling us that there is no time frame on his side of the veil, only potentials]. I'll just tell you, it's imminent [in Spirit's timing, this could mean as soon as a decade]. I want you to watch some countries carefully for changes. You're going to be seeing changes that are obvious, and some that are not obvious [covert or assumptive]. But the obvious ones you will see sooner than not - Cuba, Korea [North], Iran, of course, and Venezuela. I want you to watch what happens when they start to realize that they don't have any more allies on Earth! Even their brothers who used to support them in their hatred of some are saying, "Well, perhaps not anymore. It doesn't seem to be supporting us anymore." Watch the synchronicities that are occurring. The leaders who have either died or are going to in the next year or so will take with them the old ways. Watch what happens to those who take their place, and remember these meetings where I described these potentials to you. …”

Seven million vehicles banned from Chinese roads in 2014

Want China Times, Xinhua 2015-01-17

Smog covers the Hun River Bridge in Shenyang, Jan. 12. (File photo/Xinhua)

The Chinese government met several air and water pollution control targets for 2014, said the Ministry of Environmental Protection on Thursday.

In 2014, about 7 million vehicles were banned from the road nationwide because they failed to meet exhaust emission standards, said Minister of Environmental Protection Zhou Shengxian at the annual meeting of chiefs of environment departments across the country.

About 50,000 coal-fueled furnaces were shut down. Denitrification devices were installed in coal-fueled power generators with a total capacity of 190 million kilowatt (kW). Desulfurization devices for coal-fueled power generators were upgraded, with a total capacity of 95.76 million kW.

Steel and cement plants also underwent large-scale denitrification and desulfurization renovations.

The measures will greatly contribute to air pollution control, Zhou said.

Last year, the country also built new sewage processing plants with a total capacity of 9 million tonnes.

"We have fulfilled the annual targets set by the 2014 government work report," Zhou said, referring to a report submitted by Premier Li Keqiang to the national legislature in March.

This year, the government will work to ban all vehicles nationwide that were registered before the end of 2005 and fail to reach exhaust emission standards, Zhou said.

All vehicles that fail to meet emissions standards, regardless of their registration date, will be banned in the three highly polluted industrial regions of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta.

The government will continue to offer preferential policies for power plants that adopt denitrification and desulfurization renovations, Zhou said.

The dense smog that chokes China's big cities and industrial areas, including the country's capital, Beijing, is believed to result from excessive use of fossil fuels and vehicle exhaust.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top economic planning body, said Wednesday that Beijing, Tianjin and cities in Hebei will reduce their coal consumption in 2017 by 63 million tonnes from 2012 levels.

The reduction will include elimination of outdated production capacity and use of cleaner energy such as hydro, nuclear, wind and solar.

Beijing tests street lamp chargers for electric cars

Want China Times, Xinhua 2015-01-13

Workers testing a street lamp charging pole in Changping, Beijing,
Nov. 6, 2014. (Photo/Xinhua)

Beijing has launched a pilot project to transform street lamps to serve as charging poles for electric cars.

Eighty-eight high-pressure sodium lamps on a road in Beijing's Changping district have been converted into energy-saving LED lamps. Eight charging poles have been installed and put into trial operation using the energy saved from the new LED lamps, said the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission.

The charging poles work day and night, alleviating charging demands for electric taxis and private cars in the area, said the commission.

Beijing will expand the project to other areas.

Beijing has built charging poles at new energy car dealers, parking lots, high-tech industry parks and expressway service areas.

The city plans to build 10,000 public charging poles for electric cars by 2017, the municipal government said in June of last year.

The charging poles will be installed in airports and train stations, public parking lots, malls and supermarket parking lots, highway rest areas, electric car dealers and gas stations.

The Chinese government has been encouraging consumers to buy electric vehicles as a solution to the country's pollution problems. But the plan has been hindered by a bottleneck in the charging infrastructure.

A charging system for the Beijing-Shanghai expressway will soon open. Over the weekend, five electric cars started a 1,262-km test journey from east China's business hub of Shanghai to Beijing, with charging stations available every 50 km in each direction.

China's electric car production jumped fourfold to 83,900 vehicles in 2014, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said Friday.

In 2014, output of pure electric passenger cars rose 300 percent from a year earlier to 37,800, with plug-in hybrid passenger cars reaching 16,700 units.

Measures including tax exemptions, price subsidies and requirements for government organs to buy green cars are in place. However, new energy cars still account for only a tiny proportion of total output. In the first 11 months of 2014, China's automotive industry produced 21.1 million vehicles.

China Aircraft Leasing Company orders 100 Airbus A320 aircraft

Want China Times, Xinhua 2015-01-13

A Qingdao Airlines Airbus A320 in Qingdao, April 2014. (File photo/Xinhua)

European plane maker Airbus Monday confirmed an order for 100 Airbus A320 family aircraft worth more than US$9 billion from China Aircraft Leasing Company (CALC).

CALC, the leading independent aircraft operating lessor in China, firmed up its contract in December, but the order was only announced on Monday.

The order comprises 74 A320neo, 16 A320ceo and 10 A321ceo. Including this new order, CALC's total backlog with Airbus stands at 140 A320 family aircraft.

Airbus in a statement quoted Dr Mike Poon, CEO and executive director of CALC, saying: "Adding these A320 family aircraft, including the latest generation A320neo to our portfolio, means we can fully meet all our customers' requirements in terms of low fuel burn, high reliability and unbeatable comfort."

"The A320 Family is without doubt firmly established as a key asset in our fleet."

John Leahy, Airbus COO, Customers said: "We are delighted to see CALC, a leading lessor based in the world's leading growth market, come back for more of our popular A320 family aircraft and we welcome them as a new customer for the A320neo."

The A320 family is one of the world's best-selling single aisle product lines with more than 11,000 orders to date and over 6,300 aircraft delivered.

AirAsia cockpit voice recorder found in crash wreckage

The cockpit voice recorder from the AirAsia plane that crashed into the Java Sea has been located. The recorder, which has yet to be recovered, was found near where the flight data recorder was retrieved earlier.

Deutsche Welle, 12 Jan 2015

The cockpit voice recorder was located just hours after officials announced the data flight recorder had been pulled from beneath a piece of the aircraft's wing and brought to the surface. The voice recorder was 25 meters (80 feet) from where the data recorder was found.

It is a key development in helping investigators find out what caused the aircraft to crash into the Java Sea less than halfway into Flight 8501 on December 28, killing all 162 people on board.

Suryadi Bambang Supriyadi, operation coordinator at Indonesia's national search and rescue agency said on Monday the voice recorder was lodged beneath heavy wreckage, and divers were struggling to free it at a depth of 32 meters (105 feet).

The cockpit voice recorder was discovered
close to the location of the data recorder.

The flight data recorder was found in debris from the wing at a depth of about 30 meters (100 feet), according to Supriyadi. Once it was found, divers concentrated on locating the source of the other electronic ping heard a few meters away.

Once the voice recorder is recovered from the wreck, both boxes will be taken to Jakarta, the capital, for analysis. It could take up to two weeks to download their information, said Nurcahyo Utomo, an investigator at the National Committee for Safety Transportation.

The two instruments emit signals from their beacons and are vital to understanding what brought the flight down. They provide essential information including the plane's vertical and horizontal speeds along with engine temperature and final conversations between the captain and co-pilot.

The last contact the pilots had with air traffic control, about halfway into their two-hour journey from Indonesia's second-largest city, Surabaya, to Singapore, indicated they were entering stormy weather.

Th pilots asked to climb from 32,000 feet (9,753 meters) to 38,000 feet (11,582 meters) to avoid threatening clouds. Permission was denied because of heavy air traffic. Four minutes later, the plane dropped off the radar. No distress signal was sent.

jm/bw (AP, dpa)

Military policemen carry the flight data recorder of AirAsia QZ8501 at the airbase in

 Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan Jan. 12, 2015. Indonesian navy divers on

Monday retrieved the black box flight data recorder from an AirAsia airliner that

crashed two weeks ago, killing all 162 people on board, a government official said.

Flight QZ8501 lost contact with air traffic control in bad weather on Dec. 28, less

than halfway into a two-hour flight from Indonesia’s second-biggest city of 

Surabaya to Singapore. (Reuters Photo/Darren Whiteside)

Related Article:

Divers in Indonesia recover AirAsia cockpit voice recorder

Navy Divers Find AirAsia Black Box: Transportation Ministry

Jakarta Globe & Agencies, Jan 11, 2015

The tail of the AirAsia QZ8501 passenger plane lies on the deck of the
 Indonesian Search and Rescue (Basarnas) ship Crest Onyx after it was
recovered at sea on Jan. 10, 2015. (Antara Photo/Prasetyo Utomo)

Jakarta. Indonesian divers on Sunday found the black box of the AirAsia plane which crashed in the Java Sea a fortnight ago with 162 people aboard, the transportation ministry said.

But they failed to retrieve it because it was stuck under debris from the main body of the plane, it added.

“The navy divers in Jadayat state boat have succeeded in finding a very important instrument, the black box of AirAsia QZ8501,” said Tonny Budiono, a senior ministry official.

Tonny said the black box’s coordinates were 03.37.21 South/109.42.42 East at a depth of 30 to 32 meters.

Divers will attempt to recover the flight data recorder tomorrow.

“Because of time constraints, [we] have decided to retrieve the black boxes tomorrow morning by gradually shifting these layers of aircraft body debris,” Tonny said.

But if that fails, Tonny said divers would lift the debris using inflatable balloons, the same technique used to lift the tail section on Saturday.

Navy spokesman Manahan Simorangkir, however, denied that the black box had been found, saying divers could not confirm its exact location due to poor weather and visibility.

Earlier on Sunday three search vessels detected pings about five kilometers from where the tail of the Airbus A320-200 aircraft was raised on Saturday.

Indonesia AirAsia Flight QZ8501 lost contact with air traffic control during thundery weather on Dec. 28, less than halfway into a two-hour flight from Surabaya to Singapore. There were no survivors.

Forty-eight bodies have been found in the Java Sea off Kalimantan.

If and when the recorders are found and taken to Jakarta, for analysis, it could take up to two weeks to download data, investigators said, although the information could be accessed in as little as two days if the devices are not badly damaged.

The aircraft carries cockpit voice and flight data recorders — or black boxes — near its tail but once the wreckage was visible, it quickly became apparent that the flight recorders were still underwater.

Enraged passengers open exits on delayed China flight

Delayed air passengers opened three emergency exits, aborting their flight's takeoff from Chengdu, according to Chinese state media. Twenty-five passengers were detained after China's latest 'air rage' incident.

Deutsche Welle, 11 Jan 2015

Passengers frustrated by China's fast growing but delay-plagued aviation sector opened their plane's exits on Saturday, forcing the China Eastern flight to taxi back to the terminal.

China's state news agency Xinhua said the incident happened early on Saturday morning when China Eastern's flight to Beijing was delayed by a snow storm.

Passengers had been left waiting in their seats for hours as ice was removed from the plane's fuselage. The flight had already been delayed for five hours before boarding.

Pair accused of inciting passengers

Kunming province police in an online statement cited by the AFP news agency said a man named Zhou and a tour guide identified as Li had been put in 15-day "administrative detention" for opening exits and "inciting" other passengers.

An unidentified passenger quoted by Xinhua said the flight's vice captain "swore and cursed" during the runway delay, leaving occupants worried he was unable to control himself.

Other delayed passengers later traveled on another flight to Beijing, Xinhua said.

Second biggest in aviation sector

China's air travel market has become the world's second biggest but the world's worst for flight delays, because of heavy traffic and military control of airspace.

Unruly behavior, some filmed and posted online, has become more frequent.

Last month, two women brawled on a flight from Chongqing to Hong Kong, during an argument about seating arrangements and a noisy child, according to Chinese media.

Chongqing's Morning Post newspaper decried what it termed as rude behavior by airline customers.

In another incident reported by Chinese media in December, a first-time passenger opened an emergency exit, reportedly to get some fresh air, as a flight from Hangzhou to Chengdu was preparing for takeoff.

Hot noddles flung

And, hot noodles were flung by a Chinese tourist, scalding an AirAsia flight attendant, during a flight to China, forcing its crew of a budget flight to return to Bangkok and make an emergency landing.

Ensuing social media discussion was intense and focused on China's tourist reputation.

Last month, Chinese state media said authorities were planning to build a third airport in Beijing to handle the rising demand for air transport among China's growing middle class.

Lengthy tarmac waits prompted US aviation authorities in 2010 to require planes to return to the terminal after a wait of three hours.

Last July, Germany's Lufthansa signed a partnership with Air China, aiming to forge a stronger presence in the Chinese aviation market.

ipj/jlw (dpa, AP, AFP)

Related Article:

China desperate to improve image of its overseas tourists

AirAsia tipped to surmount first major crisis

Yahoo – AFP, Satish Cheney, 11 Jan 2015

AirAsia passenger planes are seen parked on the tarmac of the low-cost carrier

 Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2), in Sepang, on January 10, 2015

(AFP Photo/Mohd Rasfan)

Until Flight QZ8501 went down everything had gone right during a spectacular 13-year run of success for AirAsia, which unlocked a booming market of budget travellers in the region.

But as long as no serious safety lapses emerge, analysts say the robust and media-savvy business built up by the Malaysia-based group should help overcome its first major reversal.

Passengers stand near an AirAsia

information board at the low-cost carrier

Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2

(KLIA2) in Sepang, on January 10,

2015 (AFP Photo/Mohd Rasfan)

Flight QZ8501 operated by Indonesia AirAsia -- the group's Jakarta-based affiliate -- crashed in the Java Sea on December 28 en route to Singapore from Surabaya with 162 aboard. All are believed dead.

From the start, AirAsia's colourful boss Tony Fernandes publicly took responsibility, visited victims' families, and vowed to find out what happened.

Such actions are critical in restoring trust, experts say, and stand in stark contrast to Malaysia Airlines' fumbling, tight-lipped handling of the still-unsolved disappearance of Flight MH370 last March with 239 aboard.

"This is an excellent case of a crisis being handled well, to show your customers that things are being taken care of in a hands-on manner, and that the executives are not just sipping their coffees in a cosy office," said Daniel Tsang, an aerospace analyst with Aspire Aviation.

"While some passengers may avoid taking (AirAsia) flights in the short-term, AirAsia's low-cost proposition will keep drawing in first-time fliers to the airline."

If investigators uncover safety negligence on the airline's part, however, it could deeply undermine confidence.

The cause is not yet known, but the plane's Indonesian pilot had requested a course change from air traffic controllers shortly before the crash to avoid a storm.

Indonesian officials in turn have raised questions about Indonesia AirAsia, saying it did not have a license to fly the route that day, but Fernandes has rejected the claim.

AirAsia advertisements are seen at the

 low-cost carrier Kuala Lumpur International 

Airport 2 (KLIA2) in Sepang, on January

10, 2015 (AFP Photo/Mohd Rasfan)

'Everyone can fly'

Yet even if any safety lapses are pinned on the carrier, aviation analysts said AirAsia could mitigate the impact with an aggressive and public campaign to address shortcomings.

AirAsia would need to "be upfront about safety lapses, own up to error, lay out ways to avoid future (accidents), and move on", said Terence Fan, an aviation expert at Singapore Management University.

"Unless serious lapses at the airline were found, an airline typically bounces back in a few months in terms of traffic."

Taking to Twitter, Fernandes last week vowed all the facts will come out. "We never hide," he declared.

Shukor Yusof, founder of Malaysia-based aviation research firm Endau Analytics, said he would be surprised if a systemic AirAsia safety problem was found.

"AirAsia does well in cost-cutting but not to the extent of foregoing safety," he said.

Knowing the plane's fate also means AirAsia can bring closure to families, so muting long-term criticism. In contrast, the failure to find MH370 has left many victims' kin alleging a cover-up by Malaysia Airlines and Malaysia's government.

AirAsia Group CEO, Tony Fernandes,

 pictured ahead of a press conference at

 Juanda International Airport in Surabaya,

 on December 29, 2014 (AFP Photo/

Manan Vatsyayana)

A former record industry executive, Fernandes, 50, took over heavily indebted AirAsia in December 2001. He turned it into a roaring success with its rock-bottom fares and a playful image embodied by its baseball cap-wearing boss, who has been called Asia's Richard Branson.

With its corporate motto declaring "Now everyone can fly", it has won over tens of millions of travellers in a burgeoning Asian middle class previously confined to more expensive regional flag carriers, snagging several awards as the world's best budget carrier.

"Certainly AirAsia will recover as it is a very good airline and this tragedy will not impact its growth," said AirlineRatings.com editor Geoffrey Thomas.

That said, AirAsia is struggling to maintain growth rates as it matures, as rivals step up competition. In the first blow to its business, Indonesian authorities have halted AirAsia's Surabaya-Singapore flights.

But analysts note that AirAsia has continually proven itself the region's most nimble performer, and that other airlines have bounced back from tragedy to emerge stronger. These include flag carriers Garuda Indonesia and Korean Airlines.