Pakistani plane pelted with hail

This Pakistani International Airlines Boeing 777 was operating Paris-Milan-Lahore recently when it encountered a monster of a thunderstorm in flight that produced some good size hail. Obviously the hail blasted the nose cone and shattered the wind screen. Damage was also done to the leading edge of the aircraft's wings. Registration was AP-BHX.

Unknown photo source.




(via Airliners.net)

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Even more sweet new Delta logos (hopefully)

If you liked the post on Tuesday of what the new Delta could look like after the proposed merger with Northwest, check these babies out. Again, the Delta widget and Northwest compass are blended together just nicely to preserve each airline's heritage. Delta would have to be crazy not to go with these very high quality conceptions by artist J.R. Heilig.



The first one shows a NWA 747-400 repainted in a beautiful new Delta livery.



This second one is what a Delta 777 would look like repainted in the new colors.

I happen to love them both, which means Delta will go a completely opposite direction with a new livery.

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Delta 777-200LR in flight pictures

The below seven pictures were taken from a Learjet flying in formation. The aircraft in question is a Boeing 777-200LR, a work of art if you ask me.

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Cool 777LR assembly video

Came across this recently and wanted to share it. I think some of this is stock footage, but the paint and first flight scenes are new to Delta's 777LR. They are the first US operator of this, the world's longest range aircraft. Both Boeing and Airbus just love this kind of time lapse stuff.

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American 777 flies transatlantic with only 5 passengers, Al Gore bursts into flames

In an apparent contest with Singapore Airlines to see who is the ultimate archenemy of the environment, American Airlines is under fire from the eco-group "Friends of Earth" for apparently flying a Boeing 777 from Chicago to London Heathrow with only 5 passengers on board. The "eco-scandal" as FOE calls it, was due to an earlier cancellation with all but the five remaining passengers being able to make other accommodations. The "obscene waste of fuel" was estimated to have created 43 tons of CO2 per passengers. American Airlines' response? "Die you miserable planet!!"

I hope they got upgraded to First Class.

Cathay captain gets canned for low-pass caught on camera

The captain of a brand new Cathay Pacific 777-300ER is looking for a new job now after making a low-pass of the Boeing Everett Plant on departure for the delivery flight back to Hong Kong. I believe this happened about Janurary 30th. Video has now been leaked of the low-pass with some estimates placing the aircraft as low as 28 feet AGL. Apparently the chairman of the airline was on board at the time. Word-to-the-wise, don't do stupid stuff with your boss in the back seat.