Tragedy striked Indonesia as two passenger trains collapsed into each other early Saturday morning. 35 passengers perished, while other 15 are fighting for their lives. Information about the victims has been gathered from all the different hospitals were the victims were taken. Some corpses were difficult to identify due to the injuries they received.
Hours after the accident happened, the president of the country conveyed his condolence to the families of the victims. Two days after the incident, no statements from the CEOs have been made. They nor any other representative has made an appearence to address the issue.
The reason of the accident is still under investigation. So far, allegations indicate human error from the machinist.
When trying to access information about the incident from the websites of Argo Anggrek Railway and Senja Utama Trains, their pages constantly marked error. 24 hours after the accident the sites still showed the same message. News websites are the ones that have facilitated the easy flow of information between both organizations and the public. . No one has assumed responsability. The only information circulating is that that may help families reunite with their loved ones or claim bodies. A list with the names of the hospitals was made available via ALL VOICES, news website.
The names of two drivers, allegedly involved in the crash, were released. Apparently they stand alone, their employers have not showed their support. They were arrested by police for further questioning.
Information has been limited to gather because majority of them is, or appears to be, Indonesian. I would assume that because of the magnitude of the proplem and the global attention that the news are receiving there would be some more information available in English.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Cougars' # 7, not so lucky anymore.
University of Houston's quarterback, Case Keenum, is out of the season for good. Despite this valuable loss, cougar fans' are encouraged to continue supporting the team.
During a game against UTEP, Keenum was injured. He was carried off the field with the help of two paramedics and wearing a face expression that said it all: dissappointment. The game continued and Keenum's absence was not much felt- for his job was already done; he had made wonderful strategic passes that had helped his teammates score and establish a leading significant difference between UH versus the adversary.
Days later, his medical condition was still unknown. No comments were made. The silent from the athletic administrators and those in the same circle were killing everyone. Not talking about the subject made everyone more concerned. The Daily Cougar, the school newspaper, was only reporting on how UH had earned a fantastic victory, with a brief (that could be reduced to nothing) mention on the injury. Speculations started to circulate regarding Keenum's participation in an upcoming game against UCLA. Fans feared. "Will their star not play in such an important game? How bad was his knee?" Finally, the day before the game, an announcement was made: Keenum would play.
As both team stepped on Rose Bowl, UH students were expecting that their star would play as good as he did before what had happened against UTEP. Those in the stadium, and those watching the game on TV hoped that their quarterback would lead the team to a game well played. Unfortunately, that did not happened. Keenum was injured once again, and with that so did the end of his era.
Now that his injury is of more severe than the first one, UH football coach Kevin Sumlim, has been more public about the Keenum's condition. He has issued a statement declaring Keenum's absence of for the rest of the season. If Sumlim had been more public since the beginning, UH fans would not have been as disappoinment as they are now. Their hopes would not have fallen as bad as they did on Sunday night, when Sumlim spoke to the press. Now, the UH Athletic's PR department will have to work on a campaign that may motivate students to be even more supportive to the school's football team than before. An editorial on the Daily Cougar is already doing its part. It reads, "It may seem terrible a change in direction for the Cougar's 2010 season, but now is the time for Houston fans to truly shine. As always we'll be at Robertson Stadium for the Cougar's next game, and we hope to see the stands overflowing again."
Keenum's athletic debacle has been put under a magnifying glass. Let's hope it is managed better. One lesson Slim should learn is to never try to hide something he can't.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
China airplane crash...again
For a while, I have not watched on the news or read in the newspapers anything about the Chinese airplane crash. I know it's been about a month since the tragedy, but I was expecting that media would give at least a last update before "closing the case." If one googles the news, no results show updated information. The last reports date August 26 or (if your lucky) August 28. The only newspaper covering the story is an Asian newspaper.
On their latest article, it is reported that investigation dealing with the airplane crash has come up with a new issue affecting the airline. Apparently, due to the recent rapid grow of the airline traffic and subsequent demand for pilots, many pilots lied about their qulification on their resumes. "Some of hte pilots changed their jobs many times, and they constantly distorted their resumes," a CAAC cited report said. "Some of them were former mlitary pilots and became civil pilots."
I really don't see how Henan airlines will recover from this one. More and more issues keep popping out and none of them have been addressed directly by the company. They're not taking any steps toward the cleansed of their name. The only steps they're taking is to an unrecoverable debacle. Perhaps a change of name would be suitable in this instance.
Source: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/Li15Ad01.html
On their latest article, it is reported that investigation dealing with the airplane crash has come up with a new issue affecting the airline. Apparently, due to the recent rapid grow of the airline traffic and subsequent demand for pilots, many pilots lied about their qulification on their resumes. "Some of hte pilots changed their jobs many times, and they constantly distorted their resumes," a CAAC cited report said. "Some of them were former mlitary pilots and became civil pilots."
I really don't see how Henan airlines will recover from this one. More and more issues keep popping out and none of them have been addressed directly by the company. They're not taking any steps toward the cleansed of their name. The only steps they're taking is to an unrecoverable debacle. Perhaps a change of name would be suitable in this instance.
Source: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/Li15Ad01.html
Thursday, September 9, 2010
BOOM! Explosive news on Ferrari
The image of a Ferrari's exploding is more likely to be associated as part of a scene in an action movie, but this became true last week in many cities across the U.S and overseas. Not very Hollywood, I must say.
For high speed car aficionados, a Ferrari is a dream come true. They can go from zero to 60 mph in just over a few seconds. However nobody is a fan of fire breaking out of their $253,000 car, especially while driving it.
Five owners of the newly launched 2010458 Italia reported catching fire while speeding. The innovative technology of the car was expected to surprise the public but it ended up disappointing them.
So far the company has said that an adhesive close to the engine is likely the cause of the fires. "This adhesive can melt due to overheating and ignite flames," Ferrari spokesman Stefano Lai said.
Incidents involving the 458 had been reported for a couple of months but the reports were thought to be isolated instances, not something that required a lot of attention.
Car dealers have asked their customers get their cars checked for a replacement of the engine. With the objective to prevent more incidents, cars not yet purchased were pulled out of the market for further inspection. Numbers average 1,100 cars.
---
1 incident should have been enough for the company to take action. How many reports were they expecting to receive? In addition to ignoring the signs of the problem, when notified that this was serious, the company didn't issue a statement to let their customers know of the situation. With the late response they may jeopardize the trust of their customers
Although a well-known brand, Ferrari is not a company of the masses. They don't produce that many cars for the general public. Obviously, their market is for those who are most afluent. Considering this, if someone would have gotten hurt, their lawyers would be sweating like crazy right now. They better look at the signs next time.
Sources:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/09/02/business/main6830054.shtml
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/tn-dpt-0903-ferrari-20100902,0,5231106.story
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
"The man who has planned badly, if fortune is on his side, may have had a stroke of luck; but his plan was a bad one nonetheless"-Herodotus
A week after one of Henan Airlines commercial flights went down, the families and relatives of the passengers who perished will receive a compensation of about half a million dollars for each member they lost, this in accordance to the regulations established by the Chinese civil aviation laws.
While this families are still in mourning, the cause of the accident has not yet been determined. "Preliminary investigation showed that the plane missed the runway," reported the Associated Press on Monday August 30. As the collection of testimonies of the survivors continues, these -so far- confirm the suspicion that the airport was not properly equipped to light the path of descending airplanes in foggy conditions.
Witnesses' accounts say that the airliner broke in half before it crashed to the ground. After that "a huge blaze enveloped the wreckage and the flames reddened the surrounding forests," said Hanan Airlines website.
Although their website displays a public apology, the company has showed a lack sensitivity to the subject. The header of the page displays a collage made out of colorful pictures showing a burning airplane with a headline that reads, "Very deep sorry over Henan Airlines' 8.24 air crash." Despite this, few tasteful efforts to show empathy have been made. Henan has a lot to do in order to show they sincerely care about their customers.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Airplane crash
China has a reputation of having the best technology resources in the world. Ironically and sadly, it also has the worse reputation when it comes to the safety of that technology. Their stigmatic specialty is in aerial catastrophes. In the past four years, China has had 10 serious airplnae crashes.
On the night of August 24, a domestic Chinese commercial flight crashed as it lost control attempting to land at Lindu Airport, causing the death of half of those on board.
As soon as the news of the incident began to be covered by the media, speculations and hypothesis began to circulate amongst newsrooms and the desks of federal agencies. In order to cease those rumors six central Chinese government agencies were called to investigate the cause of the accident. The top hypothetical reasons behind the crash are the bad lighting and terrain of the airport, and weather landing conditions. Human error has been considered but not as strongly as the previous reasons.
Demand and Supply
China's aviation market has rapidly developed in the past years. Unable to satisfy the high demand of daylight daily flights airlines have been forced to build small regional airports in areas previously considered unpractical for nighttime aviation.
If findings from the investigation confirm that the crash is linked to the negligence to equip airports with strong lighting against the low visibility caused by seasonal weather conditions of Northern China, both the Chinese government and airlines serving passengers under those conditions will face a serious crisis.
Thumbs up, thumbs down
Up to this moment, Lian Jiakum, vice director of the State Administration of Work Safety has expressed his positive outlook at the disaster. He said, "the plane crash is a lesson for the civil aviation industry, for every pilot and every crew." His initial message to the public expresses sympathy to the general concern to track those responsible and make recommendations to China's government on how to prevent disasters such as this one. Lian's positive approach to the situation attempts to lower any bad present or future impressiona, as well as gaining trust for hte future establishment of an open communication among his publics.
Henan Airlines first action after the crash has not been the best. Days after the incident, the airline announced the removal of its president and made a public apology to those who were affected. By offering an apology the company has admitted to be guilty of a misdeed that has not yet been officially proved. In addition to this, by removing the president they have given the impresssion that his removal is linked to his incompetency to lead in moments of distress; therefore leading to think that he wasn't supposed to hold such position in the first place.
On the night of August 24, a domestic Chinese commercial flight crashed as it lost control attempting to land at Lindu Airport, causing the death of half of those on board.
As soon as the news of the incident began to be covered by the media, speculations and hypothesis began to circulate amongst newsrooms and the desks of federal agencies. In order to cease those rumors six central Chinese government agencies were called to investigate the cause of the accident. The top hypothetical reasons behind the crash are the bad lighting and terrain of the airport, and weather landing conditions. Human error has been considered but not as strongly as the previous reasons.
Demand and Supply
China's aviation market has rapidly developed in the past years. Unable to satisfy the high demand of daylight daily flights airlines have been forced to build small regional airports in areas previously considered unpractical for nighttime aviation.
If findings from the investigation confirm that the crash is linked to the negligence to equip airports with strong lighting against the low visibility caused by seasonal weather conditions of Northern China, both the Chinese government and airlines serving passengers under those conditions will face a serious crisis.
Thumbs up, thumbs down
Up to this moment, Lian Jiakum, vice director of the State Administration of Work Safety has expressed his positive outlook at the disaster. He said, "the plane crash is a lesson for the civil aviation industry, for every pilot and every crew." His initial message to the public expresses sympathy to the general concern to track those responsible and make recommendations to China's government on how to prevent disasters such as this one. Lian's positive approach to the situation attempts to lower any bad present or future impressiona, as well as gaining trust for hte future establishment of an open communication among his publics.
Henan Airlines first action after the crash has not been the best. Days after the incident, the airline announced the removal of its president and made a public apology to those who were affected. By offering an apology the company has admitted to be guilty of a misdeed that has not yet been officially proved. In addition to this, by removing the president they have given the impresssion that his removal is linked to his incompetency to lead in moments of distress; therefore leading to think that he wasn't supposed to hold such position in the first place.
(Information was gathered from the following websites: bloomerg.com, cnn.com, csmonitor.com, and reuters.com)
New semester...new crises
Fall is here. Although it's hard to believe with daily tempereatures averaging the 90s. Leaves are still green, but as far as the students from the University of Houston are concerned, the days of summer freedom are gone. Yes. We're back at school.
There are new things to learn, talk and blog about. However, to my much sadness, I must admit that I won't have a lot of time to blog about ALL of them. Because of this, I'll give priority to a special request made by one of my professors.
As part of a semester-long assignment, I've been asked to keep track of current crises- mega problems faced by government, companies, or individuals. I must pick one that interests me and then try to analyze the situation. in the Spring of 2010, I wrote my entries based on my observations on linguistic matters. The Fall of 2010 will not deal with that. We will talk about pure drama.
Are you ready?
There are new things to learn, talk and blog about. However, to my much sadness, I must admit that I won't have a lot of time to blog about ALL of them. Because of this, I'll give priority to a special request made by one of my professors.
As part of a semester-long assignment, I've been asked to keep track of current crises- mega problems faced by government, companies, or individuals. I must pick one that interests me and then try to analyze the situation. in the Spring of 2010, I wrote my entries based on my observations on linguistic matters. The Fall of 2010 will not deal with that. We will talk about pure drama.
Are you ready?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)