
Private Boeing 747-400 that unwanted hitch hiker got a ride on. A6-HRM
It seems that sometimes the dumbest people also get to be the luckiest. A 20 year old man wanted to get from Vienna to London to find a job and didn’t want to have to pay for a ticket. Instead, he climbed under the security fence and climbed up the undercarriage of a private Boeing 747, who belongs to a high-ranking sheik from the United Arab Emirates.
The 747 took off with no passengers aboard and luckily they ran into some thunderstorms. I say luckily because the plane had to fly at about 25,000 feet, which meant the temperature and lack of oxygen didn’t kill the stowaway. However, it is reported that he wasn’t doing too hot (ha, get it not hot) by the time he arrived in London after his 90 minute flight.
“Due to specific circumstances of this flight, he is lucky to have survived, because survival in these cases in quite rare,” said Sidney Dekker, a professor of flight safety at the School of Aviation at Sweden’s Lund University told the Huffington Post. “But on another level, this incident also illustrates the absurdities of security checks.”
Even though there is no official word on his condition, Heathrow officials are stating the man is in a cell and not in a hospital.
Thank you AirlineIndustryReview for knowing the exact plane.
Image: RobertJamesStarling

Boeing workers assemble the top portion of the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental. Photo by Boeing.
Boeing announced yesterday that they have started fuselage assembly of the first 747-8 Intercontinental at their factory in Everett, WA. Even though this is not the first Boeing 747-8 built, it is the first Intercontinental that will carry passengers.
The panels are part of section 41, which houses the flight deck and top portion of the top passenger compartment. The Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental already has 33 orders and is set to be delivered in late 2011.
Be sure to check out:
* Learn more about the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental
* More photos of the plane on Randy’s blog

Korean Air Cargo Boeing 747-8 Freighter (HL7609 - RC541) sitting next to Cargolux's. Took at Paine Field today.
Today, I got word from Jon Ostrower (aka FlightBlogger) that a Boeing 747-8 Freighter with a Korean Air Cargo livery should be outside at Paine Field.
So I headed up to Paine Field to take a look and sure enough, it was there!
I was just up there on Saturday taking a look at the Boeing 787 ZA005 and the Cargolux Boeing 747-8, but it was awesome seeing the Cargolux next to the Korean Cargo plane (dang UPS getting in between them).
I didn’t have my normal (and better) camera with me, so didn’t get zoomed in as I wanted, but better than nothing!
More media:
* LIVE video I took on iPhone while there (still testing this service)
* 12 other photos of the Korean Air Cargo Boeing 747-8
* Is it just me or does the Korean Air logo look a lot like Pepsi’s new logo?
Thank you Temo for letting me use your camera last minute!
Over the past few months, the readership on AirlineReporter.com has been growing…a lot. Thank you all so much for your support, comments and putting up with my sense of humor.
Since some of you are new to reading, I wanted to point out the other ways you can also connect to me and my blog:
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My Twitter allows you to see more interesting stories I find and my Facebook gives you more of a behind the scenes look at what is going on and sometimes I will preview things on there.
If you like the blog, the best compliment you can give is letting others know about the blog so it can continue its growth. The more readers I have the more sway I have in doing more interesting blogs, which provides you with entertainment. It is a win-win.
If you find a blog interesting, feel free to link to it on message boards, your Facebook, other websites or whatever. That sort of promotion really helps. I am also more than happy for anyone to use any photos, video or content I produce, as long as I am given credit and a link back to the blog.
If you ever run into a story that you find interesting, you what to know more about something or have a blog suggestion do not hesitate to email me at da***@*************er.com.
Thanks again for your support and I am very excited for some of the blogs I am planning in the next few months…stay tuned.

Trans States Airlines ERJ-145
Last month I told you about two flight crews who forgot to start the second engine on their regional jet before take off. Yes, people can make mistakes, but this is a pretty big mistake.
Since then I have found more information on one of the incidents. It turns out that the Trans States pilot who forgot to turn on his second engine, was not a new pilot, but a very experienced one. Michael White, the airline’s former chief pilot and currently its director of flight operations is the one who made this mistake.
White is stating that his second engine shut down on its own and Tran States is supporting his statement. Two pilots who were flying in the passenger cabin at the time said they felt the second engine was never started, which contradicts White’s story. The FAA isn’t buying White’s version of events and has opened an enforcement case to see if White is trying to cover up his mistake. The Wall Street Journal is stating that pilots have told investigators they have felt intimidated to back up White’s version of this story.
“We don’t believe that any member of management has tried to dissuade pilots from telling anything,” an airline spokesperson told the FAA. He added that the FAA has “never told us there was any kind of investigation involving intimidation or coercion,” of pilots.
After the incident White was barred from flying passengers, but has since passed a proficiency test and is once again able to fly.
I was able to speak to a Trans State’s pilot about this situation, via email. Due to their obvious fear of repercussions, I will not be using their real name. For ease, I shall call them “Pilot Smith.”
Smith confirmed that White is not your average pilot, “The Captain [White], who was on a line check (which is a type of test we are required to do, once a year for currency in the aircraft) and is our director of operations (aka management). He is someone who hardly EVER flies and yet dictates our rules and regulations on a daily basis, with emphasis based on punishment if WE (pilots) do not follow them.”
Smith talked to me about how much they love their job, but it has only been getting more difficult. Most pilots have to put their time into regional jets before moving on to larger aircraft to make more money and have better hours. However, due to the poor economy, pilots are having to spend more time and are becoming more experience. Even though they have the hours and the experience, they still are “stuck” in the regional airlines realm. Smith feels, “It is of the utmost importance to keep safe, fly smart, and offer the best customer service I can to our passengers.” However Smith stated it is difficult to do all of that, while having to work so many hours and being in a hostile work environment.
No matter what, Smith loves flying and will continue to keep doing what they love, “I love flying an airplane and will never miss the feeling of taking off into the great blue yonder.”
I have a feeling the truth about this will come out. The date logs should be able to show if the engine was started or not. If it turns out that the engine did stop on its own, I will be the first to apologize to White and Trans States Airlines. However, if it turns out that White didn’t start his engines and the airline was part of a cover up…well let’s just say I won’t be happy and you will know about it!
Image: AV8NLVR