Video: Plane Hits Car In Texas

by Laurel Miller on

In perhaps the biggest “oops” of the year, the driver of an SUV failed to see a stop sign, and collided with a small aircraft at the Northwest Regional Airport, near Dallas. WFAA news reports that only minor injuries were sustained by the passenger of the vehicle, as the plane’s landing gear clipped its roof. Pilot William Davis was completing his first solo flight, and his wife happened to be filming his landing when she captured the collision. For his part, Davis says he’ll never fly a plane again, after this near miss.

Apparently, a private road crosses the north end of the landing strip. The only indication to drivers that there’s potential risk of decapitation by landing gear is a faded “STOP” painted on the asphalt. Frank Laudo, driver of the SUV, says he didn’t see it. You’ll be inclined to believe him after you watch this video.


Live Blog: Onboard United Airlines 787 Launch

by Grant Martin on

It’s an historic day in Houston as United Airlines prepares to launch service on the 787 Dreamliner. Though plans were set back slightly by the delivery schedule at Boeing, one inaugural 787 will make the flight from Houston to Chicago to Houston to Los Angeles this fourth of November, ferrying passengers in the country’s first commercially operated, domestic Dreamliner flight.

This isn’t first time that America has seen the 787. Several carriers including ANA and JAL have operated flights from their respective home countries to the United States, but none have operated commercial flights within the country, and none have been on an American carrier. With this flight, United becomes the first domestic operator of the long awaited Dreamliner.

United plans to fly the 787 on domestic routes for the next month to get the country acclimated and then shift routes internationally.

Follow along as Gadling labs joins the United crew in welcoming the 787 to American skies. We’ll be live blogging the event in Houston as well as the arrival ceremonies in Chicago. Sadly, there isn’t internet service on this composite aircraft, but we’ll keep you updated as connectivity permits.

Update, 10:37AM: Our coverage of United’s inaugural 787 is wrapped up. Check back later for more details on the Dreamliner!

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10:36AM That’s a wrap for us! Check out a gallery of images in the article above and make sure to check back regularly for updates!

10:30AM Just docked into the United Red Carpet Club to upload the last batch of videos. What an exhausting morning.

10:30AM Here’s our favorite shot from the flight

Midflight video:

10:21AM Water cannon salute!

10:04AM Jim Starling, 787 pilot: “This aircraft is revolutionary.”

10:02AM Jeff Smisek “All I can say is ‘Wow. It’s a dream come true'”

10:00AM Press conference beginning in O’Hare

9:50AM Wheels down in ORD!

7:05AM Buttoning up for pushback. We won’t be updating in the air but we’ll connect again in O’Hare. Arrival is at 9:50AM local!

6:56AM Media bonanza during boarding. We may yet cause this flight to be delayed.

6:52AM Here’s Captain Michael Barksdale. He’ll be in charge of the flight(s) tomorrow.

6:48AM Commence boarding!

6:32AM Ribbon cutting!

6:28AM Jeff: “If you want to have the world’s leading airline, you want to have the world’s leading airplane. And that’s the 787 Dreamliner”

6:27AM Jeff “This is a very exciting day for United Airlines… We’re the worlds largest airline but we don’t care about that. We want to be the world’s leading airline”

6:26AM Opening remarks beginning.

6:26AM Jeff Smisek (CEO) up on the podium with the inaugural 787 flight crew.

6:20AM Economy class configuration. Looking good!

6:17AM We’re checked in at gate E5 for the launch festivities!

6:12AM

It’s an historic day in Houston as United Airlines prepares to launch service on the 787 Dreamliner. Though plans were set back slightly by the delivery schedule at Boeing, one inaugural 787 will make the flight from Houston to Chicago to Houston to Los Angeles this fourth of November, ferrying passengers in the country’s first commercially operated, domestic Dreamliner flight.

This isn’t first time that America has seen the 787. Several carriers including ANA and JAL have operated flights from their respective home countries to the United States, but none have operated commercial flights within the country, and none have been on an American carrier. With this flight, United becomes the first domestic operator of the long awaited Dreamliner.

United plans to fly the 787 on domestic routes for the next month to get the country acclimated and then shift routes internationally.

Follow along as Gadling labs joins the United crew in welcoming the 787 to American skies. We’ll be live blogging the event in Houston as well as the arrival ceremonies in Chicago. Sadly, there isn’t internet service on this composite aircraft, but we’ll keep you updated as connectivity permits.

Introducing The 2013 National Geographic Adventurers Of The Year

by Kraig Becker on

Yesterday National Geographic introduced their selections for the 2013 Adventurers of the Year, doling out the honor to some of the most daring – not to mention fascinating – people on the planet. As always with these awards, the recipients are people who routinely push themselves to the limit while attempting things that most of us would never even dream of.

Probably the best-known person on the list is skydiver Felix Baumgartner, who became a household name when he made an historic leap from the edge of space a few weeks back. But Felix isn’t the only adventurer who is pushing the limits of human endurance. He’s joined on the list of winners by Lizzy Hawker, an ultra-running legend who routinely competes in, and wins, races that are 100-miles in length or more. Shannon Galpin earns a spot amongst the winners for her humanitarian efforts with the Streets of Afghanistan project, while kayaker Steve House completed a life-long dream by running the biggest rapids in the world along the Congo River. The rest of list consists of climbers, skiers, snowboarders, surfers and other outdoor athletes who all had amazing experiences throughout 2012.

As in previous years, Nat Geo would like to hear from us as to who we feel is the most impressive amongst this group of candidates. To that end, they’ve launched a website that allows us to vote for who we think is the most deserving person to be named the People’s Choice Adventurer of the Year. Voting runs from now until January 16, 2013, with the winner being announced in February. Unlike that other impending election, however, we get to vote once per day between now and then.

Congratulations to these inspiring and amazing men and women. What an incredible honor.

[Photo Credit: Red Bull Content Pool]


Photo Of The Day: Hurricane Sandy In Red Hook

by Elizabeth Seward on

When Hurricane Sandy hit New York City on Monday night, Red Hook, a vibrant neighborhood in Brooklyn, was hit badly. Red Hook is a Zone A neighborhood in NYC and thereby was under mandatory evacuation before the storm hit. It’s a good thing Red Hook was evacuated because Hurricane Sandy flooded the neighborhood with 5 feet of water. Those who don’t live or own businesses in Red Hook still frequently make the trip to visit Brooklyn‘s Ikea or Fairway. In fact, I go there for groceries every few days. As you can see in the background of this photo, taken by photographer Ben Britz, the Ikea is just a backdrop now to a littered harbor where the pictured boat was one of many tossed astray by the storm. Stay tuned for more photos of the damage from Hurricane Sandy.

[Photo Credit: Ben Britz]

Birth Of A Hotel: No Sandy Setbacks On Hotel Construction, At Least In DC

by McLean Robbins on


Our featured hotel in the Birth of a Hotel series, Capella Washington, D.C., Georgetown, narrowly escaped major damage during Hurricane Sandy. The hotel secured much of its construction equipment in advance of the storm, as shown in the photo above, but also was lucky to be just before “closing” stage, when the building is finally sealed and the roof finally put into place.Georgetown also escaped much of the predicted damage, as the photo below indicates. While water levels did rise significantly, the nearby waterfront didn’t flood to the extent forecasted.

We can just see a bit more mud than usual in the C&O Canal, behind the hotel.


Compare this situation with that of another hotel in the construction phase, the future Park Hyatt New York. Readers have likely seen the photo of the crane dangling above One 57th. We’re fairly confident that this will delay that hotel’s opening by a few months.

The Birth of a Hotel” is a Gadling-exclusive series that details what happens as a hotel prepares to open. Follow along with the articles and updates at “The Birth Of A Hotel” page, here. We’d also love to hear from you, our readers. If you have a topic about hotel development or trends that you’d love to see explored, email us or leave a comment below.

[Image Credits: CapellaDC, General Manager Alex Obertop, CarolJoynt, JessyeAnne]