Crash of the Concorde

(Smith, 2018)

The fastest commercial airliner in the world was the Concorde, a plane that was the epitome of supersonic travel. Flying at twice the speed of sound, it made the trip from New York to Europe in just 3+3/4 hours. For Air France, the Concorde was a symbol of prestige and luxury, the star of the airline.

On July 25, 2000, though, the reputation of the Concorde would be shattered. The plane was preparing to take off from Paris bound for New York. When speeding down the runway though, disaster happens.

(NBC News, 2010)

One of Concorde’s tires exploded during the takeoff. A piece of metal was on the runway, which lodged itself in the tire, causing the tire to burst. This metal fell off of a plane that took off before Concorde.

(NBC News, 2010)

When the tire exploded, a 5kg piece of rubber was sent out and collided with the wing. The speed of the piece of the rubber was so large that it shook the plane and caused the fuel tank to burst. Sparks caused by the damaged tire ignited the fuel. A large flame appeared behind the plane.

With limited runway space remaining, the Concorde cannot abort the takeoff. As fuel continued to leak out, the engines lost power. The fire on the plane is visible from miles around. Eventually, with the engines completely failing, the plane stalls and falls to the ground. The plane lands on a hotel, leaving a fireball in its wake. Fire crews spent 3 hours getting the fire under control. 113 died that day, 109 from the plane and 4 from the hotel. For many, this crash was an absolute shock. Concorde was supposed to be the most sophisticated plane of its time. It had a perfect safety record till then. This take-off ended in a fireball just miles away from the airport.

(Smith, 2018)

National Geographic. (2004). Seconds from Disaster: Crash of the Concorde.

NBC News. (2010, February 2). French court to open probe Into Concorde crash. NBCNews.com. Retrieved September 27, 2021, from https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna35185084.

Smith, R. (2018, October 4). This freak aviation disaster brought supersonic idealism down in flames. Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/freak-aviation-disaster-brought-supersonic-idealism-down-flames-180970459/.

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A Lottery Tale around China’s Bank Heist

(Butler, 2015)

The city of Handan, located just north of Beijing, is an industrial city. There was nothing remarkable about the place from the hundreds of cities in China just like it. At a branch of the Agricultural Bank of China, vault manager Ren Xiao Feng waited to make his move. Opening the vault, he started putting the money into his duffel bag. Bribing the security guards, he was able to rob the bank swiftly and without notice. He had stolen $26,000 USD. His plan for the money was to purchase lottery tickets. Piles of lottery tickets. His plan was to buy enough tickets to win the lottery, and place the money back into the bank before anyone noticed. The remaining money won from the lottery prize would be for himself. However, Ren did not realize that this plan was incredibly unlikely to happen. The chances of winning the lottery are so astronomically low. It was very unlikely that he would ever win back enough money to replace the money he stole. Yet despite these odds, Ren actually managed to win.

But this is where his luck turned. This incredibly unlikely success actually managed to convince Ren to rob the bank again. He enlisted the help of the other vault manager Ma. The two stole $4.3 million USD. They bought tons and tons of lottery tickets. This time, luck wasn’t on their side and they weren’t able to win back any money. In desperation, the duo stole another $2.3 million USD. Yet in the end, out of $6.7 million, they won back only $12,700. The authorities became suspicious and tracked them down. The guards were arrested. Ren and Ma fled from the city. Ma was caught in Beijing, while Ren fled to the coastal areas around Jiangsu province. He was immediately noticed by locals and quickly arrested. Prosecutors sentenced them to the harshest penalty allowed: the death penalty.

Butler, S. (2015, November 12). The Grand comedy of China’s biggest bank heist. Yahoo! News. Retrieved from https://news.yahoo.com/grand-comedy-chinas-biggest-bank-080000693.html.

Herbert, D. G. (2019, December 6). The absurd story Behind China’s biggest bank robbery. Medium. Retrieved from https://marker.medium.com/jackpot-694063c4d867.

Financial Perks of Being President

Being president is possibly the most prestigious job there is in America. But have you ever wondered about how much Presidents get paid? The short answer is $400,000. This is up from the $200,000 salary from 2001. But in addition to this salary, there are a lot of benefits to being president.

Each year, the president is given $100,000 for travel, $19,000 for entertainment and $50,000 for other expenses. Furthermore, when the president first moves into the White House, $100,000 is given to redecorate. The White House has a variety of fun activities for the President and the family to enjoy. These include a bowling alley, movie theatre, tennis court, and basketball court.

Camp David is also a nice retreat for the President to enjoy.

After leaving the White House, there is a myriad of perks and benefits as thanks for serving the country. These include a vacation budget, health insurance and a pension that is nearly half the salary. Additional funds can also be asked for other expenses— George W. Bush received more than a million dollars for office space in 2015. Despite the nice salary and benefits, most presidents are already well-off anyways. Thus, some have questioned whether all of this needs to be spent considering most presidents can have a lot of money on their own.

Akhtar, A. (2021, February 12). Monday is presidents day. these are 19 financial perks of being the president of the United States. Business Insider. Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/financial-perks-president-of-the-united-states-2018-7#presidents-and-their-immediate-family-members-are-honored-with-a-state-funeral-19.

Fire in a tunnel

Onee of the most famous mountains in the world is Mont Blanc,. Situated in the Alps along the French Italian border, it is the tallest mountain in Europe. In order to allow for travel between France and Italy, engineers constructed the world’s deepest tunnel under Mont Blanc. It is a heavily used route as it is a vastly faster shortcut compared to winding mountain roads. The tunnel seemed to be remarkably safe. Fire exits are spaced every 600m, 77 emergency telephones, and specific rescue teams are assigned to the tunnel.

An ordinary truck enters the tunnel, carrying margarine and flour. Its air filter has been destroyed, allowing particles to enter the engine. This allowed the engine to catch fire. When the driver noticed smoke, the truck was nearly in the middle of the tunnel. The flame grew even larger.

Visibility became very low as thick black smoke engulfs the tunnel. Vehicles queue around the truck, unable to turn around in the narrow roadway. Soon, engines are unable to start due to the lack of oxygen. Rescuers are unable to reach the survivors due to the little visibility. The smoke causes many to go unconscious. Firefighters were eventually forced to abandon their rescue as the ferocity of the flame was simply too great. 39 people died as a result.

Gardiner, M. (2019, March 21). A deadly blaze in the alps made a biker a hero and tunnels safer for all. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/21/business/mont-blanc-tunnel-fire-anniversary-rescue.html.