October 2009

" in URLs he designed for the World Wide Web. (BBC) (The Daily Telegraph)

A Zimbabwean court orders a senior MDC official, Roy Bennett, back to jail on terrorism charges. (Al Jazeera) (South Africa Times)

Iraq's Human Rights Ministry announces at least 85,000 Iraqis have been killed by bombs, murders and fighting between 2004 and 2008. (Associated Press) (Al Jazeera)

Current events of 15 October 2009 (2009-10-15) (Thursday)

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Treaty of Lisbon:

Czech President Vclav Klaus's disruption of the Treaty of Lisbon is deemed "absurd, irresponsible and damaging to the country" by his predecessor Vclav Havel. (The Times)

President of Ireland Mary McAleese signs the Lisbon Treaty after returning from Luxembourg. (RT) (Reuters) (Taiwan News)

Ugandan MP David Bahati proposes creating a capital offence of "aggravated homosexuality" for gay sex with people under 18, disabled people or when the accused is HIV-positive. (BBC)

The U.N. General Assembly elects Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Gabon, Lebanon and Nigeria to the U.N. Security Council as non-veto-holding members. (Reuters)

Narges Kalhor, the daughter of a senior adviser to President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, applies for asylum in Germany. (Reuters)

Burma and Bangladesh send warships to a disputed area in the Bay of Bengal 50 nautical miles west of St. Martin's Island. (Mizzima)

Three of the five members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee initially argued against awarding U.S. President Barack Obama the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. (AFP via Google News) (Primary source: Verdens Gang)

North Korea accuses South Korea of intruding into its territorial waters, further raising tensions on the Korean Peninsula. (Yonhap) (Reuters) (AFP)

Palestinians have urged the UN to act to punish Israel for its offensive in the Gaza Strip last winter. (BBC) (Ha'aretz)

At least 37 people are killed in a series of bomb attacks in Pakistani cities by militants. (The News) (Bloomberg) (Indian Express)

A further six people are sentenced to death over ethnic unrest in China's Xinjiang region in July. (China Daily) (Al Jazeera) (BBC)

The International Criminal Court opens an investigation into the suppression of an opposition protest in Guinea, in which dozens of people were killed. (Associated Press)

Finland becomes the first country in the world to declare Internet broadband access a legal right. (CNN)

The ruling party in Malaysia, the United Malays National Organisation, announces internal reforms after a series of defeats in local elections. (Al Jazeera) (Bernama)

Militants launch attacks on police in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, in Pakistan, killing 31 people after a week of violence in which more than 100 people died. (Reuters)

Norwegian pop trio a-ha announce they are to split after 25 years together. (BBC) (The Daily Telegraph) (The Independent)

A worldwide media circus surrounds an incident in which a six-year-old boy is alleged to be flying in a homemade hot-air balloon; the boy was later found safe at home. (CNN)

Current events of 16 October 2009 (2009-10-16) (Friday)

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Voters in Botswana take part in a general election. (IOL) (Al Jazeera)

The United States records a budget deficit of $1.42 trillion. (Bloomberg)

Stephen Gately:

The surviving members of Boyzone fly to Majorca to escort the body of Stephen Gately home to Dublin. (RT) (BBC) (The Belfast Telegraph) (The Irish Times)

The UK Press Complaints Commission's website crashes after receiving hundreds of complaints about a Jan Moir article in the Daily Mail concerning her views on the singer's death. Retailer Marks & Spencer withdraws advertising and Nestl disassociates itself from her writing. (Daily Mail Primary Source) (The Guardian) (BBC) (The Irish Times) (The Huffington Post)

Treaty of Lisbon:

Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer says President Vclav Klaus's disruption of the Treaty of Lisbon is harming the country's credit. (Ceske Noviny)

An opinion poll shows that 65% of Czechs support President Vclav Klaus refusal to sign the Lisbon Treaty. (Wall Street Journal)

A strong earthquake hits Indonesia, causing mass panic and evacuations in Jakarta. (CNN)

The United Nations Human Rights Council endorses the Goldstone report on the Gaza War, accusing both Israel and Hamas of war crimes. (Jerusalem Post) (AFP) (Al Jazeera)

Five men are convicted in Sydney, Australia of plotting a terrorist attack. (news.com.au) (The Sydney Morning Herald)

One part of Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) ends a three-month ceasefire and resumes attacks on the oil industry in Nigeria. (BBC) (Reuters) (IOL)

Guinea

Guinea's civil service minister Alpha Diallo resigns after a massacre of opposition supporters, following agriculture minister Abdourahmane Sanoh who resigned days earlier. (IOL)

The Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-Moon announces plans to establish a commission into the killing of unarmed protestors in Guinea last month. (AP via Google News)

Australian pop singer, songwriter, and actress Kylie Minogue makes her Hindi cinema debut in Blue, thought to be the most expensive Bollywood production ever. (The Times)

At least seven people are killed and at least ten are injured in an explosion at a mosque, police station and passenger bus in Peshawar, Pakistan. (Xinhua) (RT) (BBC)

In Berlin, the reconstructed Neues Museum officially reopens after 70 years. (Deutsche Welle) (The Times)

Zimbabwe:

The MDC partially pulls out of the unity government with Zanu PF in Zimbabwe after one of their members, Roy Bennett is detained on terrorism charges. (Zim Online) (Associated Press) (Xinhua)

Roy Bennett is later released from jail on bail, ordered by the High Court. (Reuters) (Associated Press)

North and South Korea fail to agree on further family reunions, after the North linked the prospect with humanitarian aid deliveries. (Korea Times) (Straits Times)

Controversial Dutch politician Geert Wilders arrives in the UK amid protests from the Netherlands, proclaiming "a victory for the freedom of speech". (CNN) (The Guardian) (Reuters)

Uruguay becomes the first country to provide a laptop for every child attending state primary school. (BBC)

Current events of 17 October 2009 (2009-10-17) (Saturday)

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Czech President Vclav Klaus compares the Treaty of Lisbon to "an unstoppable speeding train" that he is being forced to sign. (BBC)

A report into dumping of toxic waste by Trafigura in Cte d'Ivoire is published. (BBC)

Two police officers are killed after their police helicopter is shot down by drug gangs in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Ten drug traffickers were also killed in the violence. (Associated Press) (Brazzil Mag) (Al Jazeera)

The sheriff in Fort Collins, Colorado advises that criminal charges will be laid over the balloon boy hoax. (AP via Minneapolis Star-Tribune) (Sky News)

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) imposes an arms embargo on Guinea after the deaths of opposition supporters at a rally last month. (African Press Agency) (Reuters)

A South Korean legislator claims North Korea is holding 154,000 of its citizens in gulags. (Yonhap) (AFP) (BBC)

A Colombian military official claims that eight FARC guerrillas and five Colombian army soldiers have been killed in heavy fighting in Cauca Department. (AFP via Google News)

Iran frees Newsweek reporter Maziar Bahari on bail after four months in detention following the disputed presidential election. (Press TV) (IOL) (Associated Press)

More than one million anti-abortion protesters march through Madrid in one of the largest demonstrations since 2003 and 2004 anti-war protests. (The Australian) (Reuters India)

Thousands of fans, celebrities and politicians attend the funeral of Boyzone singer Stephen Gately in Dublin. (RT) (The Guardian) (The Times) (ABC News)

30,000 troops from the Pakistan Army begin an offensive operation against the Taliban and their allies in South Waziristan. (BBC)

The government of the Maldives, including President Mohamed Nasheed, holds the world's first underwater Cabinet meeting, to highlight the threat of global warming. (Miadhu News) (BBC)

32 people are killed in a fire at a fireworks warehouse in southern India, during the Diwali celebrations. (Hindustan Times) (CNN)

Current events of 18 October 2009 (2009-10-18) (Sunday)

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Yemen claims to have killed 18 Shia rebels in fighting in the north of the country. (Pro Kerala)

Iraq accuses neighbouring countries of stealing sections of its national archives, including centuries-old documents. (AFP)

Ukraine commences its first presidential election campaign since the 2004 Orange Revolution. (Reuters)

A Rwandan doctor working in a French hospital is suspended after a nurse locates an Internet Interpol arrest warrant, accusing him of a 1994 "genocide, war crimes". (Reuters)

At least 60 Taliban militants are killed in an ongoing offensive in South Waziristan, northwest Pakistan. (The Guardian) (Xinhua)

Jenson Button wins the 2009 Formula One World Championship in Interlagos, So Paulo, Brazil, by finishing fifth in the 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix.

Germany and Israel complain about a Bangkok museum billboard depicting a salute by Adolf Hitler beside the slogan "Hitler is not dead". (BBC) (Radio Netherlands Worldwide)

Hurricane Rick strengthens to a Category 5 storm, becoming the strongest hurricane in a decade in the eastern Pacific Ocean. (Associated Press) (Straits Times) (CNN)

The Australian state of Queensland declares a state of emergency after more than 50 wildfires burn out of control. (TVNZ) (Al Jazeera) (The Australian)

Eight people are jailed in Hubei, China, for "disrupting public order" after 10,000 people participated in riots following the controversial death of a chef in June. (BBC) (China Daily) (Bangkok Post)

Scotland Yard investigates a complaint about an article by Jan Moir in the UK's Daily Mail tabloid concerning her views on the death of Boyzone singer Stephen Gately. (RT)

2009 Pishin bombing:

Senior commanders of Iran's Revolutionary Guards are among 35 people killed in a suicide bombing in the southeast of the country. (Zee News) (Press TV) (RIA Novosti)

Iranian state television says Britain was directly involved in the attack and intended it as a distraction from problems it faces in Afghanistan. (Reuters)

The Pakistani charge d'affaires is summoned after Iran says it has evidence the attack had been launched from Pakistani soil. (Press TV)

Seven people are killed and 20 injured after gunmen open fire in a bar in Puerto Rico. (Associated Press)

Two foreign aid workers Sharon Commins and Hilda Kawuki one Irish and one Ugandan working for the GOAL charity captured in Sudan's Darfur region more than three months ago are released. (Associated Press) (RT) (BBC)

A boat with 76 migrant workers on board headed for Canada is seized by the Canadian Navy and RCMP off its west coast in the Pacific Ocean. (CTV) (AFP)

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) assists Indonesian and Malaysian agencies with two distressed boats. (The Sydney Morning Herald)

The Icelandic government says it has come to a new agreement with the governments of the Netherlands and the UK over the repaying of $5bn. (BBC)

Current events of 19 October 2009 (2009-10-19) (Monday)

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Charles Wesley Mumbere is crowned king of the Bakonjo people in the Rwenzururu district of Uganda. (NPR) (AP via Google)

United Nationsacked electoral fraud investigators throw out a third of President Hamid Karzai's votes leading to a runoff in the presidential election. (AP via Google)

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico says that he will also demand an opt-out in the Treaty of Lisbon if the Czech Republic is granted one. (Der Spiegel)

Abraham Lauhenaspessy ("Captain Bram"), a suspected kingpin people smuggler, is detained in Indonesia. (The Sydney Morning Herald) (The Australian)

The Opposition in the Australian Parliament demands details on the salary of high-profile Kerry O'Brien, presenter of The 7.30 Report for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. (The Sydney Morning Herald)

32 Extra Solar planets are discovered and announced, this making the record of most exoplanets discovered in one day and in one month. (CNN)

Current events of 20 October 2009 (2009-10-20) (Tuesday)

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Afghanistan's election commission orders a run-off election for November 7 in the Afghan presidential election. (AP via Jamaica Observer)

In a set of canon laws, the Vatican welcomes groups of Anglicans as "personal ordinariates" into the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI announces. (BBC) (CNN)

A court in Yemen sentences 10 Shi'ite Houthi rebels to death and jailed five others over clashes which killed hundreds of people last year. (Al Jazeera) (Al Bawaba)

Nine North Koreans who entered the Danish embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam last month leave for South Korea. (The Copenhagen Post)

Richard Herman resigns as the Chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as a result of an admissions scandal. (Chicago Tribune)

Sun Microsystems announces plans to lay off up to 3,000 workers as it prepares for a merger with Oracle Corp. (Market Watch)

The entire government of Kyrgyzstan resigns as President Kurmanbek Bakiyev announces a new reform campaign. (AFP) (BBC) (Taiwan News)

Niger is suspended by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) after its President Tandja Mamadou went ahead with a parliamentary election it had asked to be postponed over boycotts. (BBC) (Reuters)

At least four students are killed and many injured in bomb explosions at an Islamic university in Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP via Google)

China pledges to rescue the crew aboard the Chinese ship De Xin Hai after it is hijacked by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean. The pirates threaten to kill the crew if there is any attempt to rescue them. (Xinhua) (CNN) (The Guardian)

Detectives arrest a man in Belfast in connection with the Massereene Barracks shooting in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, in March 2009. (RT) (BBC) (Press Associaton)

Iran buries its dead members of the Revolutionary Guard, killed in a suicide attack two days ago. Thousands of people attend the funerals. (BBC) (Press TV)

The United States Supreme Court agrees to decide whether federal courts have the power to order prisoners held at Guantnamo Bay to be released into the country. (The New York Times)

Nearly 100,000 Italian women sign a petition after Silvio Berlusconi says a female politician is "more beautiful than intelligent" on live television. (BBC) (Reuters)

Rare footage of the abuse of suspected witches causes controversy in India. (BBC)

The United States observes the National Day on Writing, sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of English (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) .

Current events of 21 October 2009 (2009-10-21) (Wednesday)

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The Philadelphia Phillies win the 2009 National League Championship Series 4 games to 1 after defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 104. (New York Times)

A report on the discovery of a new species of dinosaur, Fruitadens haagarorum, measuring around 70cm long, is published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society. (RSPB), (BBC) (The Daily Telegraph)

After 10 hours, a man armed with a rifle and wearing military camouflage holding 8 people hostage in downtown Edmonton, Canada during the 2009 Workers Compensation Board of Alberta Hostage crisis surrenders peacefully to the Edmonton Police Service (Global Edmonton) (CTV Edmonton)

Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev appoints former mayor of Bishkek, Daniar Usenov, as the new Prime Minister following the resignation of his predecessor, Igor Chudinov. (BBC) (Reuters)

President of the Marshall Islands Litokwa Tomeing is ousted in the country's first successful vote of no confidence. Ruben Zackhras is appointed acting president until a new election on October 23, 2009. (AFP) (Yokwe)

Hundreds of protestors gather in Lima, Peru, as a bill proposing the legalisation of some form of abortion is approved. (BBC)

The United States is to send a rare mission to Burma for talks with the military government. (AFP) (Reuters)

Several people are arrested over a bomb attack in southeastern Iran that killed 42 people, including members of the Revolutionary Guards. (Associated Press)

Azza Transport Flight 2241 crashes on take-off from Sharjah International Airport, in the United Arab Emirates, killing all six crew. (Gulfnews) (Arabian Business) (Aviation Safety Network)

Armed men take six people captive at a Lidl supermarket in Sevran, France. (BBC) (Euronews) (Ghana Broadcasting Corporation) (Channel News Asia) (Jakarta Globe)

At least thirteen people die in India's Rajasthan state after the Goa Express crashes into the stationary Mewar Express. (CNN)

A goods train derails east of Poti, Georgia, in an incident described as "sabotage". (BBC) (The Times of India) (Khaleej Times) (RIA Novosti)

The International Atomic Energy Agency propose draft agreement for Iran and three world powers to agree, aimed at reducing international concerns over Tehran's nuclear programme. (BBC)

Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk agrees to station SM-3 missile interceptors from United States President Barack Obama's reformulated missile defense system on the territory of this NATO ally. (The New York Times)

The crypt of Daniel O'Connell at Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin is refurbished and opened to tourists . (RT)

A Japanese convict who served seventeen years in prison for the murder of a four-year-old girl pleads not guilty during a retrial. (BBC)

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announces plans to curb the number of state companies by privatising some. (RIA Novosti) (Financial Times)

Former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela denies writing a foreword praising Republic of the Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso's biography, Straight Speaking for Africa. (IOL) (The Guardian)

Current events of 22 October 2009 (2009-10-22) (Thursday)

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Sweden's Lutheran Church decides to conduct same-sex marriages, becoming the first major church to do so. (Reuters)

China's economy grows at 8.9% in the third quarter from a year earlier, the fastest pace in a year. (Bloomberg) (AFP) (CNN)

In a change of policy, the British Broadcasting Corporation controversially gives a platform on Question Time to the far right British National Party (BNP) leader Nick Griffin. (BBC) (Associated Press)

The Microsoft operating system Windows 7 goes on retail sale worldwide. (CNET News)

The Russian civil rights society Memorial is awarded the 2009 Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought. (EP press release) (RIA Novosti) (euronews)

Ethiopia appeals for food aid for 6.2 million people facing starvation. (AFP) (CBC)

Nearly 6,000 Tamil refugees are released from Sri Lanka's main camp for war-displaced people, to be re-settled over the next few weeks. (BBC)

A U.S. State Department report to Congress alleges that war crimes were committed by the Sri Lankan Military and the rebel Tamil Tigers in the final months of the Sri Lankan Civil War. (AFP) (Guardian) (BBC)

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will allow Chinese and Russian tourists to travel to the Northern Mariana Islands without a visa. (Saipan Tribune)

The Olympic Flame was lit during a ceremony in Olympia, Greece to start the 2010 Winter Olympics Torch Relay.(Gamesbids.com)

The U.S. House Financial Services Committee approved a measure establishing a Consumer Financial Protection Agency.(Washington Post)

Current events of 23 October 2009 (2009-10-23) (Friday)

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At the end of their three-week synod in the Vatican, more than 200 African Roman Catholic bishops issue a 12-page document urging what they call corrupt political leaders on the continent to repent their sins or resign and criticising multinational companies who exploit and destroy the earth. (BBC) (Reuters) (CBC)

Bernard Fellay, Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X, says that the Vatican is considering the possibility of converting the Lefebvrist group into a personal prelature. (Pakistan Christian TV)

A universal mobile phone charger that works with any handset is approved by the International Telecommunication Union. (BBC)

Jean Todt defeats Ari Vatanen in an election to become the new head of the Fdration Internationale de l'Automobile, replacing former head Max Mosley, who held the position for 16 years. (BBC)

The UK GDP contracts by 0.4% between July and September, meaning that the United Kingdom has been contracting for 6 successive quarters for the first time since records were kept in 1955. (BBC) (RT)

The Swiss Government says that the United States has formally requested the extradition of film director Roman Polanski for having unlawful sex with an underage girl in 1977. (AP via Washington Post)(Yahoo)

A huge explosion rips through an upmarket area of Peshawar in Pakistan. (AFP via Google News & Yahoo News)

A huge explosion occurs at an oil refinery in Catao, Puerto Rico. (Reuters)

Vitit Muntarbhorn, United Nations Special Rapporteur for North Korea, says the country should improve its "abysmal" rights record, adding it should provide food to over 8 million citizens. (Al Jazeera) (Taiwan News) (BBC)

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) launches its first human rights body, the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR). (Thai News Agency) (Associated Press)

A white Kenyan, Thomas P. G. Cholmondeley, is released after five months of an eight month prison sentence for manslaughter. (Daily Nation) (BBC)

Current events of 24 October 2009 (2009-10-24) (Saturday)

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The International Day of Climate Action occured worldwide in prelude to the United Nations Climate Change Conference of 2009, with over 5,400 actions to raise awareness of the assertion that 350 ppm is the maximum safe level of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere, and call for mitigation of global warming before Earth reaches a climatological tipping point. (New York Times) (CNN)

Ten corpses with gunshot wounds thought to belong to a kidnapped Colombian football team are located in Venezuela. (BBC) (Latin American Herald Tribune)

Pakistan reports re-gaining control of Kotkai, South Waziristan, birthplace of Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud and also the hometown of the Taliban's master trainer of suicide bombers, Qari Hussain, after a week of fierce fighting with the Taliban. (BBC)

Morrissey, ex-frontman of The Smiths, is hospitalized after collapsing on stage while performing "This Charming Man" during his world tour. (BBC) (The Guardian) (Sky News)

Rosanna Al-Yami, a female journalist in Saudi Arabia, is sentenced to sixty lashes and a two-year travel ban for her involvement in a controversial sex programme. (BBC) (CNN) (The New York Times) (Radio Netherlands Worldwide) (Reuters)

Senior envoys from North Korea and the United States hold rare talks on North Korea's nuclear programme in New York City. (Channel News Asia) (Reuters)

At least 15 people are killed after two trains collide in Al-Ayyat, near Cairo, Egypt. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)

Less than a week after the release of GOAL aid workers Sharon Commins and Hilda Kawuki, the International Committee of the Red Cross confirms one of its French employees has been abducted in Darfur. (The Sydney Morning Herald)

Burma's Prime Minister Thein Sein tells the 15th ASEAN summit his government is prepared to relax the house arrest on National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. (Financial Times) (Bangkok Post)

A magnitude 7.0 undersea earthquake strikes off the coast of eastern Indonesia. (Associated Press) (Jakarta Post)

Thousands of people protest in London, England, demanding the withdrawal of British troops from Afghanistan. (BBC) (The Times) (AFP)

The ruling National Movement for the Development of Society wins a controversial parliamentary election in Niger. (African Press Agency) (AFP)

An assassination attempt on President of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov is averted. (RIA Novosti) (Bloomberg)

Current events of 25 October 2009 (2009-10-25) (Sunday)

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The New York Yankees beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-2 in Game 6 of the 2009 American League Championship Series to advance to the World Series. (New York Times)

Israeli police and Palestinians clash at Temple Mount, Jerusalem's holiest site, resulting in 12 arrests. (BBC) (Straits Times) (Associated Press)

Bomb blasts kill 155 people and injure at least 500 in central Baghdad, the country's deadliest attack for two years. (BBC) (Reuters India) (The Sydney Morning Herald)

India tells China that the Dalai Lama is an "honoured guest" and will not be barred from visiting Arunachal Pradesh despite protests from China. (Associated Press) (Times of India) (Straits Times)

Nigeria's main militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, declares an indefinite ceasefire. (NEXT) (African Press Agency) (Xinhua)

Maksharip Aushev, human rights activist and opposition leader of Ingushetia, is shot dead while driving his car near Nartan in Kabardino-Balkaria. A female passenger is also attacked. (Xinhua) (Radio Netherlands Worldwide) (RIA Novosti)

Tunisians vote in a general election. (Al Jazeera)

Uruguayans vote in a general election. (Press TV) (Associated Press)

Easter Islanders vote to restrict the number of immigrants in a referendum. (Radio Netherlands Worldwide) (BBC)

The oil refinery fire continues to burn out of control in Catao, Puerto Rico, two days after the initial explosion. (Washington Post)

Buildings across the Netherlandst. Martin's Cathedral, Utrecht, Rotterdam's Euromast and Groningen's Martinitorenim their lights as clocks go back in Europe. (Radio Netherlands Worldwide)

Inspectors from the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), arrive in Iran to inspect a newly disclosed nuclear facility near the city of Qom. (CNN)

It is revealed that composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. (The Guardian)

Current events of 26 October 2009 (2009-10-26) (Monday)

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President of Tunisia Zine El Abidine Ben Ali wins 90% of votes, his fifth term and a new five-year mandate in the country's general election. (BBC) (Al Jazeera) (CBC)

Jurelang Zedkaia is elected the 5th President of the Marshall Islands, following the ouster of Litokwa Tomeing in a no confidence vote last week. (Bernama)

At least seven people are killed and at least four others are injured when a three-story building falls down in Palma, Majorca. The dead include at least three from Colombia. (BBC)

Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadi boycotts his own trial as it begins in The Hague. (BBC) (The Guardian) (The Australian)

The UN's court in Freetown, Sierra Leone sees its final case after seven years of investigating the country's civil war. (BBC) (Reuters Africa) (Ghana Broadcasting Corporation)

The trial of Japanese singer and actress Noriko Sakai begins in Tokyo. (Xinhua) (BBC) (Japan Today)

South Korean cloning scientist Hwang Woo-Suk is convicted of fraud over his stem cell research. (BBC) (Radio Netherlands Worldwide) (The New Zealand Herald)

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia removes the sentence of 60 lashes for Rosanna Yami, female journalist involved in the Red Lines sex scandal. (BBC) (Al Arabiya) (CBC)

A Sri Lankan court in Colombo releases Vetrivel Jaseeharan, the publisher of North Eastern Monthly, and his wife after they were charged with conspiracy against the government in March 2008. The editor was given a twenty year jail sentence in August 2009. (BBC) (Khaleej Times)

It is announced that Silvio Berlusconi will stand trial on 16 November. (BBC)

A court in Milan rules that Mediaset run by Silvio Berlusconi is being anti-competitive against News Corporation run by Rupert Murdoch. (BBC)

The five surviving Conway sextuplets, the first sextuplets born on the island of Ireland, return home. (BBC)

At least 10 patients from thirty-four operated on partially lose their sight after free cataract operations in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh. (BBC)

A crater found in northern Latvia, believed at first to be a meteorite strike, is revealed to be a hoax perpetrated by telecom operator Tele2. (Fox News)

Uldis Nulle, a scientist at the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre, said: "This is not a real crater. It is artificial." (The Sun).

Prof. Salamat Akhtar demands a repeal of blasphemy laws in Pakistan. (Pakistan Christian TV)

Silvio Berlusconi has been diagnosed with scarlet fever. (The Times)

The composer and pianist Elton John cancels his third concert in several days due to flu. (BBC) (The Daily Telegraph) (CBC)

Yahoo! discontinues its free web hosting service GeoCities, ten years after purchasing it from David Bohnett and John Rezner. (The Los Angeles Times)

Australian authorities offer a Aus$1 million reward in their search for a man suspected of ordering the murder of a vampire. (BBC)

A police officer in Liverpool, England is hospitalised in a life threatening condition after undergoing a homophobic attack by a gang of twenty youths. (Sky News) (BBC)

Current events of 27 October 2009 (2009-10-27) (Tuesday)

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A report by the Australian government warns that global warming climate change threatens the coastal lifestyle of the country, with a prospect of a ban on coastal homes. (The Guardian) (The Daily Telegraph)

Grassroots occupations of Austrian universities spread to several more in Vienna, Graz and Linz, demanding free education for everyone. (Boston Herald) (CNN iReport) (Austrian Times)

Qatar inaugurates one of the world's largest LNG trains, operated by RasGas. (Al Bawaba) (The Peninsula) (Gulf Times)

Pope Benedict XVI appoints Cardinal Peter Turkson of Cape Coast, Ghana, to serve as the new head of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. (Pakistan Christian TV)

NASA announces a delay in the launch of the Ares I-X test rocket, developed to replace the space shuttle, due to poor weather conditions. (New Scientist) (BBC)

The Church of Scientology in France is convicted of organised fraud. (France 24) (The Times) (Al Jazeera)

China confirms it has executed 2 Tibetans over unrest last year. (Angola Press) (The Guardian) (The Hindu)

The son of ex-French President Franois Mitterrand, Jean-Christophe Mitterrand and an ex-government minister, Charles Pasqua, are convicted for their roles in illegal arms sales to Angola. (Associated Press) (Reuters)

A nephew of Honduran interim leader Robert Micheletti and a high ranking army officer are found murdered. (Times of India) (BBC) (Press TV)

A British couple are missing after their yacht is hijacked by Somali pirates off the Seychelles. (Bloomberg) (AFP) (Xinhua)

North Korea says a South Korean man has defected to the North across the Korean Demilitarized Zone. (Yonhap) (Associated Press) (Xinhua)

Burundi and Uganda tighten security after threats by the militant Somali Al-Shabaab, a group with links to Al-Qaeda, to attack their capitals. (Reuters India) (VOA)

The autonomous Aceh province in Indonesia is to ban women from wearing tight trousers under a new law, while a law authorising the stoning to death of adulterers and the whipping of homosexuals will be reviewed. (Jakarta Globe) (Straits Times) (Reuters South Africa)

Authorities in Venezuela arrest a number of people accused of being secret service agents from neighbouring Colombia, on charges of espionage. (El Universal) (Colombia Reports) (BBC)

Prime Minister of Thailand Abhisit Vejjajiva backs autonomy for the restive southern provinces to bring an end to violence in the region. (The Nation) (Straits Times)

Current events of 28 October 2009 (2009-10-28) (Wednesday)

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Canadian folk singer Taylor Mitchell is mauled to death by coyotes at the age of 19. (CBC) (The Star)

Voters in Mozambique go to the polls for the general election. (AFP via Google News) (IOL)

A blast in Meena Bazar, Peshawar, Pakistan, kills at least 95 people while 110 are injured. (Geo TV) (The Times)

12 people including six United Nations staff are killed after Taliban militants assault an international guesthouse in the Afghan capital Kabul. (Associated Press) (New York Times)

One of Germany's last Nazi war crimes trials begins, with Heinrich Boere charged with the killings of three civilians in the Netherlands. (The Local) (BBC) (Deutsche Welle)

Ares I-X, the first test article for NASA's Ares I rocket, launches successfully from Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a sub-orbital test flight. (CNN)

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The Boeing 757

I

Increasing demand on existing Boeing 727 routes, which often eclipsed the capacity of even the stretched, -200 series version, coupled with advanced technology, dictated the need for either a larger variant of this venerable tri-jet or an altogether new design.

The first attempt, adopting the former approach, had featured a fuselage sufficiently stretched to accommodate 189 passengers and three refanned, higher-capacity Pratt and Whitney JT8D-217 engines, each developing 20,000 pounds of thrust.  Designated the 727-300B, it first appeared at the 1975 Paris Air Show in model form.  Despite initial interest from United Airlines, carriers had felt that it needed quieter, still-more advanced powerplants.

A fundamental redesign, retaining the 727’s nose, forward fuselage, and t-tail, and designated “7N7,” featured a further fuselage stretch and a new technology wing, mated, like the much smaller 737, to two pylon-mounted engines, of which the Pratt and Whitney JT10D-4, Rolls Royce RB.211-535, and General Electric CF6-32 had then been considered.  Although it had been intended, like its inceptional counterpart, for one-stop transcontinental sectors, its wing contained sufficient fuel tank volume for eventual, long-range deployment.

Because widebody comfort had been well received by passengers on intercontinental routes, one iteration had briefly explored a wider fuselage cross section for twin-aisle, 180-passenger accommodation.  The concept would have satisfied two needs: 1). It would have offered increased comfort, and therefore been more competitive with the then-pending Airbus Industrie A-300 on relatively short US domestic sectors, and 2). It would have avoided the excessively long fuselage needed to cater to any future capacity increases, obviating the requirement for long undercarriage struts to maintain proper take off rotation angles.

The envisioned width, however, had been too much of a payoff for these advantages, as evidenced by weak airline interest, since the weight and drag associated with a second aisle and only one more seat abreast had been impractical, and its cross-section, although wider than that of the 7N7, had still been too narrow to accept standard LD-3 baggage and cargo containers.

Reverting to its narrow body studies, Boeing proposed an advanced, large-capacity 727 which, by February of 1978, had featured its nose, cockpit, and fuselage cross-section, but had introduced a new wing and two turbofans for a 170-passenger complement, thus employing much of the commonality of the simultaneously-developed, twin-aisle 7X7 design.  Redesignated “757,” it would be Boeing’s fifth major commercial jetliner to carry the seven-dash-seven model sequencing numbers, after the 707, 727, 737, and 747, all but the last of which had been narrow bodies.

Compared to the 727 it had been intended to replace, it had offered a 15-percent lower fuel consumption, yet its significant wing area inherently fostered weight, range, and capacity increases for any future derivatives.

In order to reduce development costs associated with its 767, the widebody, twin-aisle, twin-engined counterpart initially also intended for one-stop transcontinental routes, Boeing, where feasible, incorporated maximum commonality in the two aircraft and the types therefore shared the same forward nose sections, windscreens, quad-wheeled main undercarriage units, avionics, and flight deck systems.  Indeed, the two aircraft, forming a new-generation of advanced narrow and widebody twinjets, would offer a common type rating, augmenting mixed-fleet flying of carriers which operated both types, and even the originally intended, 727-style t-tail had been deleted in favor of the conventional 767, low-wing configuration at the very end of the design phase, resulting in greater commonality with the 767 than the 727 it was intended to replace.

Launch orders, for 21 firm and 24 options and 18 firm and 19 options, were respectively placed by Eastern Airlines and British Airways on August 13, 1978, for Rolls Royce RB.211-535C-powered aircraft.  Featuring a 196-passenger capacity in a six-abreast, 34-inch seat pitch configuration, the 757, with a 220,000-pound gross weight, was optimized for 2,000-nautical mile sectors, while an optional, 230,000-pound weight would increase range to 2,500 miles.

Structural weight reductions, which lowered seat-mile costs, were achieved with advanced composite and aluminum alloy construction, the former comprised of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics used in the engine cowlings, ailerons, spoilers, elevators, and the rudder, and kevlar-reinforced plastics employed in the engine pylon fairings and the fin and tailplane tip fairings.  Copper and zinc aluminum alloys were utilized in the wing skins, stringers, and lower spar beams.  The alloy, offering strength increases of between five and 13 percent, combined with the composites, reduced structure weight by 2,000 pounds and resulted in an average annual per-aircraft fuel savings of 30,000 US gallons based upon a utilization rate of 1,400 1,000-nautical mile sectors.

The aircraft, in its initial 757-200 version, featured a 155.3-foot overall length.

The aluminum alloy, two-spar wing, whose center section passed continuously through the fuselage, offered a 124.10-foot span, a 1,994 square foot area, and five percent of dihedral, and shared a high degree of commonality with that designed for the 767, its aft-loaded profile delaying Mach drag rise.  But it was thinner at its root juncture point with the fuselage and offered 25 as opposed to 32.5 percent of sweepback.  Its traditionally higher drag had been counteracted by its standardly intended mission profiles, which, because of their shorter durations, entailed greater percentages of climb and descent cycles.  It had a 7.82 aspect ratio, or ratio of length to width.

Lift was augmented by full-span, five-section leading edge slats and double-slotted trailing edge flaps, while roll control was provided by al-speed, outboard ailerons, themselves assisted by five-section spoilers.  They could alternatively be deployed as speedbrakes in flight or lift dumpers on the ground, where two inboard spoiler panels could also be used.

Power, provided by two high bypass ratio turbofans pylon-mounted to the wing’s leading edge underside, and whose diameter would not have been feasible with the 727’s aft fuselage installation arrangement, resulted in bending movement relief.

The Rolls Royce RB.211-535C, the cropped fan version of the 42,000 thrust-pound RB.211-22B developed for the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, employed composite pod construction to reduce weight and first ran on the 757 on January 23, 1982.  The three-shaft, 37,400 thrust-pound powerplant had been chosen by launch customers Eastern and British Airways.

The more advanced RB.211-535E4, incorporating wide chord fan blades, high pressure module increases, and a common exhaust nozzle for the fan and core streams, offered an eight-percent fuel reduction in its cruise mode and a four-point pressure ratio increase, from 23:1 to 27:1, over its earlier –535C version.  The 40,100 thrust-pound engine was certified on November 30, 1983 and first flew on the 757 prototype the following February.

The Pratt and Whitney PW2037, originally specified by American Airlines and Delta, had been the aircraft’s second, and only other, powerplant.  Initially designated JT10D, the two-shaft turbofan, inceptionally envisioned as a 26.700 thrust-pound engine when the program had been launched in February of 1972, had evolved into the current 37,000 thrust-pound turbofan whose high-pressure compressor efficiency had been improved with a smaller compressor coupled with higher core rotational speeds.  First flying on the 757 prototype in March of 1984, it was certified for 37,600 pounds of take off thrust and had a bypass ratio of 5.8:1.  The production version offered a thrust capability of 38,200 pounds, while higher gross weight derivations of the aircraft could alternatively be powered by 41,700 thrust-pound PW2040s.  

Fuel was carried in two wing-integral and one center section tank, with that stored in the outer tanks burned last in order to maintain wing bending movement relief.  Capacity was 11,253 US gallons.

The conventional, low-wing tailplane, adopted very late in the 757’s development program, facilitated an overall length reduction of 18 feet, yet resulted in a longer cabin than that of the 727 it replaced and improved ground maneuverability.  The variable incidence, elevator-equipped horizontal tail, built up of full-span, light alloy torque boxes, had a 542-square-foot area, while the vertical structure, comprised of a three-spar, dual-cell, light alloy torque box, covered a 370 square-foot area.

The tricycle undercarriage featured a dual-wheeled, forward-retracting nose gear strut and two quad-wheeled, laterally-retracting units comprised of Dunlop or Goodrich wheels, carbon brakes, and tires.

The cockpit standardly featured two operating crew and one observer seat, while the cabin, at 118.5 feet long, 11.7 feet wide, and seven feet high, had sported a widebody look with large, Kevlar, individually-closable overhead storage compartments; a sculpted ceiling; recessed lighting; molded sidewalls; and slimline seats.  Galley, lavatory, and wardrobe number and location varied according to customer preference, but could be installed forward, aft, or midships.

Numerous class, pitch, and density seating arrangements, again according to customer choice, were available.  A 178-passenger complement, for instance, entailed 16 first class seats in a four-abreast, two-two, configuration at a 38-inch pitch and 162 economy class seats in a six-abreast, three-three, arrangement at a 34-inch pitch, while 208 passengers could be accommodated in a 12 first class and 196 economy class configuration, the latter at a 32-inch pitch.  Single-class, high-density, and inclusive tour/charter densities, at minimum 29-inch pitches, encompassed 214, 220, 234, and 239 passengers, the latter of which exceeded the 727-200’s maximum by 50 passengers and undercut the widebody 767-200’s by an equal number.

Cabin access was provided by either three main passenger/servicing doors and two overwing emergency exits on either side or four main passenger/servicing doors on either side.

The two underfloor cargo holds, accessed by starboard side, lower-deck doors, offered 700 cubic feet of space in the forward compartment and 1,090 cubic feet in the aft one.

Boeing 757 systems included Honeywell-Vickers engine-driven hydraulic pumps and four Abex electric hydraulic pumps.  An Allied-Signal GTCP331-200 auxiliary power unit (APU) provided ground power for air conditioning, lighting, and engine starts.

Full program approval had been received in March of 1979 and final assembly, like all previous narrow body jetliners, occurred in Renton, Washington, with the first metal cut on December 10 and the first major assembly taking place 13 months later, in January of 1981.

First rolled out on January 13, 1982, or five months after its widebody 767 counterpart, and taking to the skies for the first time on February 19, the 757-200 prototype (N757A) was flown by Test Pilot John Armstrong and powered by 37,400 thrust-pound RB.211-535C turbofans, completing a successful two-hour, 31-minute inaugural sortie, during which it had attained a 250-knot indicated air speed (IAS) before landing at Boeing'’s Paine Field Flight Test Center in Everett.  Despite having introduced the first CRT display-equipped, two-person cockpit, and having been the first Boeing design to have been launched with a foreign powerplant type, it had demonstrated simple handling characteristics.

The five aircraft used in the flight test program ultimately revealed that, in comparison to the design's original, 1979 specifications, that it had had a 3,650-pound lower operating weight, a 200-nautical mile greater range capability, and burned three percent less fuel.

FAA certified on December 21, 1982, the 757-200, Boeing’s longest single-aisle twinjet, entered scheduled passenger service with Eastern Airlines the following January 1 on the Atlanta-Tampa and Atlanta-Miami routes, while British Airways, configuring its aircraft for 12 first and 174 economy class seats, took delivery of the type on January 25 and inaugurated it into service on February 9, from London-Heathrow to Belfast, Northern Ireland.

The first Pratt and Whitney PW2037-powered variant, first flying on March 14, 1984, had been delivered to launch customer Delta Air Lines seven months later, in October, the same month that Eastern received its first, improved powerplant example, fitted with the RB.211-535E4.

So powered, the aircraft, with 186 mixed-class passengers, had a 220,000-pound maximum gross weight and a 198,000-pound maximum landing weight, offering a coincident 2,820-mile range capability, although medium-range versions had a 230,000-pound weight and long-range examples featured 250,000-pound gross weights, in which case 3,820-mile sectors could be flown.

Although maturing DC-9, 727, and 737 routes had conceptionally dictated the need for the 757, its increasing gross weight and, hence range capability, permitted longer, trans- and intercontinental sector deployment, partially in response to rising fuel prices, and it often served, if not replaced, 767-200 services, thus complementing, before usurping, its twin-aisle counterpart.  Both Delta and Eastern, for example, operated transcontinental segments from their Atlanta hubs, while USAir mimicked this pattern to Los Angeles and San Francisco from its similar Pittsburgh flight base.  Ladeco operated intercontinental service from Santiago, Chile, to Miami and New York, while Canada 3000, Icelandair, and Air 2000 all operated scheduled and chartered transatlantic services.  El Al deployed the type between Tel Aviv and many of its European destinations. 

II 

Other than the initial 757-200 passenger version, Boeing offered several subvariants utilizing the same fuselage length and wingspan, although these sold in limited quantities.

The first of these, the 757-200PF Package Freighter, was developed for United Parcel Service (UPS) when it had placed 20 firm and 15 optioned orders for the Pratt and Whitney PW2037-powered aircraft on December 31, 1985.  These featured a 134- by 86-inch, upward-opening, hydraulically-actuated main deck cargo door on the forward, left side; a smaller, 22- by 55-inch crew access door; a cargo loading system; a solid, sliding door-equipped barrier between the cockpit and the main deck freight bay; and the deletion of all passenger-related windows, galleys, and lavatories.  First delivered to UPS on September 16, 1987, the twinjet, with a 240,000-pound maximum take off weight, offered 6,680 cubic feet of main and 1,830 cubic feet of lower deck volume, permitting up to 15 pallets to be carried in the former passenger space.

A modified version, the 757-200M Combi, retained the passenger facilities of the –200 and the cargo loading elements of the –200PF, enabling three pallets and 150 passengers to be simultaneously accommodated on the main deck.  Although it had been available with a 250,000-pound high gross weight, only one, in the event, had ever been ordered, by Royal Nepal Airlines.

A conversion program, developed by Pemco Aeroplex in 1992, enabled carriers to modify existing passenger aircraft to mixed, quick-change, or all-cargo variants, with an 11,276 US gallon fuel capacity and maximum weights those of the –200PF.

The only military version, the C-32A, had been ordered by the US Air Force to replace its fuel-thirsty, outmoded, quad-engined VC-137s, and it had featured a 45-passenger interior.  First flying from Renton on February 11, 1998, the aircraft, ultimately comprising a fleet of four, had been operated by the 89th Airlift Wing at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. 

III 

A representative, transatlantic 757-200 flight, operated by Icelandair from New York-JFK to Reykjavik, Iceland, is forthcomingly illustrated.

The aircraft scheduled to operate the daily, evening departure to Iceland, registered TI-FIH, had been powered by 40,100 thrust-pound Rolls Royce RB.211-535E4 turbofans and configured for 22 four-abreast, two-two, Saga business class, winged- and footrest-equipped seats and 167 six-abreast, three-three, economy class seats, all covered with subdued, blue upholstery.  The 250,000-pound, high gross weight aircraft, with an 8,800-pound average cargo capacity, offered a 3,900-mile range.

Pushed back from Gate 21 at JFK’s now-extant International Arrivals Building at 2050 abreast of a massive Korean Air 747-400 after a sweltering, 90-degree, early-summer day, the blue-trimmed, long-fuselaged 757-200, somehow reminiscent of the DC-8-63s it had replaced, but with only half the number of powerplants, was rendered an autonomous entity after towbar disconnection amidst the black dusk highlighted by the glow tracing the clouds on the western horizon.

The two-person, transitional-technology cockpit featured both the traditional analog dials and six advanced cathode ray tube (CRT) displays, the former comprised of an airspeed indicator, an altimeter, a vertical velocity indicator, a clock, and standby flight instruments, while the latter consisted of the electronic flight instrument system (EFIS), two electronic attitude and direction indicators (EADI), and two engine indication and crew alerting systems (EICAS), the latter located on the center panel.  The electronic flight instrument system, subdivided into the attitude director indicator (ADI) and the horizontal situation indicator (HIS), provided aircraft attitude and positioning information by means of the CRT displays in seven colors.

The attitude director indicator, specifically, provided aircraft attitude and pitch and roll data, along with ground speed, autopilot, autothrottle, and fight direction modes, operating in conjunction with the horizontal situation indicator, which itself yielded aircraft track, wind speed and direction, lateral and vertical deviations, and waypoint estimated times, and could be used in four basic modes.  The map mode, the first, generated weather radar returns in several scales, while the VOR mode provided the aircraft’s position relative to its selected VOR course.  The ILS mode yielded airplane relationship relative to its ILS localizer and glideslope, and the plan mode, the last of the four, displayed the desired portion of the flight plan with north located at the top of the screen.

The flight deck otherwise featured the standard control yokes; a center console between the pilots sporting the throttles, the flap lever, and the speedbrakes; and a console behind it with communication and navigation instrumentation.

Engine starting was achieved by turning the respective turbofan’s roof panel-located rotary ignition switch to one of its four start modes—“GRN,” “FLT,” “AUTO,” or “CONT”—after which the switch on the quadrant behind the throttles was flipped to channel fuel, while the required air to initiate fan rotation emanated from the tailcone-mounted auxiliary power unit.  Powerplant parameters, displayed on the upper, center CRT, included engine pressure ratio (EPR), fan speed (N1), intermediate rotor speed (N2), high-pressure rotor speed (N3), and oil temperature, oil pressure, and oil quantity.

The flight plan and waypoints had already been loaded before initial pushback.

A gentle throttle advance, after clearance from ground control, preceded the twinjet’s taxi, lateral movements made with the aid of the nosewheel steering tiller on the captain’s left side and ground velocity indicated by the EADI.

Third for take off, the 216,000-pound 757-200, operating as Flight FI 614 and monitoring the tower on a frequency of 119.1, was instructed to follow the United 767-300 to Runway 13-Right, the green light taxiway centerline progressively consumed by the nose wheel as the aircraft moved toward the jewel light-glittering Twin Towers of the World Trade Center on the horizon.

Once centered on the runway, the aircraft was instructed, “Icelandair 614, cleared for take off, Runway 13-Right.  Caution wake turbulence from United 767 heavy.”  Initiating spool-up of its two 40,100 thrust-pound Rolls Royce turbofans, it restrained its forward movement with the aid of its toe brakes, before depressing its thrust switch and unleashing itself into a lengthy, engine life preservation roll at reduced throttle settings and attaining initial control by means of its nose wheel until the rudder became effective at about 50 knots.  The green engine pressure ratio, exhaust gas temperature, fuel flow, N1, N2, and N3 indications, pinnacling on the CRT display, affirmed air- and fuel-generating thrust.

Ground speed calls commenced at 80 knots, the aircraft accelerating through its V1 velocity of 162.  Horizontal stabilizer-leveraged into an eight-degree, nose wheel-disengaging rotation, the 757 divorced itself from the concrete by means of its now lift-generating wings, retracting its tricycle undercarriage and engaging its vertical pitch mode as it climbed through 200 feet at a 175-knot, 15-degree attitude.

The exhaust gas temperature and fan speeds respectively registered 157 and 917.

Pursuing its standard instrument departure (SID), the aircraft aileron-nodded into a left bank over the Belt Parkway into dusk, surmounting the gold, green, orange, and white light splotch, like iridescent paint poured atop a black canvas, of Queens, contacting New York Departure on 126.8.

Climbing through 500 feet, it engaged its autopilot in order to control lateral navigation and rate of ascent, retracting its double-slotted trailing edge flaps from the five-degree position.

Ascending though 3,400 feet, it was instructed to pursue a 060-degree heading and to climb and maintain 11,000 feet.  Crossing Long Island on a diagonal track, it assumed a 6,000 foot-per-minute climb at a 220-knot airspeed, the cockpit becoming increasingly encased in slipstream.  The climb checklist was completed.

Further instructed to climb and maintain 17,000 feet, Flight 614 plunged through a smoky cloud deck toward Connecticut, surmounting its misty top at 24,000 feet where the last remnant of the icy blue sky had been temporarily floodlit by lightning flashes.

Seemingly caught in a black, vaporous, turbulence-incubating void, the slender, narrow body fuselage, propelled by its wide diameter, life-providing engines, settled into its assigned plateau at flight level 350, bordered off its port wing by a line of arctic blue over Portland, Maine.  The VNAV was engaged.

Dinner, detailed by the “Saga Business Class Menu” and preceded by a selection of aperitifs and spirits, included “pate diplomat” and jumbo shrimp on a bed of lettuce with fresh lemon and cocktail sauce; seafood in Pernod saffron sauce au gratin or filet of veal in mushroom cream sauce served with tortellini, green beans, and carrots; a selection of red and white vintage wines; a bread basket with Icelandic butter; Bel Paese soft Italian cheese, slices of gouda, crackers, red grapes, and walnuts; cheese cake in raspberry sauce topped with shaved chocolate; coffee; a selection of liqueurs; and French hazelnut-filled bonbons.

Caught in the black, referenceless void as it pursued its northeasterly, transatlantic track, the intercontinental Boeing 757 had traced its invisible path over St. John, New Brunswick; the Gulf of St. Lawrence; and Goose Bay, Labrador, before departing the North American continent over the foreboding ocean, the only light now visible outside the cabin the reflection of the flashing, under-fuselage beacon on the port engine cowling.

Because of the sun’s northern hemisphere location, however, day appeared quickly, at 0340 Iceland time, or 2340 New York time, in the form of a thin, barely perceptible line of cold, dull blue which separated the night sky above from the black, indistinguishable ocean surface and the smoky, slab-like layers of cloud below.  That line represented the horizon.  Somewhere, beyond the left wing, lay the tip of Greenland and, further north of it, Narssarssuaq.  The blue line intensified.

Dawn’s subsequent chartreuse glow, piercing the cloud layers with fiery intensity, transformed the sky into a series of dull red and copper streaks, floodlighting the arctic snow-resembling cumulostratus cloud deck which now became visible beneath the engine pylon-supporting wings.

Initiating its automatic landing, aircraft TI-FIH settled into a power-reduced, 3,500-foot-per-minute descent, transitioning through 32,000 feet as its airspeed indicator inched beyond the 300-knot mark.  Engine parameters, varying according to powerplant, included an engine pressure ratio of 096, a fan speed of 390, and an exhaust gas temperature of 307.  Landing weight, after enroute fuel burn, had been calculated as 180,000 pounds, or well below its maximum.

Bowing toward and penetrating the white and gray, turbulence-producing cloud tendrils at 16,000 feet, the twinjet bored through the obscurity with its bullet nose, now assuming a 1,800 foot-per-minute descent rate.  In order to adhere to the 10,000-foot speed restriction, the airspeed was set for 250 knots and the altimeter for 2,000 feet.

Descending through 9,000 feet at a shallow, 500 foot-per-minute rate, the captain clipped the ILS Approach Chart to Keflavik International Airport’s Runway 20 to his control yoke, tuning into the automatic terminal information service (ATIS) and noting cloud cover, rain, and a temperature of plus nine degrees Celsius for our arrival.

Penetrating gray density on a 089-degree heading, the aircraft descended through 2,900 feet, at which point the altitude alert light illuminated, indicating imminent approach of the previously-set 2,000-foot limitation.  Indicated air speed (IAS) was now dialed to the “215”-knot mark.

Maximum trailing edge flap extension speeds, according to the cockpit placard, indicated 240 knots for one degree, 220 for five degrees, 210 for 15, 195 for 20, 190 for 25, and 162 for 30.

The EHSI display, changed to the expanded ILS mode, yielded weather and traffic data, and the localizer captive mode button was activated.

Shedding the obscurity at 2,000 feet, the 757 emerged over the navy-gray, silver-capped Atlantic, briefly arresting its descent and leveraging into a right bank toward a 141-degree heading and the tip of Iceland.  The indicated air speed was dialed to the 180-knot setting.

Extending its double-slotted flaps to the five-degree position as airspeed bled off to the 200-knot mark, Flight 614 maintained a 201-degree final approach heading.

The undercarriage lever, lowered at 180 knots during review of the Final Approach Checklist, had been followed by incremental flap extensions, to the 20- and finally 30-degree positions, the latter, coincident with a noted, nose-down trim, at a 158-knot airspeed.  Needled by rain, the aircraft approached the red and white, runway-threshold lights, beyond which the white touchdown lines could be seen through the low-lying cloud sheaths.

Passing over the green, brown, and gold moss-carpeted lava fields and the multi-colored roofs of Keflavik, the 757-200 descended through the 1,000-foot level at a 500 foot-per-minute rate, its VREF speed pegged at 143 knots, and closed the gap to Runway 20 amid a progressive flare and automatic altitude calls: “100…50…40…30…20…10.”

Thudding on to the concrete with its quad-wheeled, outstretched main undercarriage units, the twinjet rebowed earthward until its nose wheel had made equal contact with the white light-centered strip, its thrust reverser and speedbrake handles already armed.

Ground speed calls, mimicking those transmitted during the flare, ensued: “80…70…60…50,” at which point the reverse thrust mode was deactivated and the concrete barely moved beneath the cockpit windows.

Turning off the active runway, now with the aid of the nose wheel steering tiller, the long, narrow body twin, somehow having assumed the mistaken identity of an intercontinental jetliner, taxied to Gate One next to an Icelandair 737-400 registered TI-FIB as the wand-instructing marshaller grew in size until he stood only inches from the nose, where the parking brake was engaged and the accordion-like jetbridge was extended to the second, port door. 

IV 

Increased demand on maturing 757 routes, coupled with the design’s inherent stretchability, resulted in the type’s first, and only, dimensionally divergent version, which offered ten-percent lower seat-mile costs and increased its passenger capacity and underfloor cargo volumes by, respectively, 20 and 50 percent.

First announced on September 2, 1996, after German charter carrier Condor Flugdienst had placed an order for 12 firm and 12 optioned aircraft, the type, designated “757-300,” featured a 23.4-foot fuselage stretch, comprised of a 13.4-foot plug ahead of the wing and a ten-foot plug behind it, producing a new, 178.7-foot overall length.  The world’s largest, single-aisle twinjet, eclipsed only in length by the quad-engined DC-8 Super 60 series, it could accommodate 289 single-class, six-abreast passengers at a 29-inch pitch, although a typical mixed-class arrangement more standardly entailed 12 first class, four-abreast seats at a 36-inch pitch and 231 economy class, six-abreast seats at a 32-inch pitch, all in the elongated, 141.9-foot-long, wide-look cabin modeled after that of the Next Generation 737.  Lower-deck volume equally increased—to 1,071 cubic feet in the forward hold and 1,299 cubic feet in the aft hold.

In order to cater to the increased stresses created by the longer fuselage, strengthening occurred on the wings, high-lift device, engine pylons, and undercarriage, and a tailskid ensured protection during excessive rotation angles.

Still powered by two Rolls Royce RB.211-535E4 turbofans, the aircraft had a 240,000-pound maximum take off weight and a 2,055 nautical mile range with 243 passengers.

The 757-300 prototype, NU701 and the 804th aircraft built, was first rolled out in Renton, Washington, on May 19, 1998, and took to the skies for the first time three months later, on August 2, completing a successful, 2.5-hour flight in which it attained a maximum, 250-knot indicated air speed and 16,000-foot altitude.  Employed in the initial airworthiness and basic controllability realm of the flight test program, it explored flutter, stalls, stability, and control, and demonstrated the need for vortex generator installation on the leading edge of the outboard flap to improve stall characteristics.

 Two other airframes, NU721 and NU722, permitted completion of the program after 356 flights collectively totaling 912 hours, and led to FAA certification, for 180-minute ETOPS sorties, on January 27, 1999, concluding the shortest, design-to-production cycle of any previous Boeing derivative, which had spanned 27 months.

Condor inaugurated the type into revenue service two months later, on March 19.

Improvements to existing 757-200s and –300s were attained with the Aviation Partners Boeing Blended Winglet Retrofit Program.  Winglets, featuring large radii and smooth chord variations in transition sections, avoid drag-producing vortex concentrations and provide optimum aerodynamic loading, resulting in smaller wing tip vortices than either straight wing or even conventional winglet systems with angular transitions produce.

The retrofit, which carried a system weight of 1,320 pounds, entailed outer skin and rib replacement, in-tank stringer reinforcement, lower cover fastener replacement, leading edge flap vortex generator additions, and new external position and anti-collision light installation.

The system, increasing wingspan from a former 124.10 to a current 134.9 feet, yielded numerous economic and performance benefits, including an average annual, per-aircraft fuel savings of some 300,000 US gallons.

The first eight-foot, two-inch winglet-equipped 757, a –200 series aircraft belonging to Continental Airlines, first flew on March 9, 2005 from Everett, Washington, and today the program qualifies as a resounding success. 

V 

On October 18, 2004, the 1,050th—and last—Boeing 757, an original-length –200 series, rolled out of the final assembly plant in Renton and was delivered to Shanghai Airlines of China the following year.

The aircraft, having been designed as a larger-capacity, twin-engined, advanced counterpart to the 727, and as a smaller-capacity, narrow body complement to the simultaneously-developed 767, for one-stop transcontinental routes, uniquely filled two markets and hence created one of its own, ultimately morphing into both higher-capacity and longer-range intercontinental variants.  Of the 1,049 aircraft delivered, 913 had been 757-200s, 80 had been 757-200PFs, one had been a 757-200M, and 55 had been 757-300s.

The victim of the recession and the post-9/11 reduction in air travel, the type was mostly usurped by Boeing’s own Next Generation 737 and the Airbus A-321, whose smaller passenger capacities more closely matched changing route demands.  Although the present 787-8 may provide limited replacement capability on high-capacity 757 sectors, no direct, advanced design counterpart is currently envisioned, with high-end versions of Boeing’s own eventual 737 replacement likely to qualify as its successor.  Nevertheless, the type represented the pinnacle of single-aisle, twin-engined airliner development, whose payload and range parameters far exceeded those traditionally associated with such a configuration.

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