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MORE PICS - KLIA Palentine Stowaway on SIA to S'PORE to be Charged; Malaysia orders Probe; 4 dead & 4 Injured in M'sian ferry fire Pulau Tioman to Mersing

Malaysiakini finally has the KLIA SIA Plane Hitch Hiiker to S'PORE
KLIA plane wheel stowaway charged in S'pore court Oct 13, 07 3:51am and

Second citizen into space in 2 years Oct 13, 07 5:45am

The KLIA Airport authorities were embarrassed when informed from the Singapore end. And this could possibly be due to the lack of security in the month of Ramandan that he managed to get into the aircraft taking off area. He could well be an employee in the airport and must have some good advice from friends where to hide. He was also lucky the nose landing gear did not crushed him up when retracted.
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Oct 13, 2007

M'sia orders probe into SIA jet stowaway

KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIA said on Saturday it has ordered a full inquiry into how a Palestinian stowaway hid in the nose wheel well of a plane on a flight to Singapore.

'I am very unhappy with the preliminary report on the incident. The airport is a security area, this should not have happened,' Transport Minister Chan Kong Choy said according to the state Bernama news agency. The 27-year-old Palestinian stowaway, Osama R.M. Shublaq, hid in the nose wheel well of Singapore Airlines flight SQ 119 from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). He is reported to have fallen about 2.4 metres from the SIA plane's wheel well to the ground after the Boeing 777-2000 taxied to a gate at Changi Airport on Thursday night. He was charged with entering Singapore without a valid pass or permit, and if convicted he could be jailed for up to six months, caned three times or more, or fined up to 6,000 Singapore dollars (4,000 US). Datuk Seri Chan said the Department of Civil Aviation and KLIA's operator Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad has been ordered to investigate the incident and a report was expected to be submitted on Tuesday. – AFP

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Four dead in M'sian ferry fire

KUALA LUMPUR - FOUR people died and four were injured on Saturday when a fire broke out on a ferry travelling from the popular Malaysian tourist island of Pulau Tioman, the state Bernama news agency said. The ferry was bound for Mersing, a port town on Malaysia's east coast which is the main gateway for trips to the holiday island.

Bernama said the ferry carrying 100 passengers was seven nautical miles from Tioman when the fire occurred.It cited a Mersing police spokesman as saying the dead and injured had been taken to a local hospital and that they were gathering information on the victims.It did not say whether the victims were Malaysians or foreigners. -- AFP

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Oct 13, 2007

Airbus finally ready to deliver A380 to SIA

The plane, which can seat over 800 people, will arrive in S'pore next week

PARIS - AIRBUS will hand Singapore Airlines the first A380 next week, 18 months late but to the widespread relief of the European aerospace industry. The first delivery comes just days after US rival Boeing announced trouble with its flagship project, the mid-sized 787 Dreamliner, which is now six months behind schedule. The A380, the world's biggest passenger jet plane, is one of the most exciting new airliners in nearly 40 years.

It is to be delivered to SIA on Monday before entering service on a Singapore-Sydney route 10 days later. Capable of carrying from 555 to more than 800 passengers, the double-decker plane is Airbus' most ambitious project to date. But it has been racked by problems and has laid bare the difficulties of European industrial cooperation. 'It's not the end of Airbus' problems, but it's a significant step to deliver the first A380,' said aviation analyst Leigh Bailey at ratings agency Standard and Poor's. Airbus announced slips to the A380 schedule on three occasions, principally due to wiring complications. It estimates the cost of the accumulated 18 months of delays at about US$6 billion (S$8.8 billion).

Lack of cooperation between French and German engineers was partly to blame. The group has since launched a severe restructuring plan with 10,000 job cuts expected.

After delays, management changes, sniping between the group's French and German shareholders and financial losses, EADS - the Airbus parent company - is now embroiled in an insider trading scandal linked to the A380 problems. The launch of the plane therefore gives EADS and Airbus a chance to turn the corner. Airbus will hold a ceremony on Monday at its headquarters and main factory in Toulouse, south-west France, with 500 guests expected to witness the hand-over and departure of the aircraft.

About 15 airlines have placed firm orders for the A380. Dubai-based Emirates is the leading client among a customer list that includes predominantly Asian, European and Gulf-based carriers. Around 170 firm orders and 20 preliminary agreements for the A380 are now on the books. But Airbus says it needs to sell 420 of the planes at catalogue prices to cover its costs - up from 270 when the programme was launched in 2000.

Boeing, meanwhile, has no acceptance problems for its 787, with more than 600 orders so far. But the US group is now following in Airbus' footsteps by making embarrassing admissions of delivery delays. Japan's All Nippon Airways Co was first in a line of 50 customers that have ordered the long-haul jets. It was expecting to get the first of its 50 planes next May. But on Wednesday, Boeing announced it was postponing the 787's initial delivery by at least six months, mostly because of problems in its supply chain that have complicated assembly of the first planes on the production line.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, ASSOCIATED PRESS

ABOVE: A similar SIA Boeing 777-200 plane in which the stowaway hitch the free ride and BELOW: It was the last flight of the day SQ119

MORE PICS – Palestine Stowaway Survives 55-mins SIA Flight KL-Singapore in Nose Wheel Bay; Osama R M Shublaq fell 2.4 m on Arrival at Service Bay

Oct 12, 2007; S S T

Stowaway survives SIA flight from KL hidden in wheel well

He is said to be a Palestinian who smuggled himself onboard the flight from KL to Singapore.

CHANGI Airport had an unexpected passenger arrival on Thursday night when a Palestinian man dropped out of the wheel well of a Singapore Airlines jetairliner at Changi Airport. The man, Osama R M Shublaq, is said to have been a stowaway aboard SIA Flight SQ 119 that flew in from Kuala Lumpur at around 10:56pm. He stunned ground crew who were waiting to serve the twin-engine Boeing 777-200 after he fell out, apparently dizzy from a lack of oxygen, from the area where the front landing gear is stowed.

The height from the wheel well, (ABOVE) where the landing gear strut and two nose wheels are stowed during flight, to the ground is about 2.4 metres. The stowaway was taken away by Singapore police. The SQ airliner had just taxiied to Gate F33 at Changi Airport's Terminal Two after a 55-minute flight from Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Aviation industry sources said they were surprised the man survived his ordeal.

ABOVE:If he had taken the economy class, he would have been served a cup of coffee but he did not pay and hide himself at the wheel bay. .

They said the flight's short duration could have saved him as the airliner does not have to ascend to the same height as passenger planes on long haul journeys. Furthermore, as the wheel well is not pressurised, the lower flight altitude could have helped the stoway to breathe easier, as compared to an airliner flying in the thin air of around 35,000 to 40,000 feet -- the cruising altitude for most passenger jets. Malaysian airport authorities told The Straits Times that they are reviewing how the man could have breached airport security and smuggled himself aboard the plane. Dato' Azmi Murad, Senior General Manager, Operations, Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad, said:"We were told by Singapore Airlines this morning that there was a stowaway on SQ 119 from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore. We will assist and cooperate with Singapore authorities to investigate on how it happened

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October 12, 2007 20:38 PM

Stowaway Onboard SIA Flight From KLIA

SINGAPORE, Oct 12 (Bernama) -- A man who sneaked into a Singapore Airlines (SIA) plane from Kuala Lumpur last night has been handed over to police. Osama R M Shublaq, said to be a Palestinian, hid inside the wheel well of the SIA flight SQ119 that flew in from Kuala Lumpur at 10.56pm,according to a report in the Straits Times' online edition. he man stunned the Changi Airport ground crew who were waiting to serve the twin-engine Boeing 777-200 when he fell out of the area where the front landing gear is stowed, it said.

He was taken away by police. he Straits Times quoted Datuk Azmi Murad, Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) Senior General Manager (Operations), as saying SIA had nformed MAHB, operator of the KL International Airport in Sepang, about the incident. We will assist and cooperate with Singapore authorities to investigate how it happened," he said.

= = = =and the new Airbus A380 for SIA

Oct 13, 2007

Airbus finally ready to deliver A380 to SIA

The plane, which can seat over 800 people, will arrive in S'pore next week

Lack of cooperation between French and German engineers was partly to blame. The group has since launched a severe restructuring plan with 10,000 job cuts expected.