Former Submariner who Branched Out (SW/AW/SS) is Active Duty Fatality

Machinist’s Mate 3rd Class (SW/AW/SS) Micah Aaron Hill of Nebraska died April 19th in a non-combat related incident. The Navy is investigating the circumstances of PO3 Hill's death and would not comment on where aboard the ship he was found or who found him.

Hill's was the second non-combat related fatality on USS Enterprise in nearly a month. On March 22, Aviation Ordnanceman 1st Class (AW) Vincent Filpi of Fort Walton Beach, Fla. died in a non-combat incident. Filipi had been the leading petty officer for the carrier’s safety department.

After submarine school, Hill had served on USS West Virginia (SSBN-736) and then USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69). Hill, 27, reported to USS Enterprise (CVN-65) in the fall of 2009. Petty Officer Hill was serving in the Arabian Gulf aboard Enterprise in support of Operation New Dawn.

A succession of 3 warfare designations is rather unusual for any sailor, much less someone who enlisted under 7 years ago. If a nuc MM3, he obviously did not remain one, otherwise why the AW? We not only lost another brave one, we lost a highly qualified one. Condolences to all of those who knew or served with him.

Submarines are always silent and strange.

Tenth Navy CO of 2011 Fired Yesterday

According to the NavyTimes Wylie is the 10th commanding officer fired so far this year, and the fourth surface warfare officer. Over the first four months of the year, one destroyer squadron commodore and two other ship captains have been sacked.

Cmdr. Wylie, was commissioned in May 1992 upon graduating from the University of Southern California.

..................................* * * *
Misconduct was cited in the latest example of Navy Secretary and Lawyer-Political Complex standout Ray Mabus's unwritten Zero Tolerance for Ringless Male Commanding Officers (ZTFRMCO) policy. The greater the number of non-Academy males sacked, the more openings available for females or the ringknocker gentlemen trained to look the other way (to wit: CAPT Graf).

What many NROTC grads lack is the peculiar political conditioning that is de rigueur at the Naval Academy. The culture there assures that all of the males who graduate are reliably PC when it comes to never criticizing and always assisting women officers in their careers.

Submarines are always silent and strange.

Guidance for Slow Learners: Captain Makes 9th Commander in 2011

April 27, 2011 (AP) / SAN DIEGO — The Washington Post [bold added] Commander of San Diego-based Navy destroyer squadron removed from post in Arabian Sea

The language used by the Navy is somewhat unusual in this case. Typically, the Navy relieves an officer of command after an investigation into wrongdoing. This time, the action is being called a removal from command while an investigation is performed. The Navy has experienced a run of commander firings, starting last year. At least 17 commanding officers were relieved of their positions in 2010. Prior to Hornbeck, the count for 2011 was eight, the Navy Times reported. source

According to his now deleted USN biography, Capt. Hornbeck, who had assumed Command of DESRON ONE 23 November 2010, graduated from Ball State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree (Physics) in 1982. Following his initial sea tour, Hornbeck elected to remain an Unrestricted Line Officer.

One thing should be crystal clear to all navy observers. The policy that underlies the spate of rapid firings that began in 2010 is ZERO TOLERANCE for COs. Not only does this clear the decks for better promotional opportunities, particularly for female USNA grads, it underscores an entirely new atomsphere on submarines "the last male bastion".

When the message to COs is ZERO TOLERANCE, it must now be clearl to Dept Heads, JOs, the COB, CPOs, and even to the most junior enlisteds that ZERO TOLERANCE now applies to their behavior as well.

Thank you for your service, Capt Hornbeck. And to all active duty Navy personnel, be very, very careful in the new, ZERO TOLERANCE Global Force for Good!

Submarines are always silent and strange.

A 'Mother of All Lessons' for Would Be Naval Officers, VOTERS, and the USNA Admissions Office

WASHINGTON, April 26, 2011 (UPI) -- Navy concerned about synthetic marijuana

Seven (7) middies who used Spice were discharged from the U.S. Naval Academy (USNA) in January. This was AFTER:

In July 2009, 15 Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier George Washington were discharged for Spice use, leading to a Navy-wide ban on the drug in March 2010. Seven students using Spice were discharged from the U.S. Naval Academy in January.

Two psychiatry residents at the San Diego Naval Medical Center reported the facility treated 15 service members between August and December 2010 for Spice-related problems, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported Tuesday.


Spice often causes problems including hallucinations, paranoia and debilitating confusion, lasting for days, say the doctors.

Pointed Questions:

1) How well has the USNA been screening the abundant pool of qualified candidates for admission, if well over a dozen (just those caught, by the way) did not even take seriously their eventual commissioning oaths nor suitability for becoming and officer? ANS: As you were, Admiral; NOT WELL ENOUGH!

2) In pursuit of the Political Correctness currently demanded by politicians who believe their careers in elected office merit in any fashion the threatening of dedicated Navy brass, how many of those dismissed were nominated by congressmen who ARE LAWYERS? ANS: All of them!

Submarines are always silent and strange.

Good Sub, Bad Sub: Time Under Fire

In 2009, we had identified a 'good sub' with a great but Unusual Public Relations History.
............................................................................................................
We predicted, and still believe, USS Rhode Island will be among the first subs assigned a female crew member.

Now from The Stupid Shall Be Punished (TSSP) we get a non-PC, homemade submarine video that is alleged to have been made commissioned by some of USS Alabama's crew.

[Aside] Some followers have begun to wonder how long day-to-day administration and supervision of the TSSP blog may have been delegated by its founding ex-submarine officer, to less mature and less experienced 'hands' posing as he. Apparently, others have begun to wonder, as well.

How many readers suspect the 'bad sub' is USS Alabama? We doubt that anyone in the current Blue or Gold crews made the video, much less ever watched it. USS Alabama is only connected with the naughty YouTube scenes in the manner it was connected with the 1995, feature film Crimson Tide. Her connection is one of appearence only in a 7.2/10 movie.

So what makes USS Alabama a 'bad sub', then? Aside from the YouTube (Tube Daze Productions), the Alabama also appeared in a very bad (3.5/10) 1997, feature film called Time Under Fire (aka Beneath the Bermuda Triangle). The movie sub is the bad one.

You will not find the latter on Netflix (wonder why). As the sub was shown coming to periscope depth, the control wire for the model was visible trailing behind the conning tower. Here are an actual sample of IMDB reviews for Time Under Fire. Judge for yourselves.
+ So bad I had to watch it till the end
+ Amazingly Hilarious! I Laughed So Hard I Thought I Would Wake My Neighbors!
+ Simply a terribly bad movie, avoid it!

Submarines are always silent and strange.

Quote of the Decade

There is no denying corporate greed is becoming as virulent as it had been before the Sherman Act (1890), The Federal Trade Commission (1914), and the Taft-Hartley Act (1947). What has been hid from the public is that lobbyists, over 90% of whom are lawyers, the U.S. Congress (40-60% lawyers) and the legal political complex (the collegial network of all lawyers) have facilitated renewed opportunities to scalp consumers.

Federal prosecutors told a jury yesterday that exhaustive wiretap evidence proves a Wall Street titan routinely used a cadre of “corporate spies’’ ... -April 21, 2011, New York (AP) boston.com (NY Times Co.) Each side claims support from tapes in Galleon trial, Tom Hays and Larry Neumeister


What is revealing about this quotation is more than federal prosecutors intended. The quote betrays an insidious and pervasive, anti-corporate propaganda regularly fed voters by infamous liberals, influential journalists, and the lawyer-political complex .

Consider:
The claim made in the quote was made by prosecutors (lawyers).
Their claim villified corporate spies (ignoring the fact that the key spies were actually lawyers who were not employed by greedy corporations, but by law firms).

Goldfarb was accused of conspiring with ex-Galleon trader Zvi Goffer to pay tens of thousands of dollars to Arthur Cutillo and Brien Santarlas, lawyers at Boston-based Ropes & Gray LLP, for information about transactions their firm was working on.

Cutillo, Goldfarb’s former college roommate, pleaded guilty in January to charges of conspiracy and securities fraud, and faces as long as 37 months in prison. Santarlas pleaded guilty in December 2009 and is cooperating with authorities.

- Apr 21, 2011 Bloomberg, New York Lawyer Jason Goldfarb Pleads Guilty in Probe of Ex-Galleon Trader, Chris Dolmetsch and Patricia Hurtado


The Lawyer-Political complex, unharmed by its own corruptive influences, escapes scrutiny by the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (R.I.C.O.) Act. The law profession, a self-protected species in the U.S., is largely self-unregulated, and at best regulated by the whims and actions of other lawyers.

The Founders provided ample protection from such an outcome for us, should we demand it: There is no requirement for members of the Supreme Court to be lawyers.


Submarines are always silent and strange.

The 3-Ring Legal Circus: "the largest hedge fund insider trading case ever"

April 21, 2011- The Associated Press
Lawyer pleads guilty to NYC insider trading charge


A Brooklyn, New York, lawyer admitted to taking part in what the U.S. says is one of three Galleon Group LLC insider-trading rings.

According to Wikipedia (today), Federal Election Commission records indicate Rajaratnam made over $75,000 in political contributions in the past five years. He has also contributed to the Democratic National Committee and various campaigns on behalf of Hillary Rodham Clinton, Charles Schumer, and Robert Menendez.

Details here.

Submarines are always silent and strange.

Pianist Submarine CO

How many non-USNA submarine CO candidates will have CDR Rhinehart's qualifications? All the quicker to make an opportunity to have first female submarine CO.

APRIL 14, 2011 - Forty-one year old Cmdr. Richard E. Rhinehart Jr relieved Cmdr. Wes Schlauder as CO of USS North Carolina (SSN 777) on board the sub at Pearl Harbor.

Here's what is news: Cmdr. Rhinehart is not an United States Naval Academy (USNA) graduate.

Why is something so mundane even news? Over the past 28 months, the overwhelming majority of submarine COs relieved of duty for loss of confidence in their ability command have been graduates of other than the USNA. It has been speculated that one factor in such wholesale housecleaning within a very small unit of the navy (less than 40,000 sailors and support people) is the desire of the SECNAV and his admirals to create reform the historical environment of male chauvinism to the biased culture enforced by the USNA's honor code [Unwritten Navy Policy or Merely a Pattern (March 17, 20100)].

Does this mean such speculation is wrong? Not at all. Look at the facts: Rhinehart is very unusual, he was even an Eagle Scout, an extremely rare attainment in today's teenage society.

Well, that still seems fairly thin logic; is there anything else? Yes, among the 45 female officers initially selected for assignment to subs (24 billets) are a small percentage who are NOT USNA graduates. The Navy does not know how many of the initial 24 assigned will actually complete enough naval service to qualify for submarine command, nor whether the most successful candidates for command might be USNA or non-USNA women. The assignment of Rhinehart assures opportunity for female command of a submarine without risking the traditional environment of non-politically correct openness between officers and men once considered unique and fundamental to submarine safety and effectiveness.

In order to fulfill the political agenda of attracting female volunteers to vessels with spartan facilities and comforts, the Navy must have a female role model to command of a submarine ASAP. Otherwise, high attrition will eliminate the first 24, the recruiting pipeline will falter, and the social shoehorn will be an obvious disaster writ all over with the names of admirals.

Submarines are always silent and strange.

Answers: Submarine Mystery Questions of the Week - 4/11/2011

Difficulty Level (1-5): 5

Background information for SS-1 Holland and for each question was provided here when Mystery Questions were first presented.

...............................................................................................................

MYSTERY QUESTIONS with ANSWERS

1) Where was Crescent Shipyard located, and what can be said of its 2 founders regarding advanced types of ships? ANS: The Crescent Shipyard, which built the U.S. Navy's first commissioned submarine, was located in Elizabeth, NJ. Crescent's founders, Navy Lt. Lewis Nixon and Arthur L. Busch, were regarded as two of the best in their fields at designing and building the most advanced types of ships.

2) When (+/- 5 years) was the postcard featured above used? ANS: Feb. 4, 1919.

3) What was the cost of the postage stamp? ANS: Two cents.

4) What was the name and street of the postcard printer? ANS: BAMFORTH & CO., WARREN ST., NEW YORK.

Submarines are always silent and strange.

Lesson #4: Reading Between the Submarine Lines

April 15, 2011 - theday.com - Sub building program survives budget cuts

.........................................................................................

Despite the government's fiscal woes and immense pressure for cuts, the Virginia-class submraine program escaped unscathed, a testament to the bipartisan support it enjoys,according to Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District. It marks the first time two attack submarines will be purchased in a year since 1989.

Between the lines (what you may never see in a newspaper): Submarines are always silent and strange. - Juan Caruso

...............................................................................................................

Short Interpretation

The U.S. Navy's submarines are still so far ahead of any competition, the submarine force will provide the U.S. with a very formidable and highly survivable element in any contest for world domination by actors deploring liberty.

...............................................................................................................

The public (and indeed most of the military, including submariners) are certainly unaware of some spectacularly sensitive activities individual submarines have engaged in, nor their stellar achievements (and brazen attempts). Such activities are hidden for decades, if not longer. Such contributions, however, often with significant sacrifices by crew, of these submarines is valuable because enemies (current, or future) are equally unaware of their efforts and accomplishment(s).

...............................................................................................................

Cruise missiles, which are sometimes visible, are not the only weapons launched by subs, and launching weapons has not necessarily been a submarine's most critical mission in terms of supporting national defense.

...............................................................................................................

To recruit today's volunteers, who are increasingly binary-oriented thinkers, it has been necessary for the service to de-emphasize the inherent hazards of service. Eventually, related pay considerations may become historical curiosities. PREDICTION: This will happen after women have served at their normalized rate (i.e. approximating the same ratio to their gender as male submariners are to all male sailors). Incentive pay (by another name, perhaps) will replace submarine duty pay until the normalized female equilibrium is reached. A target year for this pay change scheme has not been made public, of course --- and no doubt flight pay, as well. There could even be some foreign nationals standing in line for both military jobs. Hey, it is only a prediction (April 15, 2011).

.....................................^^^

Future Medicine in Your Closest Hospital - Substandard

April 13, 2011 /Marion, IL (AP) - Ill. VA resuming some minimally invasive surgeries

Minimally invasive surgeries will resume at a southern Illinois Veterans Administration medical center that halted all operations since 2007 after a spike in patient deaths, the VA announced Wednesday. source

The VA's Marion medical center serves parts of Illinois, Kentucky and Indiana.

One patient bled to death after gall bladder surgery in 2007. Nine patients died between October 2006 and March 2007 from what medical investigators determined to be substandard care. Another 10 patients had died due to receiving questionable care that complicated their health.

.........................................................................................................................

As a result, the VA suspended further surgeries and transferred the site's director, chief of staff, surgical chief and anesthesiologist, some of whom relocated or quit.

.........................................................................................................................

After 3 plus years, the facility at last performs minimally invasive and low risk surgeries. Vets needing more serious stuff are faced with travel to other centers hundreds of miles further away. What is wrong with the socialist emphasis shown here?

.........................................................................................................................

Submarines are always silent and strange.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY U.S. Submarine Service (Mystery Question of the Week) - 4/11/2011

BACKGROUND

....................................................................................

111 years ago today, the keel was laid at Crescent Shipyard for the United States Navy's first submarine (SS1 Holland). Today, marks the official anniversary of our Submarine Force.

..........................................................................................................

On March 1, 1907, the United States Post Office allowed private citizens to write on the address side of a postcard, and on this date postcards were permitted to have a divided space (for the address and the personal message).

..........................................................................................................

MYSTERY QUESTION of the WEEK

..........................................................................................................

1) Where was Crescent Shipyard located, and what can be said of its 2 founders regarding advanced types of ships?

..........................................................................................................

2) A cropped portion of a US postcard printed and used after 1907 is shown above. When (+/- 5 years) was the postcard featured above used?

..........................................................................................................

3) The card's caption (not shown) says: Here's hoping you wont bump into any submarines.

What was the cost of the postage stamp? ..........................................................................................................

4) The card, which bears a Hoboken, New Jersey postmark, was mailed to a man in Libertyville, Illinois by his son. What was the name and street of the New York postcard printer?

..........................................................................................................

Answers Monday - COMMENTS ON in recognition of difficulty.

..........................................................................................................

Submarines are always silent and strange.

The Real Question About Submarine Officer Suspect: Is he another Bilge Engineer?

UPDATE - 4/11/2011 - Yesterday's Mail.online (UK) reported that the officers shot by Donovan had apparently been part of a panel that recently denied Donovan (a SONAR-type sound engineer) a place on a particular mission. Some speculated that Donovan may have felt discriminated against by the officers he shot. ............................................................................................................................................. The suspect certain in the homicide of a Royal Navy submarine officer is shooter Ryan Donovan. .............................................................................................................................................. Guilty or innocent (the possibility of guilt with mitigating insanity or diminished capacity). In British law, the M'Naughton rules have been a criteria for defendant mental competence in England and Wales, the U.S., Canada, etc. Donovan's case may test a defense of irresistable impulse, available under English law since 1960. .............................................................................................................................................. But, back to the overriding real question about Donovan's alleged crime: how did a musician (Reggie Moondogg) who wrote a series of violent rap lyrics ever been placed in the crew of a nuclear submarine crew in the first place? That question was raised yesterday by senior Member of Parliament and defense expert Mike Hancock. ............................................................................................................................................. The Russian's recently termed one of their enlisted seaman, responsible for several deaths, a bilge engineer. Do we have another example of a bilge engineer in Able Seaman Ryan Donovan? So far we have not learned what Donovan's actual submarine duties are called at sea ( it took years for the Russian press to report that their contract seaman Grobov was a bilge engineer, however). ............................................................................................................................................ Submarines are always silent and strange.

Annals of Torment

Latest Update ----- Suspect Seaman Ryan Donovan (photo & story)

Latest Update ----- Photo of guy who subdued gunman as he fired again

Latest Update(s) ------after conflict in control room; LCDR died Latest Update(s) --------Suspect fired six rounds, witness noted -------- One could barely imagine the state of morale and humiliation that must have dogged the crew of the British sub HMS Asute since resumption of extended sea trials. Nor did being called 'HMS Calamity' by the UK's Daily Mail last December help her officers maintain the crew of 98's necessary esprit de corps. Now, two of her officers, one dead, have been shot by a Royal Navy able seaman standing guard duty with an SA80 service rifle while the sub is docked at Southampton. The errant seaman had never served in Afghanistan as a few earlier PTSD reports had speculated.

Brittain's Defense Secretary, Dr. Liam Fox, said, "I am greatly saddened to hear of this tragic incident and of the death of a Royal Navy serviceman. ... My thoughts and sympathies are with those who have been affected and their families."

Past and present submariners certainly convey Dr. Fox's sentiments and realize a bit more personally how this latest tragedy inevitably impacts HMS Asute's remaining crew. Courage, brothers, and thank you for your service. .......................................................................................... Submarines are always silent and strange.

Obviously, the Marines Like It!

.......The most maligned weapons system of modern times times .................................................................. 4 APRIL 2011 Forbes The Much-Maligned V-22 Osprey is Confounding Critics

The program was begun in the aftermath of a failed 1980 hostage rescie mission in Iran, when military planners realized they needed something better than the conventional helicopters and fixed-wing transports that had first malfunctioned and then collided in the Iranian dessert, killing eight soldiers.

Excellent successes as Marine commanders in Afghanistan's Helmand province praise the aircraft's agility and resiliance. The Helmand command has recorded over 100,000 flight hours for the V-22, and it was used recently for the successful, 90-minute rescue of a downed pilot in Libya.

.

Today, the Marine Corps and Air Force Special Operations Command have 130 Ospreys despite Dick Cheney's efforts to kill the program and 2 fatalities 11 years ago.

Submarines are always silent and strange.

The First Celebrity Submarine Fatality

Update

Private submarines can be especially deadly.

Review of 3 superegos

October 22, 2008 - Private Submarine is Strange, but is Karl Stanley's really safe?

On one dive a window cracked 600 feet down, spraying seawater on a passenger. That scared the crap out of me, he admits. (He has broken three more windows since.)

September 22, 2010 - Great PR, or the Worst Submarine Omen Ever

[AVATAR director James Cameron] has commissioned engineers to design a deep-sea submersible that can reach the bottom of the Mariana Trench, 36,000ft down in the Pacific. He intends to dive into the trench and capture footage he can use in the next two films.“We are building a vehicle to do the dive”, Cameron told The Sunday Times. “It’s about half completed in Australia.” - Coventry Telegraph SEPT 12, 2010.

April 5, 2011 - Richard Branson Plans Deep-Ocean Submarine Dives

Billionaire adventurer Richard Branson on Tuesday unveiled a new single-person submarine that he said will be used to set new world records by exploring the five deepest parts of the world's oceans. Branson said that over the next two years, the solo craft will go to the bottom of the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic's Puerto Rico Trench and South Sandwich Trench, the Diamantina Trench in the Indian Ocean and the Molloy Deep in the Arctic Ocean.Branson's fellow explorer, Chris Welsh, plans to make the first descent later this year to the Mariana Trench, which at 36,000 feet is deeper than Mount Everest is high. Branson then plans to explore the 28,000-foot-deep Puerto Rico Trench.

Gentlemen, this is nothing like solo flying; which of you will be first to learn of his awaiting peril? Stanley (we presume) still has no insurance. Cameron and Branson have assurances (from? - not from the Royal Navy, one must suspect.) All have pluck. One may soon be happy if he can be plucked to the surface. Continued good fortune to all three.

.

Submarines are always silent and strange.

To Whom It May Concern

re: Response to Identity Requests

.

In the past 72 hours, M.E. has received six unprecedented requests to reveal Vigilis's identity, or personal information that would lead to same. Of those who have recently attempted to pry, 2 were identified with opposing (left wing) political camps, one calls himself Sayed M, another is aonymous, and only one identified himself.

.

If Vigilis had ever wanted his identity revealed publicly, it would have been published long ago.

.

Suffice it to say that certain individuals in various levels of government, the military, law enforcement, and the blogging community know his identity and are able to attest that he is a decent American citizen who has served government honorably in a variety of roles. We believe he deserves continued anonymnity.

.

Submarines are always silent and strange.

.

Respectfully,

M.E.

Public Opinion (News) Management

Ideally, any government manipulation of our news is deft and opaque. Lately, however, an argument may be made that bureaucrats (spokesmen) responsible for manipulating our news media seem to have become overzealous --- their manipulation seems clumsy and transparent. Who is pushing them so hard suddenly, besides the Department of Education, which has gradually lowered academic standards, and why? My guess is American lawyers (lobbyists of foreign states) and organizations like CAIR. Your guess, while no more accurate than mine, would be no better for this nation.

.

First, no one wanted us to think it could have been a sniper (especially not an Islamic terrorist).

Then, authorities actually told us the bullet was not fired at the plane (not a terrorist). My guess is that a terrorist has been in custody. If news leaks out, claims will be made that he was acting alone (i.e. he is not a terrorist, he is a criminal). PREDICTION: Could the shooter have ties to this guy, the terrorist ringleader who pled guilty to conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, and conspiracy to commit murder, maiming and kidnaping overseas?

.

The quickest way of defusing the intensity of public interest is by creating a distraction with the same vehicles, but without the same ties (in this case, to terrorism). The fuselage rupture on Southwest Airliner could be the distraction. Thank goodness no lives were lost. Will this prediction prove accurate? Wait and see, readers.

.

29 MAR 2011 - RALEIGH (WRAL) Warrant: Local terror suspect hid crimes from US officials

One of the men accused of being involved in a Triangle-based terrorist cell has a violent past that he didn't disclose when he immigrated to the U.S. more than a decade ago, according to a search warrant unsealed Tuesday.

.

30 Mar 2011 - (Reuters) /FBI probes possible bullet hole in US Air plane

The FBI is investigating what might be a bullet hole, discovered in the side of a US Airways Group Inc (LCC.N) plane this week, the airline said on Wednesday.

.

31 MAR 2011 - Charlotte TIME.com / U.S. Airways Plane Struck By Bullet on Landing

The FBI [arm of DOJ] has launched an investigation after a bullet hole — and later a bullet — was found on a U.S. Airways plane flying from Philadelphia to Charlotte.

.

31 MAR 2011 - Examiner.com / US Airways plane possible sniper target

An unknown sniper may be to blame for the bullet hole found in the fuselage of a US Airways Boeing 737-400 aircraft on the left side near the plane's tail, and just above a window, as shown in the attached video clip and slide show.

.

The Philadelphia Inquirer and a local television station reported that the bullet was indeed found intact inside the jet. An unidentified source told the T.V. station that it was possibly fired by a .40-caliber rifle as the plane landed in Charlotte.

.

02 APR 2011 (AP) - Phoenix NDTV.com / Large hole tears into plane, 118 on board

Ian Gregor, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman in Los Angeles, an FAA [arm of DOT] inspector from Phoenix was en route to Yuma.

.

The NTSB [ties to the U.S. DOT severed in 1975] said holes in aircraft can be caused by metal fatigue or lightning. The National Weather Service [an arm of NOAA] said the weather was clear from the Phoenix area to the California border on Friday afternoon.

.

In 1988, cracks caused part of the roof of an Aloha Airlines Boeing 737 to peel open while the jet flew from Hilo to Honolulu. A flight attendant was sucked out of the plane and plunged to her death, and dozens of passengers were injured.

.

Submarines are always silent and strange.