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<ul class="summary-list"><li>JetBlue Airways is removing 37 routes from its network in an effort to "continue operational reliability."</li><li>The routes are mostly continued suspensions made earlier in the year, which will be extended to 2023 at the earliest. </li></ul>After already trimming its schedule ahead of the busy summer season, JetBlue Airways is further adjusting its schedule to better prepare for fall and winter.On Monday, the New York-based carrier confirmed to Insider that it is extending the suspension of 37 routes to create more wiggle room in its schedule. The news was first reported by <a href="https://thepointsguy.com/news/jetblue-route-cuts-nyc-florida/amp/">The Points Guy</a>."To ensure continued operational reliability, we're planning a schedule change for this fall and into 2023 that will extend some of the market suspensions we put in place earlier this year," a spokesperson said in a statement.The decision comes after <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jetblue-cutting-or-suspending-9-routes-see-the-list-2022-4?amp">JetBlue already cut or suspended</a> more than 20 routes <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jetblue-cutting-20-routes-canceling-upcoming-vancouver-flight-list-2022-5?amp">ahead of summer</a>, which made the airline more "resilient" due to "capacity pulldowns we put in place." The carrier said, "it's prudent to plan similarly for next year.""We're getting ahead of it now to ease pressure on our Customer Support team and to offer more time for rebooking our customers," the company said.Here is the full list of cuts:<ul><li>Between Hartford and Cancun</li><li>Between Hartford and Las Vegas</li><li>Between Hartford and San Francisco</li><li>Between Newark and Aquadilla, Puerto Rico</li><li>Between Newark and Aruba</li><li>Between Newark and Atlanta</li><li>Between Newark and Austin</li><li>Between Newark and Charleston</li><li>Between Newark and Jacksonville</li><li>Between Newark and Las Vegas</li><li>Between Newark and Montego Bay, Jamaica</li><li>Between Newark and Nassau, Bahamas</li><li>Between Newark and Phoenix</li><li>Between Newark and Providenciales, Turks and Caicos</li><li>Between Newark and Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic</li><li>Between Newark and Raleigh-Durham</li><li>Between Newark and San Diego</li><li>Between Newark and San Francisco </li><li>Between Newark and St. Lucia</li><li>Between Newark and St. Maarten</li><li>Between Fort Lauderdale and Aruba</li><li>Between Fort Lauderdale and Cartagena, Colombia</li><li>Between Fort Lauderdale and Chicago</li><li>Between Fort Lauderdale and Cleveland</li><li>Between Fort Lauderdale and Grand Cayman</li><li>Between Fort Lauderdale and Philadelphia</li><li>Between Fort Lauderdale and Phoenix</li><li>Between Fort Lauderdale and Providenciales</li><li>Between Fort Lauderdale and Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago</li><li>Between Fort Lauderdale and Portland, Oregon</li><li>Between Fort Lauderdale and Seattle</li><li>Between Fort Lauderdale and St. Maarten</li><li>Between Los Angeles and Austin</li><li>Between Los Angeles and Jacksonville</li><li>Between Los Angeles and Raleigh-Durham</li><li>Between Los Angeles and Richmond, Virginia</li><li>Between Los Angeles and San Jose, Costa Rica</li></ul>The markets taking the hardest hit are Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida. According to JetBlue, the "continued suspensions" primarily hit the two airports because they are "especially challenging from an operational or ATC (air traffic control) perspective."<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/air-traffic-control-staffing-shortage-causing-flight-cancellations-alpa-2022-6?amp">ATC centers in Florida have been experiencing staffing issues</a>, according to airline lobbying group the Airlines for America (A4A). The organization specifically pointed to the Air Route Traffic Control Center in Jacksonville, saying shortages have "led to traffic restrictions under blue sky conditions."However, the US <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/becoming-air-traffic-controller-career-pros-cons-of-job-2022-1">Federal Aviation Administration</a> has denied any problems, but met with airlines in May and <a href="https://www.faa.gov/summer-travel/meeting-summary">vowed</a> to "immediately increase the number of authorized staff at Jacksonville Center and evaluate other Florida facilities."While it is unclear when or if these routes will return, they will not be on JetBlue's schedule this year. The impact to the carrier's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/northeast-alliance-expanding-despite-looming-lawsuit-2021-11?amp">powerful Northeast Alliance with American Airlines</a>, which it has been focused on growth in New York and Boston, will result in fewer options for customers traveling on the two carriers.Despite the schedule adjustments, JetBlue told Insider that it is increasing flying this year, specifically in Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Los Angeles, and New York. It emphasized that as it expands it still plans "to set our operation up for success and ensure it's running reliably for our customers and crewmembers."JetBlue is not the only airline cutting routes ahead of the fall and winter seasons. American Airlines confirmed to Insider in early August that it is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/american-slashing-thousands-of-flights-this-fall-philadelphia-2022-8?amp">slashing thousands of flights in September and October</a> to minimize potential flight disruptions, with its Philadelphia hub taking the biggest hit.The news comes as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jetblue-agrees-deal-buy-spirit-airlines-billion-largest-us-frontier-2022-7?amp">JetBlue reaches a groundbreaking agreement with low-cost giant Spirit Airlines</a>. The two plan to merge into the fifth-largest US carrier in a $3.8 billion deal. JetBlue beat out Frontier Airlines' bid after months of back-and-forth, leaving the Denver-based budget airline as a standalone carrier.

JetBlue is cutting 37 routes this fall and winter to minimize potential flight disruptions — see the full list

<ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/lockheed-martin">Lockheed Martin's </a>$101 million <keyword id="1824517" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="f-35b">F-35B</keyword> has the most advanced sensor suite of any fighter in history.</li><li>The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/us-marine-corps">Marine Corps </a>Air Station in Beaufort, South Carolina, is the sole location for F-35B training.</li><li>Insider was granted exclusive access to the Air Station in March, where we observed these pilots in training.</li></ul>Following is a transcript of the <keyword id="21654" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="video">video</keyword>.[plane engine roaring]Narrator: This is the F-35B Lightning II. The <keyword id="108651" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Marine-Corps">Marine Corps</keyword>' multi-role fighter jet is equipped with the most advanced sensor suite of any fighter in history -- [plane engine roaring] and the most powerful engine of any jet in the world, which can reach a top speed of 1,200 miles per hour.Cory Kuhn: It's just revolutionized what fighter aircraft are capable of.Narrator: And these are the pilots training to fly that $100 million aircraft.Michael Watts: A lot of people just think you show up, fly, and then go home, have a beer, but it's not at all like that.Kuhn: Not only are you flying, but you're talking on four different radios. You're working the radar, you're working the TFLIR, you're working the electrical optical system there while you're still navigating, talking to ATC, and then working weapons on top of that.Narrator: Student pilots spend a year training to fly the F-35 Bravo here, at the Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort, South Carolina. This is a pilot's last stop before getting deployed to a fleet squadron overseas. And it's here they learn to handle the multi-role fighter jet in a variety of missions.Kuhn: We do strikes, so aerial interception. We do OCA/DCA, so offensive counter air/ defensive counter air, armed reconnaissance, and then really the bread and butter though is SEAD, so suppression of enemy air defenses.Narrator: The pilots we met are part of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 501, also known as the Warlords.Diego Rayas: Once you complete here, they send you out to the fleet squadrons out in Yuma or Japan.Narrator: Student pilots in the training squadron have already completed flight school, so training is focused specifically on operating the F-35B. Eventually, every fighter pilot that comes through the Marine Corps is going to go fly an F-35.Watts: I'm Michael Watts. I'm a major in the Marine Corps. My grandfather was a pilot in World War II, and I would always go to his house, see his models of his B-25 bomber, and also my father was a Navy pilot in Vietnam. So I kind of grew up with it in my blood. Right here, we're just basically starting to learn how to fly the airplane, and then you go through all the different mission sets and basic skills.Narrator: Because there are only so many jets that can fly at a time, most of the pilots' instruction comes on the ground, in the simulator and in the classroom. We weren't allowed to film some classified aspects of the pilots' instruction. But we were allowed to film the pilots practicing the aircraft's most unique capabilities and go behind the scenes as they suited up for a training mission. During training, it's crucial for the pilots to get comfortable executing the F-35B's STOVL maneuvers, because they'll have to master those techniques on an aircraft carrier.Rayas: Really, the main thing is when we fly off the ship. So, when I get out to Japan here in a few weeks, I'll eventually be learning how to fly off the ship. How do we get on there? We do vertical landings. How do we take off? We do short takeoffs. And so that's really the big reason why we're doing it.Narrator: <keyword id="112859" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Lockheed-Martin">Lockheed Martin</keyword> makes three variations of the <keyword id="1607229" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="F-35-Lightning-II">F-35 Lightning II</keyword>, but the Marine Corps' F-35 Bravo is the only one with STOVL capabilities. This feature is a big reason why the Marine Corps' 2019 aviation plan called for replacing its current fleet of aircraft with more than 350 F-35Bs.Kuhn: We're replacing all of the Hornets, all the Harriers, and all the Prowlers with F-35s.Narrator: Conventional jets need about 3,000 feet for takeoff. But in optimal conditions, an F-35B can take off in just a couple hundred feet.Rayas: For a takeoff, we get onto the runway, and then at that point is when we initiate a conversion. We literally just hit a button, and then the plane goes through its transformer sequence. Once that's complete, we're in now what's called STOVL mode. There's different kinds of short takeoffs we can do. My favorite's the button. It's called the button STO. And as I'm accelerating down the runway, and literally just click a button and then the plane will take off by itself. It's pretty incredible. And then shortly after takeoff, we can convert back to conventional mode once we get to a certain air speed.Narrator: Once in the air, actually handling the jet isn't the most difficult aspect of operating it.Watts: It's actually a really easy airplane to fly. It's more difficult to process the amount of information it provides to you. I would say knowing where to look at the right time.Narrator: The student pilots already have experience flying jets, so much of their training is focused on utilizing technology unique to the F-35B.Kuhn: A lot of the difficulty is trying to absorb all of the information the jet's giving you, operate all the sensors and the systems at the same time, and fly. And really, that's probably the No. 1 struggle.Narrator: Once a practice mission is complete, pilots must take on another of the jet's unique features, executing a vertical landing.Kuhn: Having never done it, it was an experience. My brain telling me not to slow down, because in the Hornet, slow down, that meant you're gonna fall out of the sky.Rayas: It's a normal approach to landing, as if you're going to the runway. And then you're gonna level off and then set a certain ground speed. And then at a certain distance from the pad, you're gonna start a deceleration. And all that is is just a click of a button. And then from there, you're making sure that you're centered on the pad. Then you just push forward on the stick and then descend right onto the pad.Watts: I would say the first time doing a vertical landing in the F-35B is pretty crazy. You practice it a lot in the sim. You do it dozens of times in the simulator. But the first time you do it in a plane, just slowing down for the first time like that and hovering over a pad with over 30,000 pounds of metal 150 feet in the air is pretty neat.Rayas: Usually, you have the world kind of coming at you when you're flying. And so you're kind of sitting there just looking outside, as if you're in a tower or something. And you trust that you're fine there, you know, that you're still flying.Narrator: Before stepping foot in the cockpit, student pilots need to familiarize themselves with the gear needed to operate the F-35B, starting with their antigravity suit, which helps prevent them from losing consciousness while operating the jet.Watts: It's a fabric material that has bladders inside of it, and whenever you pull a G, it uses pressure from the engine to inflate, and then it prevents your blood from pulling down to your legs and it pushes it up to your abdomen as much as possible.Narrator: Each pilot's G suit is custom-made to fit perfectly around their lower body.Watts: And then we have a flight jacket that we put on, and it has a bunch of survival gear.Narrator: The pilot's flight jacket is filled with a multitude of survival tools in the event that they have to eject from the aircraft, including a flare, emergency strobe light, compass, survival knife, extra water, whistle, radio, and an oxygen mask.Zaccary Marek: They have a code card for hand and arm signals, just to signal search and rescue basically. Then they have a signaling mirror, just to signal the aircraft with just a mirror and the reflection.Narrator: Some less conventional survival tools are supplied by the pilots themselves.Watts: I always try to take my wallet, in case I have to land somewhere else other than back here. That's happened to me before. You land somewhere and you stay the night and you don't have any wallet or phone or anything, which is kind of difficult. So I definitely take my wallet with me every time.Narrator: In the event the pilots have to eject from the jet, their flight jacket is embedded with a unique safety feature.Watts: There's arm-restraint lines that are routed throughout the jacket. When you eject, they pull your arms basically in towards your body. You're basically ensuring that your arms aren't gonna get flailed out into the wind.Narrator: The jacket is also equipped with a flotation device, in case the pilot has to eject over a body of water.Marek: So, as soon as it touches the water, it will inflate the entire jacket, so they don't have to do anything if their arms are broken or anything after ejection.Narrator: Last but not least, the pilots learn to utilize the most technologically advanced piece of equipment, their $400,000 helmets. Each helmet is custom-fit to its wearer based on a 3D scan of the pilot's head. It's also equipped with noise-canceling headphones, night vision, and a forward-facing camera that records each flight. The pilot's heads-up display is projected directly onto their visor rather than on the glass at the front of the cockpit thanks to two small projectors inside the helmet. This allows the pilot to easily view key data, such as altitude, air speed, and direction.Watts: Since the jet is able to help us so much, really flying should be second nature. That way, you can focus on all of the information that the jet's giving you.Narrator: Finally, the F-35's Distributed Aperture System creates a 360-degree view of the jet's surroundings by stitching together feeds from six cameras mounted on the plane, enabling the pilot to see through the base and walls of the aircraft.Watts: I think a lot of people underestimate the amount of work it takes to become a pilot, and a fighter pilot specifically.Narrator: A one-hour flight, even a simulated one, might mean up to six additional hours of briefing, gearing up, flight inspections, and debriefing, not to mention the hours spent studying for each mission.Watts: So you could spend a whole day preparing and debriefing one single hour of flight. I think it's awesome to be in the fifth-generation stealth fighter, kind of at the tip of the spear. It's a heavily weighted aircraft in terms of the combat power that the Marine Corps brings to the fight, and I'm honored to be a part of that. It's definitely pretty cool to carry on that tradition, talk to my dad about everything that I'm doing now and how it relates to what he did. All the airports that he flew into are some of the ones that I've flown into as well, so he has stories. It's pretty neat.

How fighter pilots train to fly the Marine Corps' F-35B

When most frequent flyers tend to ignore the flight safety demonstrations onboard, too much stress on the cabin crew and pilots make those instructions actually essential while boarding a long haul flight. According to a news report by the Economic Times, the pilot who informs you how many metres above ground level you are cruising at, may well be sinking into depression. 
 
The officials at the Ministry of Civil Aviation are now internally debating whether pilots and cabin crew need to be put through regular psychological tests, a ministry official told ET. However, no such checks are mandated as of now. 
 
This comes in the wake of the recent Germwings plane crash into the Alps, where the co-pilot had suffered a bout of depression and made a suicidal move killing 130 passengers. This incident has raised concerns about the mental health of pilots in India too. 
 
As per the ET report, a cocktail of erratic schedules, inadequate sleep, pressure to maintain timelines, irate passengers and being employed by an industry that’s in a flux has put pilots, air traffic controllers and key staffs under severe duress. 
 "Many in the aviation sector hide their stress since they fear for their job. This needs to be addressed to ensure skies are safe," a senior commander with <keyword id="6358200" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Jet-Airways">Jet Airways</keyword> told the ET on condition of anonymity. 
 
Besides pilots, cabin crew, ground staff and ATC officials are battling psycho-somatic disorders, alcohol and cannabis addiction, insomnia and anxiety, sources in the aviation and medical fraternity said. 
 
Those who are married within the industry are deprived of marital bliss because they often go home only to see their spouses flying out. Requesting anonymity, an air hostess who works with Jet Airways said, "In January, I saw my husband after 20 days and we often meet at airports. Our fleet is expanding and there is shortage of cabin crew which adds to the pressure." She logs in 15 hours, for six days a week. 
 
The 27-year-old air hostess further added, "There is tremendous pressure. A counselor is provided once a month, but who has the time to visit?" Sadly, she suffers from insomnia like many in her team. The financial daily tried to reach out to Jet Airways via an e-mail, but hasn’t yet secured any response. However, <keyword id="6354706" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Indigo">IndiGo</keyword> Airlines sounds a breather. "Under our employee assistance programme, employees have access to the best of doctors and counselors," said IndiGo president Aditya Ghosh in an email response to the ET. "The objective behind this initiative is not to target anyone but provide assistance and arrange for facilities required by the person concerned," he added. 
This pressure is not just faced by the cockpit crews, even the air traffic controller on ground, who instructs a flight to attain height or descent, has to work under same kind of situation. 
"A controller cannot settle for 99.9% accuracy; one has to be 100% accurate. We work for six hours a day and get an off after four days of work. Currently, our company (Airports Authority of India) does not provide any facility or conduct any sessions to help employees recover from stress," DS Raghavan, a senior air traffic controller and former president of Guild told the ET. 
 
(Image: India Times)

No more ‘suicidal pilots’! India working on Pilots’ ‘stress factor’

<div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image">REUTERS/Kham Deputy Commander of Vietnam 918 Air Brigade Senior Lieutenant Nguyen Tri Thuc (R) looks out for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, that disappeared from radar screens in the early hours of Saturday, off Con Dao island March 12, 2014.</div></div>It has been 11 days now since Malaysia Flight 370 disappeared, and investigators still appear to be mystified about what happened.
The theory that the plane was stolen or hijacked and then flown for 7 hours on either <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/investigators-think-the-missing-malaysia-jet-is-most-likely-in-southern-indian-ocean-2014-3">a bizarre suicide mission</a> or to a secret destination somewhere remains the prevailing hypothesis.
But given the level of planning and execution required to carry out this plan, as well as the lack of any obvious motives, other theories also have to be considered.
Yesterday, we described one such theory - a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/malaysia-plane-fire-2014-3">fire on the plane that overwhelmed and incapacitated the pilots</a>. This theory fits many of the facts, and it is a much simpler explanation than the "intentional commandeering" hypothesis. But this theory, too, doesn't fit all the facts, especially now that it is being reported that the plane's course changed before the co-pilot said "Good night" to Malaysia air traffic control - a routine call that made it sound as though everything was fine.
The smoke-in-the-cockpit theory also <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/did-missing-plane-fly-for-hours-after-deadly-fire-2014-3">isn't sitting well with some pilots we have talked to</a>, including one who has flown the same type of plane as the one that disappeared, the 777 - 200ER.
These pilots point out that "smoke in the cockpit" is one of the most common emergencies that pilots train for and that 777s are equipped with full-face oxygen masks that the pilots would have put on before they did anything else. They also say that, unless the pilots ignored their training, they would then have run through a checklist of tasks that would have included descending rapidly and making an emergency radio call.
We wrote about <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/did-missing-plane-fly-for-hours-after-deadly-fire-2014-3">the impressions of these pilots here</a>.
And here's another, more detailed reaction that we received from a pilot who has flown the 777 (the pilot asked us to keep his employer and his name anonymous):
As a former B777 pilot, I find the "plausible" theory you published is not in line with the facts as they have been reported. I am a professional pilot with type ratings in the DC-9 (MD88, MD90), B757, 767 and 777 and I served as a Captain at a major US international airline. I feel I have some insight to add to the discussion about MH370.
First off, the idea that a wheel well fire could have burned unnoticed for over an hour after takeoff is not plausible. The B777 has wheel well overheat/fire detection systems that would have sounded an alarm for the cockpit crew soon after takeoff, were that an issue. Additionally, the cockpit is equipped with full-face O2 masks that provide a safe breathing atmosphere to every pilot. At the first sign of ANY smoke, the pilots are trained to drop everything and immediately, without hesitation, don those rapid-don masks that are designed to be easily donned with one hand and immedately secure themselves to the face. After that, the Captain will delegate duties... one pilot flies the plane and handles communications, while the other works the problem, using checklists designed to narrow the issue down and address it. 
While the pilot working the problem is busy, the pilot flying will turn the aircraft towards the nearest appropriate airport, begin a descent, and communicate with ATC and/or any airplanes in the area. While it is true that the checklists may, in the event of an electrical fire, have the pilots de-power certain systems or circuits, these steps are down the list; the pilots would have already declared the emergency and turned towards the nearest appropriate airport. 
I can think of no plausible reason why the crew never made any attempt to contact ATC during the event, except that whoever was in control of the cockpit did not wish to communicate.
In the case of MH370, a turn was made, but no descent was initiated at that time, nor was any communication with ATC made.
Additionally, the aircraft has been reported to have climbed to FL450, and descended to FL 250 later in the flight. If the flight crew had been incapacitated, this could not have occurred.
Finally, a fire that incapacitated everyone onboard would have, in every scenario I can logically come up with, destroyed the aircraft soon thereafter. I reference the Swissair Flight 111, an MD11 that crash off the coast of Halifax, Nova Scotia on September 2nd, 1998. From the time of initial cockpit indication of smoke until the crew was completely incapacitated was 14 minutes; the aircraft crash soon thereafter. In this incident, the crew had ample time to communicate with ATC, and was running checklists until the very end. Indeed, the crew elected to stay airborne and continue running checklists while dumping fuel, instead of landing immediately; this decision has been credited with the loss of all passengers and crew, and is exactly why landing immediately is the primary goal in an airborne fire.
For a fire to have been burning from the wheelwell for over an hour before detection is not within the realm of realistic possibilities, in my opinion.
While I agree that finding accurate information has been difficult with the Malaysian Government's recalcitrance and affection for misinformation, everything I've read points to a takeover event that was planned and executed by persons unknown. And while some of the facts can point toward the [smoke in the cockpit scenario], to believe that this scenario is correct in the face of all the information would indicate a gross negligence on the part of the Cockpit crew, and a refusal to follow basic emergency procedures. 
While we all have our own biases and hopes concerning this tragic event, as a pilot who flies in this theater of the world often, I am truly concerned at the Malaysian Government's reluctance to disseminate information, include other governments, or address their lax security procedures. Why were two passengers allowed to board the aircraft using stolen passports? Why did the first officer have a history of allowing passengers to ride in the cockpit of his aircraft while in flight? Where is the journalistic outcry for these obvious and dangerous breaches in security, and why aren't you, as a journalist, using your voice to call attention to it? Regardless of what is finally determined to be the proximate cause of this tragedy (which I readily admit could still be an accident) the big story should be that the Malaysian Government is putting the lives of its passengers in extreme danger by not enforcing universal rules for security and flight safety.
In a second email, this pilot expanded on how he is thinking about what might have happened:
I don't know what happened to MH370 any more than anyone else who wasn't aboard. But here's how my head works with this. I try to find the simplest, least complex explanation that works with ALL THE AVAILABLE FACTS/INFORMATION, and that doesn't need "added" leaps or assertions or events to have happened that we do not have any info about.

For instance, several things point to an "event," not an "accident." The lack of communication, the programmed turn, the climb to FL450 and descent to FL250, and the continuation of the aircraft's existence as a whole object, powered and uncrashed, for about 7+ hours after the disappearance.

The planes' ACARS and Transponder were physically shut off, by some accounts before the last radio communication from the crew. We know that the aircraft remained powered and in controlled flight for many hours after this point. The aircraft's route of flight in the FMS was changed by someone in the cockpit, as was it's altitude, both up and down. There was no "mayday" issued, and the aircraft did not answer repeated radio calls from ATC.

Let's look at a smoke or fire "accident." I do not believe, based on what we know now, that there was smoke or a fire. Why? Because there is no indication of fire, or smoke in the cockpit, during the time the aircraft was still in contact, and there is no indication of "fire" behavior in the aircraft's flight path. Additionally, normal emergency protocols train the crew to immediately don and wear full face O2 masks (the B777 is equipped with them), and designate one pilot to fly and talk to everyone (Aviate &amp; communicate) while the other pilot runs the checklist and fights the problem. The plane made a sharp left turn, towards land, soon after ATC communication was lost. This was shown to have been pre-programmed into the FMS by the pilots.

The "flying pilot's" job in an emergency such as this would be to point the airplane at the closest acceptable runway, announce to the world the nature of the emergency (ATC) and request help, and begin a descent so that at some point during the process, an attempt to vent the smoke from the cabin could be done.

Basically, none of this was done. This leads me to believe that there was no emergency of this type. For this type of emergency to be in play, it indicates that the cockpit crew would have had to willfully refused to follow their training and checklists to combat the emergency.

Airborne smoke and fire emergencies are extremely serious, and are trained for by every airline crew in the world. In the wake of SwissAir 111, which crashed off the coast of Nova Scotia, we know that a flight crew has a very limited period of time in which they must land the plane before disaster... only 14 minutes in the SwissAir tragedy... yet MH370 continued to fly for more than 7 hours after contact was lost. This is yet another clue that points away from an in flight physical, mechanical or other type of emergency.

There is evidence that Malaysia Air crews often allowed passengers onto the flight deck during flight, which is an indication both of lax safety and security procedures to my western way of thinking, but may be totally permissible at Malaysia Air. The FO had allowed some pretty girls to sit in the cockpit during a flight last year. His Captain did not protest. This anecdotal info could lend credence to the idea of hijackers gaining access to the flight deck after takeoff.

To my eye, a fire/smoke emergency does not fit what we currently know.

Neither does a missile, engine failure, structural failure, loss of pressurization or any other kind of "accidental" failure. This looks and sounds like a "planned event," not an "unforeseen emergency." Mistakes can occur, and the sad truth is that we don't know what we don't know… but until something comes to light that supports an "emergency" situation, the simplest and most logical explanation is that someone took control of that airplane and diverted it from it's planned course and destination.
SEE ALSO: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/malaysia-plane-fire-2014-3">This Is The Most Plausible Theory For The Plane's Disappearance We Have Heard Yet...</a>

777 PILOT: I'm Sorry, But I'm Just Not Buying The Smoke-In-The-Cockpit Theory

The <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=prime+minister+narendra+modi&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Prime Minister Narendra </a><a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=prime+minister+narendra+modi&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Modi</a>-led Indian government will complete two years in office on May 26. Modi and his army of ministers had their share of praises and criticism in these two years and their performances were also analysed at every step with an eagle’s eye.

	We also analysed the performance of Modi's lieutenants in the Cabinet and we begin with <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=piyush+goyal&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">India’s Power Minister Piyush Goyal</a>. <o:p></o:p>

	Goyal initiated many path-breaking initiatives in all the three sectors-<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=power+supply&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">power</a>, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=coal&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">coal</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=renewable+energy&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">renewable energy</a>.

	He has been working on keeping his word on ‘power for all’, at a time when millions of Indians had given up on the idea of having adequate power supply and most industries had switched to high cost diesel generated power for uneven power supply. <o:p></o:p>

	The reforms he brought under his leadership in the ministry was noticed by international rating agencies such as Standard &amp; Poor’s and also the funding majors like World Bank, ADB, IFC–who have time and again cited lack of reforms in these sectors as one of the major bottlenecks in India’s growth story.

	READ ALSO: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/We-have-sufficient-power-and-progress-is-on-for-last-mile-connectivity-saysPower-Minister-Piyush-Goyal/articleshow/51988653.cms">We have sufficient power and progress is on for last mile connectivity, says Power Minister Piyush Goyal</a>

	“We have a long journey ahead of us. I do hope that in these two years, we have been able to create a structural frame work where people have hope and confidence that things can be done honestly, things can be done with a great degree of participation and cooperation amongst difference sections of all the stakeholders,” said Goyal.<o:p></o:p>

	Presently, under ‘one nation, one grid, one frequency’, the Available Transfer Capacity (ATC) of southern Indian states such as Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Puducherry has increased by 71% to 5,900 MW from 3,450 MW in 2013-14. <o:p></o:p>

	“Transmission has gone up remarkably by 71% in only 18 months and most of the southern region today is power surplus-- from an era when they used to buy power at as high as Rs 16-Rs 18 a unit to reaching a point when they do not have to pay more than Rs 4-5 now. Usually, power is available under Rs 3 and with the launch of Vidyut Pravah,” Goyal said.

	READ ALSO: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Shout-out-to-northern-India-Power-cuts-will-be-a-thing-of-the-past-assures-Power-Minister-Piyush-Goyal/articleshow/51988798.cms">Shout out to northern India! Power cuts will be a thing of the past, assures Power Minister Piyush Goyal</a>

	After Goyal assumed charge, he accepted the challenge of turning around a sector that was symbolic of the impact of decades of inefficient bureaucracy coupled with visionless policies.

	Areas like <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=energy+efficiency&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">energy efficiency</a> have never been so popular in India. Today, India is running the world’s largest energy efficiency programme and on a recent visit to the US and UK, the two nations actually took energy efficiency lessons from India.<o:p></o:p>

	Also, one of the biggest achievements of Goyal-led ministry has been the introduction of UDAY or Ujwal to light up the power sector. UDAY is an answer to pull the state distribution companies out of their financial and operational inefficiencies.<o:p></o:p>

	 “I think efficiency gains in terms of UDAY, where we are talking about Rs 1,80,000 crore savings per year, when all states come on board, which I am quite sure of, all these gains will be enough to take care of the existing requirements of the discoms. I think we will have to perk up our acts, we will have to be efficient across states and the political pressure of people demanding better quality service and affordable power will make sure that (hopefully) we don't have to increase tariffs,” said Goyal.<o:p></o:p>
 Goyal's other focus area has been renewable energy. From just 3000 MW <keyword id="70990" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Solar-power">solar power</keyword> generation since independence, he set an ambitious target of setting up 1,00,000 MW, or 100 GW, of solar capacity within five years and by 2019.<o:p></o:p>

	In 2015-16, the largest ever wind capacity addition of 3,300 MW was achieved. There has been a 157% increase in solar capacity since 2014 of 4,132 MW. Solar projects of capacity 20,904 MW were tendered in 2015-16 of which, projects of 11,209 MW have already been awarded. 32 Solar Parks of 19,400 MW capacity have been sanctioned in 20 states. <o:p></o:p>
 <keyword id="6356966" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Coal">Coal</keyword> is the mainstay of India’s energy needs. The crisis arising from the cancellation of 204 coal blocks by the Supreme Court was answered with a fair and transparent auction and allocation process which, is estimated to bring in potential revenue for coal bearing states of about Rs 3.44 lakh crore over the lifetime of 74 mines.

	Electricity generation has also picked up, almost matching demand. Energy deficit during the current year has been reduced to its lowest level ever of 2.1% from 11.1% in 2008-09. Similarly, peak shortage has been reduced from 11.9% in 2008-09 to 3.2%, again, the lowest ever.

	Thermal electricity generation grew at 7.4% in 2015-16 with a strong performance in March of 15.9% y-o-y. To sustain this growth the highest ever capacity addition of 46,738 MW in conventional power has been attained in 2014-16, accounting for around a fifth of our current conventional capacity.<o:p></o:p>

	 “All the above extraordinary results have been made possible by the joint efforts of Team India and the unprecedented stress on transparency and accountability in governance. With our Government’s initiatives and the support of 125 crore Indians we will soon be successful in illuminating the life of every Indian thus creating an Ujwal Bharat,” said Goyal.

	(Anupama Airy is the Founder and Editor of EnergyInfraPost.com and DefenceAviationPost.com. She can be reached at <a href="mailto:anupama.airy@gmail.com" target="_blank">anupama.airy@gmail.com</a>​, Twitter handle: @anupamaairy)

	<o:p> </o:p>

Two years on, here’s the report card of Modi army’s lieutenant Piyush Goyal

India as a civilisation has revered nature for its life-giving properties and has been powered by renewable sources since ancient times. Modern India generates almost a third of its power using renewables sources – water, wind and a small part from the sun (&lt;1%) while the rest comes largely from fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas). These fuels have been the mainstays of power generation for the past few decades and would have continued to do so but for their escalating prices. Also, an ongoing lack of consistent fuel supply to meet even the current demand, along with the clamour against global warming, has put the energy industry under increased pressure and the focus is now on renewable sources of power like the sun, water, geothermal, biomass and wind. 
 
Large hydro projects, comprising almost a third of the current power generation sources, have hit numerous roadblocks due to people displacement, global warming, habitat destruction and land submergence. Biomass initially started off well but due to unplanned supply chain issues, has resulted in almost 75% of the 2 GW installed capacity coming to a standstill. Tidal and geothermal are almost non-existent in India while wind has played a significant role in increasing the acceptability of renewables, but hasn’t really contributed to a scalable solution. Biomass has been an abject failure due to fuel price rise, with 75% of the installed 2 GW capacity currently without adequate biomass supply. Wind turbines generate unscheduled power for just a few months, making them unsuitable for mainstream power generation, especially in the Indian context, and were only successful due to huge corporate tax benefits. 
 That just leaves us with the sun which delivers more than enough <keyword id="6357019" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="40" keywordseo="solar-energy">solar energy</keyword> every hour to our planet to power the entire world’s energy needs for a year. However, the major drawback is its periodic nature and capturing this energy for round-the-clock delivery at cost-effective pricing is the next paradigm of energy that is now receiving attention and interest. 
 Clean and <keyword id="60895" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="40" keywordseo="Green-energy">green energy</keyword> is a basic theory of modern life although the governmental focus is more on grid power, which is a polluting, inefficient and unreliable source of power. AT&amp;C losses account for close to 40% of the total power generation, amounting to a total of Rs 75 thousand crore and more every year that could wipe out energy poverty across the country. Smart grids and infrastructure updates are the need of the hour. But the government is still focused on spending Rs 2 lakh crore to bail out bankrupt Discoms whereas that amount could have been used to deliver distributed energy and reduce dependence on Discoms for a large part of the country. 
 The <keyword id="44734" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="Indian-Government">Indian government</keyword> recognised this potential and the MNRE (Ministry of New and <keyword id="34553" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="renewable-energy">Renewable Energy</keyword>) launched an ambitious programme in 2010 called JNNSM (Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission) to deploy 22,000 MW of grid-connected <keyword id="70990" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="40" keywordseo="Solar-power">solar power</keyword> by 2020. The programme has seen limited success with phase I meeting its PV targets and phase 2 on the way in the form of 750 MW via the Viability Gap <keyword id="6357455" type="EVENT" weightage="40" keywordseo="Funding">Funding</keyword> (VGF) programme. 
 
In the initial programme, CSP (Concentrated Solar Power), aka GemaSolar, but without storage, was touted as a replacement to thermal plants and received majority of the allocation but failed to take off significantly, with deadline extensions and penalty waivers being the norm. There are talks to revive this programme and its success will decide whether solar power can be considered as a base load alternative. 
 
Thermal-concentrated sources of energy are optimal for urban and semi-urban areas. However, towns need to reduce dependence on the grid and adopt the German model, which enables local, as well as distributed power, using net-metering. 
 
The MNRE programmes have barely managed to dent the potential of distributed RE, requiring focused attention and financial muscle to enable the nation on its path towards renewable energy. But MNRE has not paid out a large part of the residential subsidies of 30% of capital costs over the past year due to lack of funds, a serious damper, especially for solar on rooftops. The current VGF programme is scheduled to cost the MNRE Rs 2,500 crore and push solar procurement costs down to below Rs 5.5 per KWh, enabling it to compete with conventional energy. 
 
The essence of solar success lies in empowering the distributed 400 million poor who are currently consuming fossil fuel not touched by the power grid and thus reduce India’s CAD (current account deficit), environmental pollution and health concerns. But there lies the irony. The rural/tribal populace pays nearly twice or thrice the rate of power than those living in cities, but has received minimal attention although the impact is the highest to those using fossil fuel and government subsidies in daily life. 
 
Every unit of power generated has the ability to multiply economic growth, especially in rural areas that suffer from energy paucity due to unreliable connections or load shedding. State governments of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and a few other states have already initiated proactive steps by increasing the state subsidies, in addition to subsidies from the central government, and are also looking at replacing grid-connected agricultural equipment with solar-enabled ones. 
 
Solar has the potential to reduce the current energy peak deficit significantly and improve delivery due to its distributed nature, provided it can get the appropriate financial support from the Centre, as well as all the states. The central government continues to think that grid power, with its huge losses, is the solution. But in reality, distributed energy, delivered to every home and the excess pumped into the grid, would result into least amount of losses while reducing energy generation needs. 
 
Over the next few years, solar power will come into its own, both from financial viability and availability perspectives, with exponential growth in distributed solar, coupled with storage, transforming the entire energy spectrum in India. The future of Indian energy segment is here and it is the Sun that will continue to power our economic and energy growth into the next millennium. 
 
About the author: Ritesh Pothan manages two India-focused renewable energy groups on LinkedIn. He is also a founding member of <keyword id="2036013" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="40" keywordseo="Natural-Group">Natural Group</keyword>, a solar and renewable energy-focused advisory/consulting organisation, and helps drive significant value into renewable energy projects.

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