Roundup: Air France tail, more bodies found; Canada geese caused US Airways crash landing; the endangered English pub

Air France | The search continues for bodies and wreckage of Air France Flight 447, which crashed May 31 with 228 people aboard. On Monday, a Brazilian team found part of the tail from the plane. Thus far, 24 bodies have been recovered from Atlantic waters, according to a Bloomberg update.

Meanwhile, as the still-unknown cause is investigated, some speculate that the airspeed sensors, or pitot tubes, “became iced over and gave incorrect readings,” according to an Associated Press report. Some of the Airbus A330 plane’s operators have said that “they use a different brand of airspeed sensor than those aboard the doomed flight, distancing themselves from instruments seen as a possible factor in last week’s accident.”

US Airways | Blame the Canada geese. After analyzing bird feathers and DNA at a Smithsonian lab, researchers reported Monday that it was these migratory birds that hit the engines of US Airways Flight 1549 on Jan. 15, prompting a crash landing in the Hudson River in New York. Read this Los Angeles Times story for more.

English pubs | Fancy a pint on your rambles through the English countryside? Sadly, hard economic times are making the thirst for beloved tradition a harder one to quench. Alehouses have been closing down left and right, with more than 2,000 reportedly closing their doors since March 2008. But some are taking action. Read “English villagers try to save struggling pubs.”

- Susan Derby, Special to The Times

[Top photo: Chequers pub in Chipping Norton, England; Bridget Jones / Associated Press]

[Bottom photo: Canada geese in San Pasqual Valley; Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times]

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 9, 2009 at 9:20 am by Susan Derby and is filed under Airline travel, Good Morning, Great Britain, News, Tips & Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.