The Boeing jetliner that suffered an inflight blowout over Oregon was not being used for flights to Hawaii after a warning light that could have indicated a pressurization problem lit up on three different flights.
Alaska Airlines decided to restrict the aircraft from long flights over water so the plane “could return very quickly to an airport” if the warning light reappeared, Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, said on Sunday.
Shares of The Boeing Co. tumbled nine per cent at the opening bell Monday, the first day of trading since the incident occurred. Shares of Alaska Airlines slid four per cent and Spirit AeroSystems, which builds the fuselage for Boeing’s 737 Max, plunged 14 per cent.
Homendy cautioned that the pressurization light might be unrelated to Friday’s incident in which a plug covering an unused exit door blew off the Boeing 737 Max 9 as it cruised about three miles (4.8 kilometres) over Oregon.
The warning light came on during three previous flights: on Dec. 7, Jan. 3 and Jan. 4 — the day before the door plug broke off. Homendy said she didn’t have all the details regarding the Dec. 7 incident but specified the light came on during a flight on Jan. 3 and on Jan. 4 after the plane had landed.
The NTSB said the lost door plug was found Sunday near Portland, Oregon, by a school teacher — for now, known only as Bob — who discovered it in his backyard and sent two photos to the safety board. Investigators will examine the plug, which is 26 by 48 inches (66 by 121 centimetres) and weighs 63 pounds (28.5 kilograms), for signs of how it broke free.
Investigators will not have the benefit of hearing what was going on in the cockpit during the flight. The cockpit voice recorder — one of two so-called black boxes — recorded over the flight’s sounds after two hours, Homendy said.
At a news conference Sunday night, Homendy provided new details about the chaotic scene that unfolded on the plane. The explosive rush of air damaged several rows of seats and pulled insulation from the walls. The cockpit door flew open and banged into a lavatory door.
The force ripped the headset off the co-pilot and the captain lost part of her headset. A quick reference checklist kept within easy reach of the pilots flew out of the open cockpit, Homendy said.
The plane made it back to Portland, however, and none of the 171 passengers and six crew members was seriously injured.
Hours after the incident, the FAA ordered the grounding of 171 of the 218 Max 9s in operation, including all those used by Alaska Airlines and United Airlines, until they can be inspected. The airlines were still waiting Sunday for details about how to do the inspections, but the cancellations of flights involving Max 9 aircraft at both airlines have begun.
Early Monday, Alaska Airlines was forced to cancel 20 per cent of all flights, 141 in all. United cancelled 221 flights, or eight per cent of its total flights scheduled for Monday.
Alaska Airlines, which has 65 Max 9s, and United, with 79, are the only U.S. airlines to fly that particular model of Boeing’s workhorse 737. United said it was waiting for Boeing to issue a “multi-operator message,” which is a service bulletin used when multiple airlines need to perform similar work on a particular type of plane.
Boeing was working on the bulletin but had not yet submitted it to the FAA for review and approval, according to a person familiar with the situation. Producing a detailed, technical bulletin frequently takes a couple days, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe a matter that the company and regulators have not publicly discussed.
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun called for a companywide webcast Tuesday to talk about the incident with employees and senior leadership.
“When serious accidents like this occur, it is critical for us to work transparently with our customers and regulators to understand and address the causes of the event, and to ensure they don’t happen again,” Calhoun wrote in a message to employees Sunday. “This is and must be the focus of our team right now.”
Democratic U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, chair of the Senate’s Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, said she agreed with the decision to ground the Max 9s.
“Aviation production has to meet a gold standard, including quality control inspections and strong FAA oversight,” she said in a statement.
Before the discovery of the missing plug, the NTSB had pleaded with residents in an area west of Portland called Cedar Hills to be on the lookout for the object.
On Sunday, people scoured dense thickets wedged between busy roads and a light rail train station. Adam Pirkle said he rode 14 miles (22 kilometres) through the overgrowth on his bicycle.
“I’ve been looking at the flight track, I was looking at the winds,” he said. “I’ve been trying to focus on wooded areas.”
Before the school teacher named Bob found the missing door plug, searchers located two cell phones that appeared to have belonged to passengers on Friday’s terrifying flight. One was discovered in a yard, the other on the side of a road. Both were turned over to the NTSB, which vowed to return them to their owners.
Alaska Airlines flight 1282 took off from Portland at 5:07 p.m. Friday for a two-hour trip to Ontario, California. About six minutes later, the chunk of fuselage blew out as the plane was climbing at about 16,000 feet (4.8 kilometres).
One of the pilots declared an emergency and asked for clearance to descend to 10,000 feet (three kilometres), where the air would be rich enough for passengers to breathe without oxygen masks.
Videos posted online by passengers showed a gaping hole where the paneled-over door had been. They applauded when the plane landed safely about 13 minutes after the blowout. Firefighters came down the aisle, asking passengers to remain in their seats as they treated the injured.
It was extremely lucky that the airplane had not yet reached cruising altitude, when passengers and flight attendants might be walking around the cabin, Homendy said.
The aircraft involved rolled off the assembly line and received its certification two months ago, according to online FAA records. It had been on 145 flights since entering commercial service Nov. 11, said FlightRadar24, another tracking service. The flight from Portland was the aircraft’s third of the day.
The Max is the newest version of Boeing’s venerable 737, a twin-engine, single-aisle plane frequently used on U.S. domestic flights. The plane went into service in May 2017.
Two Max 8 jets crashed in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people. All Max 8 and Max 9 planes were grounded worldwide for nearly two years until Boeing made changes to an automated flight control system implicated in the crashes.
The Max has been plagued by other issues, including manufacturing flaws, concern about overheating that led FAA to tell pilots to limit use of an anti-ice system, and a possible loose bolt in the rudder system.
——
Koenig reported from Dallas. Associated Press reporter Terry Spencer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, contributed to this report.
CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has completed its spinoff of South Bow Corp., its crude oil pipelines business, as an independent company.
The new company, which will be headquartered in Calgary with an office in Houston, will be led by Bevin Wirzba, formerly the executive vice-president for TC Energy’s natural gas and liquids pipelines business.
South Bow will run TC Energy’s crude oil pipelines business, including the critical Keystone pipeline system.
The move is the result of a strategic review in which the Calgary-based TC considered its options including the potential sale of the oil pipelines business.
Spinning off the oil pipelines business, which has long-term committed contracts with oil shippers, will give South Bow the chance to use its robust cash flows to pay down debt and enhance shareholder returns, while TC Energy will become a growth-oriented company focused on natural gas.
TC Energy — which has natural gas transportation infrastructure in Canada, the U.S., and Mexico — is bullish on the future of the commodity, in particular the potential for growth spurred by demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG).
TC Energy also has plans to look at new, low-carbon energy opportunities such as nuclear and pumped hydro energy storage.
The company has been under scrutiny by analysts and credit ratings for its significant debt load as well as for cost overruns on the Coastal GasLink pipeline project, which was completed in the fall of 2023.
TC Energy shareholders voted in favour of the spinoff of the crude pipelines business in a vote in June.
South Bow common shares were distributed Tuesday to TC Energy shareholders of record on Sept. 25. Shareholders received one South Bow common share for every five TC Energy common shares owned.
South Bow’s common shares are expected to start trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Wednesday under the ticker symbol SOBO. Trading on the New York Stock Exchange is expected to start on or about Oct. 8.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2024.
Why do I keep seeing LinkedIn profiles with an empty banner and/or no profile picture? Are these people oblivious to the importance of a first impression, or do they just not care?
You, I, and everyone judge; hence, we live in a judgemental society. Your image, which shapes how people view you, is everything.
You can’t claim to be a serious job seeker if you’re not taking advantage of LinkedIn’s visual opportunities to optimize your profile to make a strong impression. When it comes to social media content, visuals are scrolling-stoppers. Aside from your profile picture, your LinkedIn banner is the first visual people see.
View your LinkedIn banner as a billboard strategically placed at street level, which you can use to capture the attention of passersby who may have a potential opportunity. (In a previous column, I wrote that opportunities exist all around you; the caveat is they’re attached to people.) Advertisers spend a great deal of money to have billboards with a captivating visual and compelling message, making the point that billboard advertising is a good investment for driving traffic to their offerings. Your LinkedIn banner—your billboard—is free, so why not use it to market yourself to employers?
If your LinkedIn banner is currently blank, hopefully, you’re now convinced that leaving it blank is likely costing you job search and career opportunities, and you no longer want to leave it blank. Here are instructions on how to create a LinkedIn banner using Canva, a user-friendly graphic design tool that offers various customization options.
Step 1: Create a Canva account
Canva offers both free and paid plans. Their free plan is more than adequate to design your LinkedIn banner. Go to Canva’s website and sign up using your email address or social media account.
Step 2: Choose the LinkedIn banner template
In the Canva dashboard, type in ‘LinkedIn Background Photo’ in the search bar at the top to find a LinkedIn banner template. Canva offers a variety of pre-made templates—as I write this, there are 7,203 LinkedIn banner templates (Canva Pro)—that are optimally sized for LinkedIn, which is 1584 x 396 pixels. Alternatively, you can use Canva to create your LinkedIn banner from scratch.
Step 3: Customize the template
Here’s where the fun begins; experimenting with all the templates and conveying your message to employers. Canva provides an interface that allows you to customize your banner template in multiple ways.
Edit text: Click on the text elements in the template to change them. You can modify the text, fonts, colours, and sizes to match your personal brand or professional style. Ensure that the text is concise, relevant, and legible.
Add elements: Shapes, lines, icons, illustrations, and other design elements, which Canva offer a wide variety of, can be included in your banner. When used strategically, these will make your banner more visually appealing and emphasize specific aspects of your personal or professional brand.
Upload your own images: Nothing will personalize your LinkedIn banner more than incorporating your own images, such as a picture of you in your work environment or enjoying your hobby, a logo or any other relevant images, into your banner.
Change the background: You can change your banner’s background to reflect your profession, industry and personality. Canva offers a multitude of colours, gradients, and images, allowing you to create an eye-catching, scroll-stoping background.
If you’re actively job searching, consider adding your contact information and, at the risk of adding fuel to the ongoing LinkedIn’s #OPENTOWORK green banner feature, announcing you’re looking for your next opportunity or available ‘for hire.’
Step 4: Maintain consistency
When designing your LinkedIn banner, ensure it aligns with your personal brand and harmonizes with your profile picture. Consistency in design and branding is critical to creating a strong professional image on a social media platform. It’s important to avoid having your profile picture’s colour conflicting with those in your banner and vice versa.
Step 5: Review and adjust
Before finalizing your LinkedIn banner, take a moment to review your design. Check for any typos, ensure the banner is eye-catching, and convey the message you want to send to your LinkedIn network and hiring managers. Your banner should show your intention and indicate that you’ve taken a thoughtful and strategic approach to your profile.
Step 6: Download your new LinkedIn banner
Once you’re satisfied with your banner, click the download button in the upper-right corner of Canva’s interface. You’ll be prompted to choose the file format; select PNG for the best image quality. Once downloaded, your banner can be uploaded to your LinkedIn profile.
Similar to how advertisers run campaigns for a period of time, updating your LinkedIn banner every quarter is an effective way to get noticed. Aside from updating your banner to reflect different aspects of your abilities, you may also want to consider updating your banner image to reflect a relevant seasonal or holiday theme—autumn, Thanksgiving, Christmas or whatever holidays you celebrate. A visually compelling banner isn’t just an accessory; it’s a powerful tool in your job search arsenal, especially since, more than ever, image is everything.
Nick Kossovan, a well-seasoned veteran of the corporate landscape, offers “unsweetened” job search advice. You can send Nick your questions to artoffindingwork@gmail.com.
TORONTO – TD Bank Group has agreed to pay more than US$28 million after an investigation into manipulation of the U.S. Treasuries market by one of its traders.
The deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice has TD agreeing that a former employee created a false appearance of supply or demand in the market by placing bids or offers, only to cancel them before completion.
The agreement says hundreds of so-called spoof orders were placed, amounting to tens of billions of dollars of false supply and demand, in an effort to artificially increase the market prices of those products.
The resolution comes as TD is also soon expected to settle a sweeping investigation into shortcomings of its anti-money laundering program that the bank expects will cost it more than US$3 billion.
The agreement on the spoofing case has TD paying about US$12.6 million in civil penalties. It also faces US$9.4 million in criminal penalties, which court documents say is the statutory maximum, plus US$4.7 million in victim compensation and US$1.4 million in forfeiture.
TD says it takes regulatory and employee conduct violations very seriously, and that it reported the employee and fired him and has since enhanced its monitoring and compliance capabilities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 30, 2024.
