A man claims an airline tried to pressure him into giving up his business class seat so a parent could sit with their child – but he refused to play along and the youngster ended up sitting alone
He refused to swap plane seats (stock)(Image: Getty Images)
But after a flight attendant noticed a child sitting alone in economy while their parent was in business class, they reportedly made it their mission to reunite the pair. Taking to Reddit, he said: “I was asked to move from a row of two so a parent and child could sit together, and I don’t feel guilty for declining, no matter how much the flight attendant and the parent tried to guilt me.
“I wasn’t going to take a downgrade to economy. But even if I was asked to change to a seat in the same class, I would refuse. When I have to fly, I choose the seat that I want. Or, in rare cases when there are no assigned seats, I choose the best seat that’s available.”
He argued that parents should pay the extra cost to ensure they are seated with their children, rather than relying on strangers to swap seats at the last minute.
He added: “I’m not moving just because someone else is a parent. If someone is travelling with a small child, they need to plan better.”
The man also criticised the airline’s handling of the situation, claiming staff tried to pressure him into giving up his seat without offering any compensation.
He said: “While I did complain to the airline about 1) being asked to downgrade to economy without a refund or any compensation – I still wouldn’t have moved, but being told I should help without getting a refund was upsetting – and 2) being guilted by the flight attendants because I refused, I don’t expect a response.
“In Canada, the airline is legally required to give a refund if you are downgraded, so being told I wouldn’t be compensated at all if I changed seats was wrong.
“I don’t know what ended up happening, but the seat next to me was empty during the flight and I got to sit alone.
“Just because I’m not a parent doesn’t mean I should have to move. I don’t care if not moving makes me a bad person.”
Commenting on the post, one user said: “I’m surprised you weren’t offered booze by the flight attendant.”
Another added: “Why didn’t they ask the person next to the child to upgrade so the parent could move to economy instead?”
A third wrote: “So the parent booked business class for themselves and economy for the child, hoping they could guilt someone into upgrading the child for free at their own expense. You did the right thing.”
A man was reportedly nearly sucked through an airplane window Friday morning. Four people were injured. File Photo by Stringer/EPA
July 10 (UPI) — A man was nearly sucked out the window of a plane on a Ryanair flight from Greece to Germany on Friday, passengers said.
Not long after takeoff from Thessaloniki, in northern Greece, on Flight FR1879 operated by subsidiary Malta Air, a piece of an engine came off and hit a passenger window, shattering it. A 61-year-old Serbian man was lifted out of his seat and hung headfirst out of the window, and was kept from flying out by his wife, who held his legs, The Guardian reported.
Oxygen masks were deployed on the Boeing 737-800 as a precaution.
Data from FlightRadar24 shows the flight was airborne for just over an hour and reached 16,000 feet before descending back to Thessaloniki airport.
“According to reports, the passenger seated next to the affected window was pulled towards it and hit their head. Oxygen masks deployed and passengers seated in the row were relocated.
“The crew descended below 10,000 feet, burned off fuel and safely landed back in Thessaloniki around 75 minutes after departure,” the post said.
Euro News reported that authorities said there was no crack or breach in the aircraft’s fuselage, despite initial concerns about the damage.
Four passengers went to a hospital as a precaution, and one was kept for observation and tests.
Ryanair sent the rest of the passengers on to Germany with a replacement plane.
The airline sent a statement to media Friday.
“A Ryanair flight from Thessaloniki to Memmingen [Germany] on Friday morning (July 10) returned to Thessaloniki shortly after take-off when a passenger window dislodged inflight. The aircraft landed normally, and passengers returned to the terminal. One passenger requested and received medical assistance on the ground in Thessaloniki. In order to minimize any delay, a replacement aircraft was arranged to bring passengers to Memmingen which departed Thessaloniki at 9:53 local this morning,” the statement said.
A cabin crew instructor has revealed where he would choose to sit on the plane
16:40, 10 Jul 2026Updated 16:40, 10 Jul 2026
Some seats offer plane passengers more legroom (stock photo)(Image: Getty)
A cabin crew member has shared what he claims is the best seat on the plane. The regular flyer dished out advice for passengers looking to make the most of their journey. Wizz Air Cabin Crew Instructor Gabriel Randone shared his favourite seat. He also revealed the best seat for ‘free perks’ – if you’re lucky enough to get it.
Talking to the Mirror, Gabriel shared his preferred seat as a passenger. He said: “I absolutely love the front. Row one gives you extra legroom. There are some perks to staying there as well.
“For example, you would be the first one to disembark. Sometimes you’ll be the first one to come in as well. You have a reserved overhead compartment for yourself.
“So, yeah, row one is absolutely amazing. But to be honest, when I do travel, and I can choose to book a seat, I will book any window seat.
“I just love staring outside during the flight and enjoying the views.” According to Wizz Air’s website, front-row seats are classified as premium seats.
However, it’s not the only good option. Other premium seats include upfront seats at the front of the aircraft and extra-legroom seats in the emergency exit rows. Usually, passengers need to pay more for these seats, but sometimes they strike it lucky and get asked to move to emergency exit rows.
Gabriel explained that customers sometimes get ‘upgraded’ to these seats and get to enjoy the perks for free when the flight is not fully booked. “Sometimes, because the flights might not be fully booked, there would be no one close to the emergency exits”, Gabriel said.
“So what we need to do is to select someone who we call an ABP, an able-bodied person, and select them and to move them close to the emergency exits so that they can help out in case of an emergency”. He added: “Now, statistically, emergencies are quite rare, so that is basically an upgrade.”
Not everyone is eligible for these unofficial ‘upgrades’. The Wizz Air website explains: “For safety purposes, regulations prohibit passengers under 16 years old, overweight passengers, individuals with special needs, expectant mothers, and those travelling with infants (under 2 years old) from occupying Extra Legroom or Front Row seats.”
As Gabriel explained, these policies are implemented to ensure the safety of everyone onboard. In case of an emergency evacuation, passengers seated in the emergency rows will be instructed to open the doors. Any passengers seated in these rows will be briefed at the beginning of their flight.
A woman died in a brutal plane crash that killed over 100 people after “missing her original plane”. After a sudden flight change, everything altered in an instant
09:29, 07 Jul 2026Updated 09:29, 07 Jul 2026
The woman plunged to her death in a plane crash (stock image)(Image: Getty)
A woman missed her flight and, due to a drastic turn of events, ended up dying with dozens of people in a brutal plane crash. It’s reported the simple act of being late dramatically changed the course of her life, and she ended up plummeting to her death.
The woman’s story was recently highlighted on Reddit when a family member shared the travel tragedy in a heartfelt post, and people can’t believe what happened. A simple change in her schedule led to altering her path completely, and the devastating story has left so many people in total sadness and shock.
The story emerged after someone asked: “We’ve heard stories of people escaping death by being late. What are some tragic examples of people dying because they were late?”
To this, one person replied: “My aunt missed her flight out of Denver on July, 19 1989. She took United flight 232 instead, dying in a fiery crash in Sioux City, IA.”
To this, one person replied: “I am so sorry for your loss. That is a brutal way for things to happen.”
Another added: “I actually had a ticket on that flight when I was a kid, but I had gotten pretty sick the day before we had to leave, and my parents decided to cancel the tickets to Chicago. What is crazy is that we did an analysis of the emergency response to this crash when I was in college.
“It is a small world. I am sorry for the loss of your aunt.”
A third also replied: “My dad was on that flight. He fortunately survived and flew home to Chicago later that night and was at work first thing the next day.”
One more also noted: “I was supposed to be on that plane! Travel plans changed but, had they not, I would have been flying home on this flight.”
For those unaware, the United Airlines Flight 232 was a regularly scheduled flight from Stapleton International Airport in Denver to O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, going on to Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia, United States.
However, on July 19, 1989, the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 serving the flight crash-landed at Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa. This was due to suffering what has been described as a catastrophic failure of its tail-mounted engine.
It’s reported this led to the loss of all flight controls. Over 100 people died in the crash but the majority are reported to have survived.
The incident was said to be deemed “unprecedented” at the time and, though many people sadly lost their lives, the team onboard worked with professional calmness and extreme skill to pull off something some would have believed “impossible” to land the aircraft.
In fact, it has since been termed “The Impossible Landing“, as it’s often considered one of the most impressive landings carried out in the history of aviation.
WASHINGTON — President Trump on Sunday posted a falsified image of former President Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, waving before boarding an Air Force One that had been spray-painted with graffiti.
It came months after another post by the president that showed the couple as primates in a jungle. That one was deleted after stiff, bipartisan backlash.
The latest image shows the Obamas smiling and waving at the top of stairs alongside a baby blue and white presidential plane with graffiti painted on it that included the Democrat’s campaign slogan “Yes We Can,” “Obama” and “BLM,” short for Black Lives Matter. The post also shows graffiti in Arabic on the plane that says the phrase “alhamdulillah,” which means “praise be to God” or “thank God.”
The use of graffiti is a coded message to remind people of crime and urban decay and has been used in racist messaging against Black people in the past.
Trump has a yearslong record of intensely personal criticism of the Obamas, and of using incendiary, sometimes racist, rhetoric. That includes everything from feeding the lie that Obama was not born in the United States to crude generalizations about majority-Black countries and posts that have sparked anger on his Truth Social website.
The president’s post of the Obamas as primates came in February, during the first week of Black History Month. It was removed following widespread criticism from civil rights leaders and Republican senators. Trump refused to apologize, however, and a staffer was later blamed for making the post.
This time, the presidential plane is a sensitive topic since Trump last week took his maiden voyage on a new Air Force One — a retrofitted Boeing 747-800 worth $400 million gifted by Qatar. The aircraft’s trademark light blue hull that helped Air Force One blend into the sky was replaced with Trump’s preferred color scheme: a navy-blue belly with red and gold stripes.
After giving a speech on the National Mall in Washington to mark Independence Day and the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on Saturday night, Trump had no public events Sunday and spent the day at his golf club in Virginia. He’s scheduled to leave Monday for Turkey to attend a summit with NATO allies.
The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. Nor did a spokesperson for the Obamas.
Sunday’s post also followed one from last month when Trump shared an doctored image of Obama’s new presidential library in Chicago so that it looked like the building had a large bag of garbage on top and was surrounded by a wasteland. “The Obama Library ten years from now will be a ‘Mecca’ for those who hate America! President DJT,” he wrote then.
Trump has frequently criticized the Obama library in public comments, and he posted the library image twice on his social media platform.
The Air Force One image was part of a series of Sunday posts Trump made on Truth Social, including a past picture that appeared to show Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni grinning and gazing upward at Trump under the words “RESTRAINING ORDER NEEDED.”
That, too, could touch off a new firestorm at this week’s meetings in Turkey, since Trump had suggested that Meloni asked “over and over” for a photo with him during the recent Group of Seven summit.
Trump’s comments prompted Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani to cancel a subsequent, planned trip to Washington, while Meloni called Trump’s account “completely fabricated,” saying “Italy and I never beg.”
A WIZZ AIR pilot-in-training has revealed all about what it is like to work for the airline including the flying tips and tricks you need to know.
Having joined Wizz Air back in 2024 as cabin crew, Sebastien Harrison is now training to be a pilot through Wizz Air’s Cabin Crew to Captain programme.
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And from spending years in the air, he has loads of tips for travellers.
When it comes to flying itself, the 20-year-old had many tips including where the best place to sit on Wizz Air planes.
He said: “The best seats in the plane for turbulence are on or about row 15; this is because if the plane is pitching up or dowduringne turbulence in the middle of the plane there is least movement.”
And for nervous fliers, Sebastien says: “If you are a first-time or nervous flyer, let the crew know as soon as you board.
“They are excellent at providing reassurance and will check in on you throughout the flight.”
And when it comes to managing tiredness when you reach your destination, Sebastien recommends not napping before your bedtime so you get solid sleep and avoid “pushing back the tiredness”.
He added: “Go to the gym at maybe 5pm because it’s going to make you tired and then you can go to sleep a bit earlier.”
And of course, there are a number of destinations Seb is excited to see and recommends visiting.
He revealed: “I’m very excited for the Greek destinations like Santorini, because obviously it’s an island with very beautiful weather and beautiful scenery.”
And if you want to head to a really unique destination then Seb recommends Tromso in Northern Norway.
He shared: “It’s in the Arctic Circle and it’s very beautiful, set in a valley surrounded by mountains.
“It is some of the best scenery I’ve seen in the world.
“You can see the Northern Lights, head skiing, spot whales and see reindeer – it’s just a very interesting place with loads to do.”
He added that the destination is also super unique because in the summer you get midnight sun, and in the winter you get polar night, where the sun remains below the horizon between late November and mid-January.
For a more beachy destination, Sebastien suggests heading to Catania in Sicily – which is Italy‘s sunniest destination.
He said: “There’s a volcano which you can see from the airport and the beaches are really cool.”
Having grown up only 10 minutes from Glasgow Airport in Scotland, Seb knew he wanted to one day become a pilot.
He said: “As a child I was always excited to literally leave the earth – you’re defying gravity.
“I think being able to literally fly planes is very rewarding.”
Then in 2024, his dream of working on planes came true as he got a job as Wizz Air cabin crew.
He said: “Being cabin crew has been a very useful experience.”
“Obviously I went into cabin crew knowing that I wanted to become a pilot and I just thought as cabin crew I would have the opportunity to speak to pilots a lot and really gain a lot of insight about the job.
“I knew that if I was cabin crew, I’d kind of see the job firsthand – it’s a very sociable job being cabin crew too.
“When I’m a pilot, it’s probably going to make me a better pilot as well because I’m going to understand what the cabin crew do as well, but some pilots they don’t 100 per cent appreciate it.”
“At the moment we’re only doing classroom theory training and we’re in the classroom for about four hours a day on average.
“There’s quite a lot of testing maybe about two or three tests a week just to make sure that you’re progressing – there’s 13 theory exams that you have to pass in total across around two years.”
THOUSANDS of people have been evacuated across the south of France due to huge wildfires across the region.
Along with flights being forced to divert, we’ve explained everything you need to know.
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Wildfires have spread across the south of France, resulting in evacuations and flight diversionsCredit: EPASmoke seen over Canet en Roussillon which was evacuatedCredit: Alamy
Emergency services including water-dropping helicopters and firefighters have been deployed, with more than 3,000 people evacuated, after highs of 44C have been reported.
The blaze in France is believed to have been sparked by a discarded cigarette butt.
Officials have spent much of the summer battling with wildfires in France, with over 9,000 reported along the Mediterranean coast.
Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) says concerns it raised last year about the U.S. Navy’s E-130J Phoenix II program “have morphed into realities.” The timeline for moving from the development of the aircraft to putting it into actual production has already slipped by approximately one year. The E-130Js are set to supplant aging E-6B Mercury jets in support of the Take Charge And Move Out (TACAMO) mission. This involves providing aerial command and control support for nuclear ballistic missile submarines, including the ability to send them orders to launch strikes while they are submerged. Platforms tasked with nuclear support missions like TACAMO are commonly called ‘doomsday planes.’
GAO has provided a new update on the E-130J effort in its latest annual assessment of multiple high-profile U.S. military procurement programs. The Congressional watchdog released this report earlier today.
In last year’s iteration of this report, GAO explicitly called into question the choice of C-130J-30 Hercules aircraft, a four-engine turboprop transport plane, as the basis for the E-130J, warning that it might “not meet operational availability requirements.” The existing 16 E-6B aircraft are based on the larger, jet-engined Boeing 707 airliner, which is now long out of production. It is important to note that the Mercury fleet also supports a U.S. Air Force nuclear mission set called the Airborne Command Post (ABNCP), and more commonly known by the nickname Looking Glass. In that role, the planes provide aerial command and control support to nuclear-capable bombers and silo-based Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles. They are equipped to initiate the launch of Minuteman IIIs while in flight. The forthcoming Phoenix IIs will only be tasked with the TACAMO mission, something we will come back to later on.
An E-6B Mercury ‘doomsday plane.’ USAF
“As we reported in last year’s assessment, the Navy awarded its contract despite significant technical risks it acknowledged the E-130J program faced. A September 2024 independent technical risk assessment highlighted the complexity associated with the program’s planned integration effort, which officials acknowledged could increase as they integrate additional technologies,” per GAO’s latest assessment. “Since our 2024 report, the program has delayed its low-rate production decision by approximately a year as these system integration risks have morphed into realities.”
“For example, program officials said that contractors are now focused on modifying already-existing mission systems to reduce their weight, which the independent assessment anticipated would be necessary to accommodate them on the C-130J-30 airframe,” the report released today adds.
The first C-130J-30 Hercules airframe destined to be converted into a pre-production E-130J is rolled out in 2025. USN
“The program office stated that the E-130J program remains on track to recapitalize TACAMO capability through developing an MVP [minimum viable product], iterating system capabilities through software improvements, and establishing digital frameworks,” according to GAO. “The program office also stated that it is aligned with Secretary of Defense guidance through an acquisition approach that allows for tradeoffs and implementation of a modular open systems approach. The program office did not provide any documentation to substantiate any of these claims, which run counter to our own analyses of E-130J program documentation.”
In its annual assessment last year, GAO said the Navy “acknowledges technical risk,” but also that the service had highlighted “risk reduction contracts with subcontractors to address obsolescence and size, weight, and power-cooling risks.”
The Navy’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget request provides some additional context about the suite of systems the E-130J will need to perform the TACAMO mission.
“A dedicated communications platform, TACAMO aircraft features the ability to communicate on virtually every radio frequency band from very low frequency (VLF) up through Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) using a variety of modulations, encryptions and networks, maximizing the likelihood an emergency message is received by U.S. strategic forces,” per the Navy’s budget documents. “Included in these efforts are Government and Contractor Systems Integration Laboratories, Contractor System Test Integration Laboratory, Government Furnished Property (National Security Agency approved encryption devices, Ultra High Frequency modems), High Frequency and the Advanced Extremely High Frequency solutions, Top Secret network development and building required infrastructure includes power generation systems, cooling, flight deck avionics, Electric Magnetic Pulse (EMP) hardening, cyber hardening, and structural modifications to support integration of E-130J mission system equipment.”
A particularly notable and critical capability found on the existing E-6Bs is the ability to extend a five-mile-long antenna to communicate with submerged submarines. The E-130J will have a very similar, if not identical, antenna system to support the TACAMO mission.
A rendering of an E-130J Phoenix II. Note the antennas trailing behind. Northrop Grumman
As it stands now, the Navy plans to acquire six pre-production E-130Js in Fiscal Year 2027 to support different aspects of the aircraft’s ongoing development. At least one initial example is already being built. Some portion of those test aircraft might eventually take on operational roles. In its latest report, GAO says a critical design review is expected to come at the end of next year. With the aforementioned delay, the decision to then move into low-rate initial production (LRIP) is now projected to occur in April 2029. The initial LRIP lot is expected to be between three and six aircraft, but the total expected size of the E-130J fleet is unclear.
It is worth remembering that the Navy did previously operate modified C-130s in the TACAMO role before the first E-6A arrived in 1989. The Navy subsequently upgraded those aircraft in the late 1990s and early 2000s to the E-6B standard.
The US Navy operated a fleet of EC-130Q TACAMO aircraft like the one seen here before the arrival of the E-6As. USN
TWZ has previously explored the pros and cons of going back to a C-130-based platform for this critical Navy mission set, writing:
“It’s certainly worth pointing out that the E-6Bs, conversions of what were some of the last and most modern 707 airliners built, were larger and higher performance platforms than the EC-130Qs. The C-130J-30 is certainly a more capable aircraft than the C-130H on which the EC-130Q was based, but it won’t have the base speed and altitude capabilities of an airliner-sized multi-engine jet. Compared to the Mercuries, any TACAMO-configured C-130J-30 would not be able to get on station as quickly, or fly as high, limiting its ability to get above bad weather or establish a better line of sight for its communications systems.”
“At the same time, as the Navy itself has noted, the C-130J-30 platform does immediately open up the ability to use a larger number of air bases, airports, and airfields, including austere ones that the E-6B cannot operate from. This could be very useful in a contingency scenario where an opponent may have destroyed or otherwise rendered unusable many well-established bases, as well as larger secondary dispersal sites, which include large commercial airports. Being able to fly from smaller, tertiary locations could help to ensure that the TACAMO mission continues without significant disruption under such circumstances. This is also true during peacetime as targeting the TACAMOs on the ground would be much harder if they could easily operate from and sit alert at a much larger number of airports.”
“A C-130J-30 configured for the TACAMO mission would certainly have a mid-air refueling capability and the Hercules is already a platform that has demonstrated the ability to loiter over particular areas for long periods of time. Unlike the Boeing 707, the C-130J is still in production, as well, meaning that TACAMO aircraft based on this plane would be inherently easier to maintain and support logistically, and may also be easier to convert to this specialized configuration begin with. As time goes on, the J looks set to increasingly become the default base C-130 model across the U.S. military, as well. Compared to the long out of production 707-based E-6, support for the C-130J is already distributed across the U.S., and beyond. Training C-130J crews is even an easier proposition.”
Another look at one of the current E-6B Mercury aircraft. USN An E-6B Mercury. USN
The issue increasingly looming now is the age of the existing E-6Bs, which are becoming increasingly more challenging to operate and sustain. As noted, the Mercury fleet represents some of the very last 707s ever built before Boeing shuttered that line for good in 1991. The Navy’s plans to phase out the E-6Bs as the E-130Js arrive to help avoid any capacity gaps, which means the Mercury fleet will have to soldier on until that happens.
Last year, the Navy confirmed that it had scrapped plans to convert an ex-Royal Air Force E-3D Sentry airborne early warning and control aircraft, another Boeing 707-based type, into a dedicated TE-6B crew trainer, something TWZ was first to report. The TE-6B was explicitly intended to help relieve strain on operational E-6Bs. The Navy is now utilizing a contractor-owned, but government-operated (COGO) Boeing 737NG airliner to help meet pilot training demands.
The ex-Royal Air Force E-3D seen in the proess of being converted into the TE-6B trainer before that effort was abandoned. USN
To reiterate, the current plan is also for the E-130J to only perform the TACAMO mission. The Air Force is now in the very early stages of a separate effort to acquire what it is currently calling Looking Glass-Next (LG-N) to take over that mission from the E-6B fleet.
Part of that solution may entail integrating ABNCP-specific capabilities onto its future Boeing 747-based E-4C Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC) jets. The E-4Cs are set to replace the service’s four E-4B Nightwatch aircraft, as you can read more about here. The existing E-4Bs already have a ‘doomsday plane’ role, but do not have the exact same mix of capabilities as the E-6B. The Nightwatch jets notably lack the ability to order launches of Minuteman III IBCMs while in flight.
For the Air Force, the LG-N program is tied to larger nuclear command and control modernization plans, which might see more of these functions move to space-based assets, as well. All of this is also heavily intertwined with the ongoing development of the new LGM-35A Sentinel ICBM. Sentinel suffered huge setbacks, delays, and cost overruns, but primarily with the infrastructure side of the program, not the missile, as you can read more about here.
Enabling Peace Through Deterrence
When it comes to the Navy’s TACAMO modernization plans, challenges in integrating the necessary capabilities onto the C-130J-30 platform have now set back these efforts at least by a year.
1st Lt. Franklin H. McKinney is shown in a photo provided by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. McKinney’s remains were identified May 15, nearly 82 years after his plane vanished on a mission. Photo courtesy of the DPAA
July 2 (UPI) — A young World War II pilot who disappeared during a flight in1944 has been accounted for, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced Thursday.
The remains of 1st Lt. Franklin H. McKinney, 21, of the U.S. Army Air Forces were identified May 15, nearly 82 years after his plane vanished on a mission, the agency said.
McKinney was a pilot with the 35th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron, 14th Air Force, the announcement said. On Nov. 5, 1944, he left a U.S. base on a reconnaissance mission from Yunnanyi, China, over Burma and Thailand.
McKinney, who was flying an F-5 Lightning aircraft, failed to return from the mission. Personnel from the American Graves Registration Service searched along his planned flight path to the Chinese/Thailand border, but found no sign of a crash, the DPAA report said.
His remains were not recovered immediately after the war, and his name was engraved on the Tablets of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
McKinney’s personnel profile on the DPAA website says that a wartime report from the Royal Thai Air Force Museum later led researchers to new information. The report said that a plane was hit by lightning, exploded and crashed in a wooded area in Lampang Province, Thailand, near the time McKinney’s aircraft vanished.
In 2018, the profile said, third-party researchers found a crash site in the region that they matched with McKinney’s plane. In 2022, a recovery team excavated the site and found human remains. Modern forensic techniques eventually identified them as McKinney’s.
The pilot’s family will be briefed by the DPAA, CBS News reported. A rosette will be added next to his name on the Tablets of the Missing. McKinney will be laid to rest with full military honors.
McKinney’s home of record is listed as Rhode Island. This does not necessarily mean he from the state, but that he joined the service there, the DPAA said.
The agency is a department within the U.S. Department of Defense. It identifies its mission as providing “the fullest possible accounting for our missing personnel to their families and the nation.”
WASHINGTON — President Trump on Wednesday took his maiden voyage on a new Air Force One — a retrofitted Boeing 747 worth $400 million gifted by Qatar that embeds his personality more deeply into the institution of the American presidency.
Gone is the trademark light blue hull that helped Air Force One blend into the sky. The refurbished jet is painted to Trump’s preferred color scheme of a navy blue belly and red and gold stripes. It has the luxury features that the president believes a commander-in-chief’s entourage should have — plush carpets, lie-flat seats, wood paneling and a presidential seal on the seat belts, according to reported tours of the plane.
Trump told reporters that he was proud of the luxurious plane. “You can do two things: You can low-key it, or you can show it,” he said.
Reporters are generally not permitted to take photos on the plane unless Trump is present. But on Wednesday, Trump administration staffers posted images of the plane’s interior on social media.
White House communications director Steven Cheung posted a photo of aides gathered around a circular table that had off-white place mats and leather captain’s chairs. Monica Crowley, the chief of U.S. protocol, posted a picture of herself perched on a leather couch between a pair of Air Force One throw pillows. Mounted on the wall behind her was a framed photo of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial.
The jet carried Trump to North Dakota to see the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, its first official visitor ahead of its opening on the nation’s 250th anniversary.
The gift from the Middle Eastern power raised ethical concerns, but Trump saw the plane as a necessary replacement to the 35-year-old planes that had previously ferried him as president.
“This is a gift from a country that has treated us very well,” Trump said.
The new jet will only temporarily be in the nation’s service, as Boeing is expected to deliver in 2028 long-delayed planes that will permanently serve as Air Force One. Trump, a Republican, has said in the past that the Qatar plane would end up in a presidential library.
The Air Force has said that it did little to change the cabin layout of the plane and that it spent less than $400 million on security upgrades.
Nikhinson and Boak write for the Associated Press.
A flight attendant has shared a hygiene warning for passengers who wear certain clothes on a plane – and the reason involves what really goes on with airplane seats between flights
15:57, 30 Jun 2026Updated 15:57, 30 Jun 2026
She has shared her advice on social media (stock image)(Image: rparys via Getty Images)
Taking to social media to share her advice, the cabin crew member explained that aircraft seats aren’t always as spotless as passengers might hope – despite being cleaned between flights. She said: “Since everyone gets fuming mad at me when I say, don’t wear shorts when you travel… coming from a flight attendant.”
The crew member then revealed exactly what she had witnessed during just a single shift.
She added: “Guess how many diapers got changed on the seats yesterday on my one flight. Guess how many? Four.
“Guess how many announcements we made for people not to do that? Three. People don’t care.”
According to the flight attendant, every single nappy she witnessed being changed that day was soiled.
She added: “Guess how many of those diapers were poopy? All four. They change them on the seat.
“And you wanna rub your skin on there. You do. You’re dying to enjoy your staph infection. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Her remarks swiftly ignited fierce debate online, with scores of travellers admitting they had never stopped to consider what might have taken place on their seat before they boarded.
Reacting to the clip, one viewer wrote: “I will never wear shorts and I will never wear flared pants… that’s not water on the bathroom floor.
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“My lululemon yoga pants aren’t going to soak up that floor juice! Black leggings only – year round!”.
Another user added: “And the real issue is all airlines not having a proper place for parents to change their baby!”
A third commented: “I’ve had people change them on the tray table and acted shocked when I told them to not do that and gave them wipes to clean it up.”
While a further user added: “I never thought of wearing shorts. But I’ll definitely wipe my seat with Lysol now.”
A man named Daniel took to Twitter to share his frustration after a fellow passenger refused to swap seats with him so he could sit next to his girlfriend on their flight, sparking a viral plane passenger etiquette debate
The plane cabin can be a stressful place(Image: Getty Images/Stock Image)
What would you say if someone asked to swap seats with you on a flight?
It’s a difficult and touchy topic. We live in an age in which most people who fly will play the easyJet and Ryanair lottery, in which seats are allocated to them at random if they opt not to pay a hefty fee to choose where they sit.
That means that if you end up with a solid spot on a flight, you’ve either forked out for it or your lucky numbers have come in.
Tensions rose on a recent flight over seats, and specifically, whether it is acceptable to ask somebody to swap with you. It all kicked off when one man took to Twitter to vent his frustration after a fellow passenger refused to exchange seats with him so he could sit alongside his girlfriend.
Their reason for declining? They simply wanted to enjoy the window view.
But who was in the right here, and who was in the wrong?
In his tweet, the man, named Daniel, wrote: “A boomer refused to swap seats on a flight this morning to let my gf and I sit together on the last day before we’re apart for 2.5 months – because they wanted to look out the window. Strong generational metaphor areas, Shane.”
Hundreds liked his post, yet more than 200 people waded in with their opinions in the comments section.
One user branded him an “entitled brat” saying: “Did you stomp your feet like the spoiled, entitled brat you come across as???”
Another fired back: “Your lack of planning is nobody else’s problem.” A third chimed in: “Your petty complaint has no merit and naming him reflects very much on you, not the boomer.”
A fourth person argued that the poster could have taken steps to avoid the situation unfolding. “There are so many steps you could have taken prior to boarding to ensure you sat next to her if you felt it that important. You put yourself in that situation, not the boomer,” they wrote. Some users noted that it was difficult to fully assess the situation without knowing what the other passenger was thinking or going through at the time.
Following the wave of criticism, Daniel decided to launch a poll to settle the debate once and for all. He asked followers to vote on whether or not it’s acceptable to request a seat swap on a plane.
The final results revealed that 64 percent of those who participated considered it a “reasonable request”, while 36 percent felt you’d be pushing your luck by doing so.
Do you think it’s unreasonable to ask someone to swap seats with you on a plane? Let us know in the comments below.
11 people were killed when a plane belonging to a parachuting school crashed in Tomblaine, France. The victims included the pilot, five student parachutists, and five instructors. Some victims’ families were present near the airport and witnessed the crash.
Authorities say pilot and all 10 passengers – five students and five instructors – died in the accident in Tomblaine.
Published On 28 Jun 202628 Jun 2026
At least 11 people have died after a plane carrying people on a skydiving trip crashed in the town of Tomblaine, in northeastern France, local authorities say.
The aircraft went down at 11am local time on Sunday, Yves Seguy, the prefect of the Meurthe-et-Moselle region, told reporters near the scene of the crash.
The pilot and all 10 passengers – five students and five instructors – died in the accident.
Seguy said emergency services responded immediately, adding that authorities were collecting statements from witnesses.
Police urged people to “strictly avoid” the area around the airport in Tomblaine to allow emergency responders and law enforcement unrestricted access to the crash site.
The Ministry of the Interior said Interior Minister Laurent Nunez was on his way to the scene.
Damage is seen on the facade of Citic Tower Zun in Beijing, China, Saturday. Witnesses say a small plane crashed into Beijing’s tallest tower on Friday. Photo by Jessica Lee/EPA
June 27 (UPI) — The local authorities acknowledged the plane crash that hit Beijing’s tallest building Friday, saying the pilot died and 13 people were injured.
A short statement on WeChat from the local Chaoyang District government said only the pilot was on the plane and was killed in the crash. The statement said 13 people in the building and on the ground were injured. They didn’t identify the pilot or a motive.
The statement said, a “single-engine double-seat light sports aircraft collided with a high-rise building in flight.” It said the incident is being investigated. It didn’t name the building and only called it a skyscraper near the East Third Ring Road.
All references to the crash, video and images were scrubbed from social media in China. The state media, whose headquarters is across the street from the 109-story Citic Tower, hasn’t reported anything about the crash.
It’s not known if the crash was intentional.
Beijing airspace is tightly controlled, and even drones are mostly banned within the city. It’s not clear how the pilot got around the tight controls.
FL360Aero.com, an aviation news site, posted images and video on X from the scene, showing a plane’s tail lying on the sidewalk. The post estimated that it hit around the 65th floor of the building.
Flightradar24 posted on X flight data that appeared to show a deviated flight path for the plane after it took off from Shifosi airport in Beijing’s eastern Pinggu district.
White House Border Czar Tom Homan speaks during the Faith and Freedom Coalition 2026 Road to Majority Policy Conference at the Washington Hilton on Friday. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
The decision of where to sit on a plane could impact the rest of your holiday
08:31, 27 Jun 2026Updated 08:35, 27 Jun 2026
Picking the right seat could make a big difference(Image: Getty)
As millions of Brits gear up to jet off on their summer holidays, one decision that many may have overlooked could make or break their entire trip. Choosing the right seat on the plane might be the difference between relaxing on a sun-soaked beach or making endless trips to the toilet.
Research has revealed that whether passengers opt for a window, middle, or aisle seat could potentially affect their chances of catching a viral infection before the holiday has even got underway. However, your seat selection alone won’t be the sole factor determining your overall risk of falling ill.
How close you are to someone carrying a virus is the single biggest indicator of how likely you are to pick up an infection. This is followed by how busy the flight is, as the greater the number of passengers on board, the higher the likelihood that some will be carrying viruses.
Airflow throughout the cabin, passenger movement, contact with shared surfaces (such as in the bathroom) and whether or not you wear a mask will all have a bearing on your risk of catching a viral infection during a flight.
Dr Sophie Dix, Head of Medical Affairs at online pharmacy MedExpress, has offered guidance on how travellers can lower their risk of falling ill while flying, including advice on where to sit. She said: “Although there is no guaranteed way to avoid picking up an illness while flying, there are practical steps people can take to reduce their exposure to germs and viruses on planes.”
She shared her top tips for travellers looking to lower their chances of picking up an infection. Here’s what she advised.
Seat selection matters
“The best advice to avoid getting sick on the plane is to try and reduce as much contact with germs and other passengers as possible, so choosing where you sit may have more impact than you might have originally thought.
“Window seats are a great option as they are often far away from high traffic areas such as bathrooms and busy walkways. Aisle seats also increase your exposure to people who frequently pass by throughout the flight, queue for the toilet, and access luggage from overhead compartments. One study found that sitting in a window seat can reduce your interactions with other passengers or crew by up to five times compared to if you sit in a middle or aisle seat.”
She added: “Additionally, research may suggest that leaving the middle aisle free reduces the spread of airborne diseases by 37%, so choosing seats that appear to have middle aisles empty could be a strong choice. Whilst protection from illness is never guaranteed, this highlights that creating distance between other passengers greatly reduces your chances of getting sick.”
Wipe down any surfaces
“Surfaces such as tray tables, armrests, seatbelt buckles, touchscreens, magazines and window shutters can harbour germs easily as they are used so frequently by previous passengers. Wiping down surfaces with disinfectant wipes or sanitiser greatly reduces your risk of coming into contact with germs on them.
Wash your hands regularly
“Maintaining good hygiene standards while travelling can greatly reduce your chances of getting sick. Washing your hands regularly with soapy water or hand sanitiser, especially after coming into contact with surfaces, is a simple but effective way to stop the spread of germs while you’re on the plane.
Stay hydrated
“Cabin air on planes can be extremely dry and irritate your nose and throat whilst travelling, leaving you feeling more run down and vulnerable to picking up any viral infections. Make sure to drink plenty of water and keep on top of hydration throughout the flight to strengthen your immune system. Keep water easily accessible throughout the flight, and drink regularly, especially if you’re travelling with children.
Wear a face mask
“Wearing a face mask greatly reduces the spread of any airborne viruses, as we saw throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Crowded flights may become a hotspot for any infections due to the cramped space and close proximity to other passengers, so taking preventative measures may help reduce the spread of any current infections.
Ensure you’re well rested
“Those who don’t get adequate rest before a flight are over 4 times more likely to catch a cold compared to those who are fully rested. This is due to your immune system being weaker when you haven’t got enough sleep, making you more susceptible to picking up any infections.
June 25 (UPI) — Authorities in northern Canada on Thursday confirmed that three people are dead after a plane responding to forest fires in the Northwest Territories crashed the night prior.
NWT Fire said responders were able to access the crash site on Thursday and confirmed the fatalities.
“Our organization is grieving alongside the families, friends, colleagues and the broader wildfire community as we process this unthinkable loss,” it said in a statement.
“We will honor those who lost their lives in the line of duty at the appropriate time and in accordance with the wishes of their families.”
The bird dog aircraft, with three people aboard, crashed Wednesday evening near Fort Simpson where it was deployed along with an airtanker group to fight a nearby wildfire.
Though the identities of the victims have not been made public, Yellowknife-based Buffalo Airways confirmed one was an employee.
“It is with heavy hearts that we confirm the loss of one of our aerial firefighting pilots while actioning fire west of Fort Simpson,” Buffalo Airways said in a statement.
Buffalo Airways said the involved plane was a Turbo Commander 690 aircraft operating as a bird dog during the wildfire operations.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada announced in a statement that it is deploying investigators to the scene.
“My thoughts are with the families of the pilot and two firefighters who died in the plane crash near Fort Simpson,” Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada said in a statement.
“Protecting Canadians from wildfires requires profound sacrifice and courage. We owe them our deepest gratitude.”
Officials were responding to 19 forest fires throughout the territory Thursday.
The aircraft involved in the Wednesday evening crash was supporting wildfire suppression efforts on FS009-26, a lightning-caused fire located in the Marten Hills area.
Officials said Thursday night that the fire was about 100 hectares and responders were working to suppress its growth. It presented no risk to communities, infrastructure or buildings, they said.
PARIS — A founder of global gaming company Ubisoft, maker of “Assassin’s Creed,” was killed in a plane crash in western France, authorities said Saturday.
Claude Guillemot, co-founder of the company and president of the Guillemot Foundation, died in an accident, Ubisoft said in a statement to the Associated Press. It did not elaborate.
A Cessna plane carrying Guillemot and one other person crashed Friday evening in a field just before landing at La Baule Airport on the Atlantic coast, a La Baule airport official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to be publicly named.
Local media said both people aboard were killed.
Guillemot and four brothers founded Ubisoft in 1986. In addition to the popular “Assassin’s Creed” franchise, Ubisoft’s games include “Just Dance,” and the “Rayman” and Tom Clancy game franchises.
JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. — President Trump on Friday showed off the new Air Force One, a formerly Qatari-owned — and much debated — jumbo jet that has been converted into the official U.S. presidential aircraft.
The new plane — gifted from the Qatari government, raising a host of legal, ethical and security questions — will take on a new look, eschewing the Kennedy-era robin’s egg blue exterior in favor of white on the top half, its underbelly navy blue with a red stripe above it.
“This plane was transformed into a flying White House at a level of luxury that nobody has ever seen before,” Trump said from inside the massive Joint Base Andrews hangar, as a couple of hundred assembled Air Force personnel looked on. He spoke after stepping off the new plane in a dramatic flourish, as his signature tune “God Bless the USA” played.
He confirmed that he would be taking the new jet to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Ankara, Turkey, next month and indicated that he would be returning to China “at some point,” presumably a reference to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit that China is hosting in November. His return from the Group of 7 summit in France this week was the last planned trip aboard the old Air Force One, he said.
“Now, when we land at airports in London and in Germany and different places, nobody tops this one, and that’s the way we have to have it for our country,” Trump said, noting that the colors and the design were to “my taste, I will say.”
He added that the new Air Force One will do a flyover during the July 4 celebrations next month.
The gift from Qatar is serving as a so-called bridge aircraft to carry the president until new planes ordered directly from Boeing arrive. That is currently slated for 2028.
The administration formally accepted a luxury Boeing 747 jet from Qatar last year to be used as the presidential airplane, despite questions about security and the ethics and legality of accepting such an expensive gift from a foreign government. Trump has claimed in the past that he would not fly around in the Qatari jet once he leaves office and said it would instead be donated to a future presidential library.
Trump on Friday said the U.S. was in a “little bit of a logjam” as it awaited the delivery of the new jets directly from Boeing, which had originally been scheduled for 2024 but have been delayed. He recalled asking the emir of Qatar for the use of one of their planes.
“See, a normal president wouldn’t do this. A normal president wants to stay away from aircraft,” Trump said Friday. “But our country has to be represented properly.”
Members of Congress and others have questioned the cost and effort that would be needed to make security modifications to an aircraft from a foreign government.
The Air Force said in a news release Friday that any plane deemed Air Force One “must meet rigorous security requirements” and that the Qatari plane “was modified under a disciplined engineering approach that prioritized these exact core capabilities above all else.” The Air Force also said “much of the previous head of state interior layout” of the plane was kept intact.
The Air Force has said in the past that security modifications to the jet would cost less than $400 million.
Trump’s efforts to reimagine the presidential airplane date back to his first administration, when he directed that an incoming fleet of new jets would adopt a color scheme that was nearly identical to that of his personal airplane. Then-President Biden reversed the decision in March 2023 as an Air Force review suggested that the darker colors could increase costs and delay delivery of the new jets, but once Trump returned to office, he returned to his desired colors for the plane.
Other government jets that carry other top administration officials will use a similar red, white and navy color scheme, the Air Force said earlier this year.
An Air Force spokesperson, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive plans, told the Associated Press that the two current planes, known as VC-25As, will not be retiring. Instead, they will remain in the fleet until the new Boeing planes, referred to as VC-25Bs, come into service, the spokesperson said.
It is unclear how the older jets will be used but the spokesperson said that both the Qatari jet as well as the VC-25As will be available for use and “the Presidential Airlift Group will select the appropriate aircraft for each mission based on operational requirements.”
Kim and Ceneta write for the Associated Press. Kim reported from Washington. AP writer Konstantin Toropin contributed to this report from Washington.
June 19 (UPI) — A Boeing 747-200 made its last flight as Air Force One after it brought President Donald Trump home from Europe this week.
“Well done, good and faithful servant,” White House Communications Director Steven Cheung posted Thursday on X. “The Last Ride.”
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino also posted a tribute with a video on X.
“I have been fortunate to fly around the world on this iconic plane for 5½ years – of the 35 years it has been serving the U.S. Presidents…THANK YOU… .”
There are two 747-200s working as Air Force One, designated VC-25A by the Air Force. The two have tail numbers 28000 and 29000. The latter is retiring.
The plane has been in operation since 1990, with President George H.W. Bush as its first presidential passenger.
“The VC-25B Bridge aircraft will soon join the active executive airlift fleet alongside the VC-25A and C-32,” an Air Force spokesperson said.
Three 747-800s are being prepared to step in, including the luxury jet donated by the Qatari government. Officials have said it should be ready for use this summer and that the Air Force had finished its modifications and testing of the craft.
Gen. Dale White, the Department of Defense’s direct reporting portfolio manager for critical major weapons systems, said in a May statement that the Qatari plane will “relieve pressure on the aging VC-25A fleet.”
“Ultimately, the Bridge aircraft fulfills a critical short-term requirement, guaranteeing the Air Force continues to execute its no-fail mission for the commander in chief while laying a rock-solid foundation for the future,” the release said.
The new planes will have Trump’s preferred color scheme of red, white, gold and dark blue. He proposed the change while in office for his first term, but President Joe Biden reversed the plan back to the traditional colors. When Trump was re-elected, the new color scheme was once again adopted.
President Donald Trump presents a Medal of Honor to Tom Ripley on behalf of his father, John W. Ripley, during a Medal of Honor award ceremony in the East Room of the White House on Thursday. Photo by Aaron Schwartz/UPI | License Photo
A small plane crashed onto a highway in Laredo, Texas. Witnesses rushed to rescue passengers trapped inside the burning aircraft. Five people survived and one was reported killed.
