hInvestigator: Probe of plane crash to last a year
hInvestigator: Probe of plane crash to last a year
NEW YORK — The probe into the crash-landing of a US Airways jetliner will take a year, and the lessons learned from the spectacular accident will last much longer, a senior investigator said Monday.
“I think this one is going to be studied for decades,” said Robert Benzon, chief investigator on the case for the National Transportation Safety Board.
Benzon said the fact that all 155 people aboard the plane survived removes the guilt and finger-pointing that sometimes accompany aviation accidents. He said lessons learned from the successful ditching into the Hudson River could improve air safety.
“In one like this, I think there’s potential for a lot of good to come out of it, long-term good,” he said.
Russia, Ukraine sign deals
MOSCOW — Russia and Ukraine pledged to restore natural gas supplies to Europe after signing deals Monday to end a bitter dispute that led to a chilling two-week cutoff of shipments.
Europeans, who normally get about one-fifth of their gas from Russia via Ukrainian pipelines, anxiously awaited for the fuel to start flowing.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Yulia Tymoshenko, signed the documents at Putin’s government headquarters on the Moscow river. They resulted from an outline agreement they had clinched in late-night talks Sunday as heads of Russia’s state-run natural gas monopoly Gazprom and the Ukraine’s Naftogaz.
No decision yet on Senate seat, N.Y. governor says
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York Gov. David Paterson insisted Monday he still hasn’t decided whom he will appoint to the Senate seat expected to be vacated soon by Hillary Rodham Clinton despite news reports to the contrary.
The Democrat, who is in Washington for the inauguration, said he hopes to announce a decision by the weekend.
He said he has narrowed the field of as many as 20 hopefuls, including Caroline Kennedy.
“I’m not leaning in one direction, but I think I’m focusing on a few candidates now who, in my mind, would be finalists,” Paterson said.
The governor said he hasn’t yet evaluated the lengthy questionnaires from candidates that ask for background information including personal finances.
Sept. 11 suspects declare their guilt
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba — Two alleged orchestrators of the 2001 attacks on America casually declared their guilt Monday in a messy and perhaps final session of the Guantanamo war crimes court.
This week’s military hearings could be the last at Guantanamo — President-elect Barack Obama has said he would close the offshore prison, and many expect him to suspend the military tribunals and order new trials in the U.S.
Ramzi Binalshibh and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-proclaimed architect of the terrorist attacks, were unapologetic about their roles during a series of outbursts as translators struggled to keep up and the judge repeatedly sought to regain control.
Associated Press