'Poor training' caused Bali sea crash

A Lion Air Boeing 737 lies submerged in the water after missing the runaway during landing at Bali's international airport near Denpasar on April 14, 2013. AFP PHOTO/SONNY TUMBELAKA Source: AFP

INDONESIAN authorities blamed poor training for a crash in which a rookie pilot undershot the runway and landed in the sea off Bali last month.

All 108 passengers and crew survived the spectacular April 13 crash, which split the new Boeing 737-800 in two and was a major blow to Lion Air, which has signed record plane orders but is trying to shake off its poor safety record.

The preliminary investigation by the National Transport Safety Committee found the 24-year-old Indian national at the plane's helm was forced to hand control to the Indonesian captain since he could not see the runway upon descent.

The switch was made at 46 metres - below the minimum altitude considered safe to continue descending - and the captain ordered the plane to go around just one second before it crashed into the sea.

The report recommended Lion Air immediately implement several safety measures, such as reviewing "the policy and procedures regarding the risk associated with changeover of control at critical altitudes or critical time".

The airline should also reiterate safety protocols related to minimum altitudes to its pilots, it said.

The report described a sudden change in weather, with clear visibility minutes before the flight landed changing to rain and very poor visibility seconds before.

While a full investigation will determine the exact cause, the preliminary report ruled out any fault with the aircraft.

Lion Air was little-known internationally until it struck two of the world's largest aircraft orders worth a staggering $US46 billion ($46.2 billion).

In March Lion Air ordered 234 medium-haul A320 jets worth 18.4 billion euros ($24 billion) from Europe's Airbus to boost its expansion as air travel booms in the fast-developing nation of 240 million people.

That order followed its $US22.4 billion order for 230 Boeing 737 airliners in 2011.

But experts have raised concerns there is a lack of qualified pilots in Indonesia to fly the fast-increasing number of planes acquired by Lion Air.

Along with with most Indonesian airlines, it is banned from US and European skies for safety reasons.

Between 2004 and 2006 Lion Air suffered a series of six accidents which all involved planes overshooting or missing the runway. No one died.

View the original article here

These Aussie crooks are no ladies

Valmae Beck aka Fay Cramb was convicted for her part in the rape, torture and murder of Sian Kingi in 1987. Picture: HWT library Source: HWT Image Library

Judy Moran arrives at the Supreme Court for an appeal over the murder of brother-in-law Des Moran. Picture: HWT library Source: Herald Sun

Storm Brooke is infamous for what is believed to be the only murder inside a women's prison in Australia. Picture: HWT library

Victim Sian Kingi was enticed from a Noosa park by Valmae Beck, who pretended she was looking for her dog. Picture: HWT library Source: HWT Image Library

CHILD-killer Valmae Beck's role in luring a schoolgirl to her death earned her notoriety and hatred throughout the country.

In 1987 Beck enticed 12-year-old Sian Kingi from a Noosa park by pretending she was looking for her dog.

Her husband Barrie Watts then grabbed Sian and drove her to bushland, where he raped, stabbed and strangled her.

Beck and Watts were convicted of Sian’s murder, and police always suspected the couple’s involvement in other abductions and murders.

After being jailed for life Beck changed her name to Fay Cramb and became very religious.

But prison authorities had to move her to a different jail after attacks from other inmates left her with nerve damage, including one incident where Beck was bashed with a jam tin inside a sock.

After being ostracised by other inmates Beck – who was reportedly moved out of her kitchen job when her weight reached more than 150kg - became pen pals with child rapist Robert Fardon.

Manson family led to slaughter

They corresponded for eight years after meeting at a “lifers picnic” arranged for inmates in 1993.

In 1998 Fardon – who raped a 12-year-old girl and a woman in the 1970s – tried to get permission to buy Beck an engagement ring.

Beck died in a Townsville hospital in 2008.

Brit mum a shocking serial killer

What is believed to have been the only murder committed inside an Australian women’s prison also took place in Queensland, at Brisbane’s Boggo Road jail.

Severe overcrowding saw violence erupt on January 7, 1990, when armed robber Storm Brooke grabbed a sharpened barbecue fork and repeatedly stabbed fellow prisoner Debbie Dick in the back.

Dick’s friend Deb Kilroy managed to fend off Brooke with a chair that she smashed over her.

The Moors child killer's sick fantasies

Brooke spent more than a year in isolation following the murder.

Brooke was given life for Dick’s murder, but in 1993 broke out of jail using a rope made of knotted sheets.

She scaled a 5m high wall and a fence and spent two months on the run before being recaptured in a raid on a Gold Coast house.

Kilroy, who was serving a sentence for drug offences, later went on to form the support group Sisters Inside, and wrote a book her experiences in jail and how she had turned her life around.

Victoria’s “Body in the Boot” assailant Tania Herman is prepared to admit she’s a wannabe killer – she admitting strangling her lover’s wife and leaving her for dead in a car boot.

But the former triathlete will meet any suggestion she might now be a prison “top dog” with outrage.

Herman used a bag strap to strangle Maria Korp in 2005.

Ms Korp, 50, died months later when her life support was switched off.

Herman pleaded guilty to attempted murder and offered to give evidence against Ms Korp’s husband Joe, whom she had met on an internet dating site.

She claimed she had no idea he was married at first, and was later seduced into killing his wife.

Korp took his own life before Herman could give evidence.

Herman was recently refused permission to marry her lover, fraudster Nicole Muscat, behind bars at Tarrengower Women’s Prison.

Before that she had shared a cell at Dame Phyllis Frost Centre with Bernadette Denny, who was involved in the killing of swinger millionaire Herman Rockefeller.

Herman was interviewed for Rochelle Jackson’s book, Partners and Crime, in which she revealed she was studying for a fine arts degree and enjoys cooking.

But claims from prison sources that Herman and ailing gangland matriarch Judy Moran had battled for control inside Dame Phyllis Frost Centre “deeply hurt” her during Moran’s bid for bail in 2010.

Herman provided an affidavit stating she had never spoken to Moran in jail, and denying they were in a turf war. The mere suggestion “defamed our solid and good reputations”, Herman said.

Moran, a former showgirl and mother of slain gangsters Jason and Mark Moran, was later convicted of the murder of her brother-in-law Des Moran.

Now using a wheelchair, Moran had been a talented dancer as a young woman and earned spots on several television shows in the 1960s.

Inmates claimed she was exaggerating her physical ailments, allegedly leading to a spat in which Moran drove over the foot of another prisoner.

Her first husband, Les Cole, was murdered in 1982. Her former de facto husband, Lewis Moran, was also executed in 2004.

View the original article here

20 signs you're totally addicted to travel

Do you live out of your suitcase, even when at home? Picture: Thinkstock

DO you break out in a cold sweat when you don't have your next holiday planned? Do your relatives barely recognise you anymore?

You may be suffering from dromomania, or "mad travellers' disease" - a medical condition that describes people who are driven to wander long distances due to irresistible impulses.

Or you could just love to travel.

So how do you know if you're developing an addiction to wandering around the world? Take a look at this list:

1. Your suitcase is never fully unpacked.

2. You can swear in different languages.

3. The only reason you work is to save up for your next trip.

4. The flight attendants greet you by name - without looking at your ticket first.

5. You have more friends overseas than at home.

6. You plan your next trip before you finish the current one - or as soon as you get home!

7. Fellow travellers ask you for directions in foreign places, and you know where to point them.

In pictures: Tacky souvenirs

8. When you sit down at your work desk you reach for the seatbelt.

9. You have more miles in the air than you have on your car.

10. You own more of those tiny bottles of toiletries than standard ones.

11. Waking up at home feels strange.

12. You try to curve your pillow around your neck, like a travel pillow.

13. Some people collect books, but your room is filled with souvenirs.

Is your room filled with souvenirs? Picture: Watchsmart/Flickr Source: No Source

14. You're an expert on currency conversions and have a stash of money in different currencies.

15. You panic at the thought of having to stay in one place for too long.

16. You find it hard to sleep without the sound and vibrations from the jet engines.

17. You can pack in under five minutes.

18. Your bucket list is almost entirely travel-related.

19. You wear t-shirts or other items of clothing emblazoned with country names.

 20. You feel sad when you walk through your front door.

View the original article here

Country cops suspected of tip-offs

Andrew Rule, Associate Editor for the Herald Sun investigates improper activities of Police with bikie gangs in Victoria

VICTORIA Police internal "spy catchers" are set to investigate officers suspected of corrupt or improper relationships with outlaw motorcycle gangs in the Goulburn Valley.

But any moves by the anti-corruption Taskforce Eagle will not come as a surprise to likely targets.

Sources believe the taskforce plans to question at least one detective, other police and civilians over claims that local motorcycle gang members have been secretly tipped off about planned raids.

A former policeman has told the Herald Sun of suspicions over at least eight search warrants for properties linked to a bikie gang.

In each case, it appeared that weapons, drugs or other incriminating material had been removed from the premises before the police arrived with their search warrants. In one case, several mature cannabis plants vanished overnight.

It is believed most of the premises were linked to The Outlaws Motorcycle Club.

The Outlaws have two chapters in the Goulburn Valley - one in Shepparton and one in nearby Kyabram.

Members of both groups are regulars at a raunchy strip venue, named Club Rawhide, in an industrial estate that's walking distance from Shepparton police station and two popular hotels.

It is believed angry police found hidden electronic "bugs" in one regional station this week, after a heated confrontation between officers over rumours of the impending internal investigation.

The Outlaws Motorcycle Club's Shepparton chapter.

The search for the "bugs" was sparked by leaked information about likely targets of the taskforce's inquiries.

Investigators are probing friendships between serving officers and disreputable people. One potential line of inquiry is that a police officer who has taken leave still has access to local police facilities.

Investigators are believed to be checking reports the officer has worried colleagues because of the officer's relationship with a local man recently charged with aggravated burglary and drug offences.

The Herald Sun does not suggest the officer has committed any offence.

Some police are concerned about the background of the officer's latest partner, whose father was expelled from the force and jailed for long-term corruption.

Since Taskforce Eagle was launched last month, investigators have arrested a serving officer for allegedly leaking documents to the Hells Angels. Victoria Police could not comment specifically on events in the Goulburn Valley.

"Through Taskforce Eagle, investigations into associations between police and OMCGs (outlaw motorcycle groups) are continuing," spokesman Charles Morton said.

Members of The Outlaws are regulars of local strip venue, Club Rawhide.

"We have a number of avenues of inquiry ... at this time."

View the original article here

Fire rips through luxury hotel

A FIRE at a luxury hotel on Phillip Island has caused more than $1 million worth of damage.

The second floor of Castle Villa by the Sea on Steele St in Cowes was destroyed after a fire broke out around 7pm last night.

Firefighters battled the blaze for six hours with 13 trucks on scene.

No-one was hurt in the fire and arson investigators will return to the scene this morning.

The hotel commands up to $675 per room a night.

View the original article here

Coral Bay tragedy: woman dead, man missing

A woman's body has washed up on a beach near Coral Bay. Source: PerthNow

A WOMAN has died and a man is missing after what police believe to be a snorkelling excursion gone wrong in the idyllic West Australian resort of Coral Bay.

An emergency beacon was activated just after 4pm south of the coastal hamlet near Ningaloo Reef, which led to the 41-year-old woman's body that had washed up onto the beach.

The woman's 48-year-old partner is still missing in the water, with the Water Police Co-ordination Centre leading the marine search and rescue operation.

Two children aged 10 and 13, believed to be those of the man and woman, were on the beach at the time.

Police say if the man is not found tonight, the search will resume in the morning.

A team of police divers is preparing to leave Perth for Coral Bay early tomorrow morning if the man is not located tonight.

Earlier this afternoon, WA Police spokesman Sam Dinnison said an EPIRB was activated just south of Coral Bay Beach at about 4pm.

"At this stage we believe a body of a woman has washed up on the shore at that beach, it's been confirmed she is in fact deceased," he told ABC Radio.

"We've got police from Exmouth heading to the scene to undertake more enquires.

"We think the woman may have been snorkelling prior to this, but we're yet to confirm that 100 per cent.

"But we've also got reports that her husband may also be in the water, but we're not sure if he's injured or what the circumstances are there."

Mr Dinnison said an EPIRB was set off by a third party.

"We believe the EPIRB was set off by a third party who had access to it, which is great for us because not only can we become aware of an emergency situation, but it gives us the coordinates of where we need to go," he said.

View the original article here

'We've lost your boy, here's $7'

A Gold Coast with her young son who went missing from after-school care. She was offered a $7 refund of her daily fee by way of apology. PIC: Mike Batterham Source: Gold Coast Bulletin

A GOLD Coast mother is outraged that staff at a childcare centre lost her five-year-old son, then offered her $7 discount by way of apology.

The distressed mother, who asked to remain anonymous, said her son was missing for at least one hour after wandering off from the Helping Hands Network after-school care group at the Worongary State School between activities earlier this month.

The prep student had crossed nine roads - two of which were ramps to the busy Pacific Motorway - and was found about 2km from the school when he was picked up by another mother.

The police then notified the boy's mother, who claims Helping Hands staff did not even know the boy was missing.

After police returned her son, Helping Hands' regional manager rang the mother to apologise and said she would not be billed $7 for childcare that afternoon. 

Read the full story at The Gold Coast Bulletin

Taurus

Apr 21 - May 21

When the going gets tough, the tough often seem to become ever more reliant on protocol and precedent. They like to stick with time-honoured tradition. They feel that things a... Read more

Is prolonged grief natural or a disorder?

1:10AM By Clifford Fram, AAP National Medical Writer A TWO-YEAR outcry by psychiatrists around the world appears to have derailed plans to turn prolonged grief into a mental illness.

Family's cancer tragedy hard to fathom

Jessica Elder FACING the same life-or-death decision as Angelina Jolie, two Gold Coast sisters had double mastectomies while the youngest opted to wait. She's now fighting for her life.

Why men the world over fear forty

LISA POWER IS turning 40 time for a meltdown or cause for celebration? The answer, apparently, depends on your gender, new research shows.

'Teen girls slam 164 doors each year'

4:02PM EVERYONE knows that teenage girls can be volatile but now researchers have measured exactly how volatile.

 TOOLS FROM OUR LIFESTYLE SITES

Famous band riders

From Beyonce to Sinatra: Fried chicken to iced cheese. Check out the outrageous backstage requests from music's biggest names.

Most memorable Mums

WE take a look at the top 10 most memorable Mums through history.

Playing with food

Forget what your mother told you - always play with your food! This artist puts her food-blogging counterparts to shame with her colourful c...

Met Ball makeup

We take a (very) close look at the style and makeup at this year's Met Ball Gala in New York City.

The weirdest runway show ever

Check out weird and wacky fashions straight from the runway at the School Of The Art Institute Of Chicago.

View the original article here