عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

Sudanese Airplane Hits Huge Bird before Landing

A Boeing 737 MAX takes off during a flight test in Renton, Washington January 29, 2016. | File Reuters
A Boeing 737 MAX takes off during a flight test in Renton, Washington January 29, 2016. | File Reuters
TT
TT

Sudanese Airplane Hits Huge Bird before Landing

A Boeing 737 MAX takes off during a flight test in Renton, Washington January 29, 2016. | File Reuters
A Boeing 737 MAX takes off during a flight test in Renton, Washington January 29, 2016. | File Reuters

A Sudanese airline has called on authorities at the Khartoum International Airport to address the “bird phenomenon” and its threats against aviation, people, and properties.

This call came after one of the company’s airplanes survived a disaster after it hit a huge seasonal bird, following its take-off from Ad Damazeen Airport.

The jet safely landed at Khartoum airport, but the crash caused serious damage to the aircraft's nose, just metres from the pilot's cockpit.

In a press release, the Badr Airlines, owner of the damaged jet, said the J4-314 flight took off on schedule from Damazeen Airport heading to Khartoum, but, "it crashed into a huge seasonal bird after about 45 minutes in the air, which caused serious damages in the jet’s nose."

The pilot was able to land normally at Khartoum Airport, thanks to the instructions mentioned in the jet’s operating guide.

All passengers were safe and were not affected by the accident. Media sources reported that the bird that caused the incident is one of the giant eagles that migrate to the country in the fall, and is locally known as the «bald hawk».

Badr Airlines said the incident is not "normal". But, the company dealt with the situation properly, which led to a safe and normal landing, without affecting the passengers.

Badr called the authorities of Khartoum Airport to put an end to the “bird phenomenon” threatening lives and properties.

This accident is not the first of its kind. In September 2016, about 108 passengers and a six-member crew survived a disastrous crash in a Boeing 737, heading from El Fasher west of the country to Khartoum.

The later hit an eagle in the air, and the collision caused a large hole in its outer structure, which obliged it to return, and to land safely at El Fasher airport.

Most Viewed

 
 
Varieties

Should You Stretch before Exercise? After? Never? Here’s What to Know

Philadelphia Eagles stretch as they get ready during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)
Philadelphia Eagles stretch as they get ready during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)
TT
TT

Should You Stretch before Exercise? After? Never? Here’s What to Know

Philadelphia Eagles stretch as they get ready during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)
Philadelphia Eagles stretch as they get ready during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)

For many people of a certain age, high school gym class began with reaching for their toes. Then, over the years, we were told it was better to stretch after exercise.

It turns out, both those things can be true, but the differing advice has created some confusion.

Stretching can help make you more flexible, improve range of motion in your joints — and feel good. David Behm, who researches human kinetics at Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John’s, Canada, offers this advice on when to stretch and how to do it safely:

Warm up first

It’s almost always good to stretch, but it’s better if you warm up first, said Behm, author of "The Science and Physiology of Flexibility and Stretching." He recommends a light aerobic activity such as jogging, walking or cycling for five or 10 minutes.

Follow that with some static stretching, the traditional way of reaching and holding a position (think back to that gym class). You can then do activity-specific dynamic stretching, in which you warm up the muscles with repetitive movements like leg lifts.

Behm says one minute is "the magic number" for how long to do static stretching per muscle group without fatigue.

Expand your definition of 'stretching'

Should you always stretch before exercising? If it's traditional stretching, not necessarily.

The better question, Behm says, is, "Should people increase their range of motion? Should people have better flexibility? And that is yes, because it helps prevent injuries. It helps with health. But you don’t have to stretch to achieve that."

Resistance training, for instance, can be an effective form of stretching, he said. Doing a chest press increases range of motion in your deltoids and pecs, whether with barbells, dumbbells or machines, so there is no need to stretch beforehand. Just make sure to start with a small amount of weight to warm up and then add more to train.

"You probably don’t have to do extra stretching unless you’re a gymnast, a figure skater, or even a golfer who needs a great range of motion through that swing," Behm said.

Nor do you need to stretch first if you’re going for a leisurely run. Simply start with a slow jog to warm up and then increase the pace.

Don't do it if it hurts

After exercise, "light stretching is OK, as long as you don't reach a point where you're feeling pain," Behm said. Since your muscles will be warm by that point, overdoing it makes you more likely to injure yourself.

Foam rollers can help with muscle recovery and have been shown to increase range of motion as well as stretching.

Do some static stretching before sports

If you’re playing a sport, Behm said, static stretching beforehand helps reduce muscle and tendon injury.

"If you’re going to do an explosive movement, change of direction, agility, sprint, any of these explosive activities that involve your muscles and tendons," he said, "you’re going to be stronger if you do static stretching."

People can especially get in trouble when they go back to a sport they used to play, whether it's tennis, surfing or any sort of team activity.

Also, stretch both sides equally. Lacking flexibility on one side also can lead to injury.

Sounds simple. Why all the confusion? Different studies over the years have either encouraged or discouraged stretching before exercise. Behm says that partly because some studies didn't reflect real-life conditions, or were designed with elite athletes in mind, not regular people.

"If you’re Usain Bolt, it makes a difference," said Behm. Not so much for the rest of us.