Emmie

Yorkshire butterfly lovers are being encouraged to cast their vote before 7 June as the search for Britain’s Favourite Butterfly enters its final days 🦋 yorkshire.com/inspiration/ga… The Peacock, Orange-tip and Holly Blue are among the region’s leading contenders in the nationwide campaign by Butterfly Conservation. #wildlife #outdoors #gardens

@TopGunMovie @gloryhammer youtu.be/gF5w7Dn7DqE?si…

Which song from a #TopGun soundtrack is your fave?

@aakashgupta @Robert_E_Kelly @WhiteAero

The air traffic controller cleared the fire truck onto the runway. Seconds later, the same controller screamed “stop, stop, stop.” The plane was doing 93 to 105 mph. Both pilots are dead. Everyone will frame this as controller error. One controller was simultaneously managing a United flight that aborted takeoff after an anti-ice warning, dispatching a fire truck across an active runway, and sequencing an inbound Air Canada landing at highway speed. At 11:40 PM. On a mandatory overtime shift at a facility that has been understaffed for years. A system that assigns one person that workload will produce exactly this outcome. The only variable is when. The FAA is short approximately 3,000 controllers. The headcount dropped 13% from 2010 to 2024 while flight volume rose 10%. Over 40% of the FAA’s 290 terminal facilities are understaffed. The New York TRACON, which manages the most congested airspace in America across LaGuardia, JFK, and Newark, has been chronically below target. Newark was operating at 59% of its staffing goal. LaGuardia handles 900 flights a day. The hiring pipeline is broken at every stage. Only 2% of applicants complete the full process. Training takes up to 6 years. The FAA Academy in Oklahoma City is a bottleneck, with roughly 35% of trainees washing out. Congress blocked legislation to build a second academy. In one recent hiring cycle, the FAA brought on 1,512 candidates and lost 1,300 in the same window. Net gain: around 160 controllers for an entire country. Three things need to happen and everyone who can make them happen has known for years. Congress needs to fund and authorize a second FAA training academy. One facility in Oklahoma City cannot produce enough controllers for 900 million annual passengers. Members of Congress from Oklahoma have actively blocked this. That needs to end yesterday. The FAA needs to cut certification time. Six years from application to fully certified controller is absurd. The agency’s own data shows tower simulators reduce certification time by 27%. They’ve installed them at 95 facilities. That should be every facility, and the simulated hours should count toward more of the certification requirement. The FAA needs to stop plugging staffing gaps with mandatory overtime. Controllers at understaffed facilities are working six-day weeks rotating between morning, mid, and night shifts. The NTSB has flagged fatigue repeatedly. The controller last night was managing overlapping emergencies during a nighttime operation. Overtime is not a staffing plan. It’s a countdown to the next runway collision. The controller said “I messed up” to a Frontier pilot who watched the whole thing. The pilot responded “No man, you did the best you could.” One of them is right. The answer determines whether this happens again.

If YOU are a teacher or librarian, and are interested in doing an online event with me, drop me a line at post at darrenshan dot com and we can discuss. Events run about 35 minutes. I do a reading, and answer questions. The events are fun, informal and, best of all, FREE!!! 😀

❓ Would you know what to do in a life threatening emergency? When every seconds counts, you could be the difference between life and death.

🎄 All we want for Christmas is safer, smarter sites 🎅 25% off CITB SSP Classroom Courses – now that’s a cracker! Think of it as professional development but with a Christmas discount 🎁 Hurry, unlike mince pies, this offer won’t last forever & will finish on 8th January 2026

@BDACatOldSarum Congratulations everyone, you are doing a fantastic job! @WhiteAero

Volunteers at the Boscombe Down Aviation Collection (BDAC), have been awarded the Kings Award for Voluntary Service 2025. This prestigious honour is the highest award a local voluntary group can receive in the UK, recognising exceptional community service. We are so thrilled!

@fesshole Get her something, even if it’s a supermarket gift set

Every Christmas my wife tells me she's very happy, there's nothing she wants and not to get her a present. I always ignore her plea - until this year. I'm feeling sick with nerves but it's what she wants. I'm also broke.

Professional Drivers health and safety survey.

📈🧠📝 Upcoming @citb_uk Endorsed Courses with 70% funding through CITB Employer Network 👷🏼‍♂️🏗️👷🏻‍♀️ You could be eligible for up to 70% funding through the Employer Network if your business is registered for the CITB Levy for the following courses.

@futtigue I have no idea how to register a car over there but you are kicking this adult task’s ass 👏👏👏

O2 price hike on a price hike update! I complained to @Ofcom that O2 was telling people when they were leaving airtime plans they "had to pay the handset in full" which is terrible, confusing phrasing and sounds like you can't continue paying by the month (you can!) I'm pleased Ofcom has sent me this... “If you’ve been told your price will go up by more than what you signed up to, you’ve got 30 days to leave your airtime plan penalty-free if you want, and you can keep paying off your handset in instalments. We’re concerned about people being confused by the information O2 has given about device plans. We’ve told O2 to change this so it’s clearer.”

📚💡 IOSH Courses - Up to 70% funding available through CITB Employer Network ⚠️🔒 Your business could be eligible for up to 70% funding through the Employer Network if your business is registered for the CITB Levy for the following courses. Pay only 30% + VAT per person

@pcahiwat @GailSimone Top quality Colin Robinson behaviour 🫡

@GailSimone trending-level troll 🫡

10 October is World Mental Health Day. Download our free #WMHD2025 resources to start the conversation with your network, end the stigma & build positive mental health in & through work: bit.ly/WMHD25sm   @WMHDay #MentalHealth #WMHD25 #mentalwellbeing #beamate

Life imitating art? @TheBoysTV @genv @VoughtIntl

UK, Aberystwyth: Women in tech social/quiz. An informal ALD get together, including quiz, organised by computer science at Aberystwyth University. 14 Oct, 5-6:30pm, free #ALD25 findingada.com/event/women-in…

What should we do?

Life comes at you fast when you're a Telegraph reader....

📢 Save the Date! 🎉 LSBUD’s National Damage Prevention Day 2026 📍 Hilton at St George’s Park, Burton-On-Trent 🗓️ Tuesday, 9th June 2026 🎟️ Tickets will be available soon. #DamagePreventionDay #DPD26 #SafeDiggingforAll #UtilityIndustry