Weekend Beyond Cars Roundup December 09, 2023

Here we present our weekly Jalopnik series that recaps the latest in beyond cars. We’ve showcased our most read offerings as well as some you may have missed.

A Eulogy For The Jeep Renegade

Airbus Sold Only One (1) Of Its Worst-Selling Planes This Year

Uganda Airlines is in the exclusive club of having two A330-800neo planesPhoto: Nicholas Kajoba/Xinhua (Getty Images)

The Airbus A330-800neo is the European aircraft manufacturer’s worst-selling plane. Only a single order was placed for the mid-size long-haul jet this year. Airbus somehow managed to do this despite having an effective market duopoly with Boeing during a historic shortage of airliners. – Ryan Erik King Read More

Here Are The Most Disgusting Parts Of Airliners, According To Flight Attendants

Photo: Budrul Chukrut/SOPA Images/LightRocket (Getty Images)

As it turns out, planes are really dirty. Every single day, millions of people are ferried around the world on what are pretty much flying buses, and in order to keep up with ever-tightening schedules, turnaround times to clean planes between flights are shrinking. Because of that, cleaning crews, who are doing their best, may not get every single nook and cranny on an airliner. – Andy Kalmowitz Read More

These Are The Fastest Private Jets Ever Built

Photo: Acroterion / Wikimedia Commons

While most people have to deal with lengthy waits through security checkpoints or being crammed in economy-class seats, the wealthy can either charter a flight on a private jet or they might own an aircraft outright. Private jets have been around for almost as long as jet-powered passenger aircraft have been in the skies. These smaller planes also tend to be faster on the airliners operated by commercial carriers. Here are the fastest private jets ever built: – Ryan Erik King Read More

Elon Musk Never Considered That Dangerous AI On Earth Could Follow Him To Mars

Screenshot: Tesla

For at least the last decade, Elon Musk has been obsessed with the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence. Almost as obsessed as he is with escaping the shackles of Earth to live on Mars. According to reports from the time, Musk was afraid that artificial general intelligence was going to advance to a point that it would take over humanity as the dominant species on this planet, and that was one of the primary reasons he saw as a reason for leaving to expand human culture on Mars. There’s just one flaw in that plan. If AI is smarter than humanity, could it not just make its own way to Mars? – Bradley Brownell Read More

YouTuber Who Intentionally Crashed Plane For The Views Sentenced To 6 Months In Prison

Gif: YouTube / Trevor Jacob

YouTuber and former Olympic snowboarder Trevor Jacob was sentenced to six months in prison for obstructing the investigation of the plane crash he intentionally caused. Jacob pleaded guilty to one count of destruction and concealment with the intent to obstruct a federal investigation last June in Los Angeles, the New York Times reported. The stunt was planned and filmed to produce a viral video for profit and notoriety. – Ryan Erik King Read More

Engine On Aging Russian Cargo Plane Bursts Into Flames During Takeoff

Photo: Leonid Faerberg / Wikimedia Commons

An Aviastar Tupolev Tu-204-100C had an engine burst into flames as it took off from an airport in Eastern Russia today. The cargo plane was departing for China, a journey that has become common over the last few years as Russian air freight traffic has increased in an attempt to resist Western sanctions. The sanctions have also led to a marked rise in aviation incidents involving Russian aircraft. – Ryan Erik King Read More

American Airlines Sued For Camera Found In Airplane Bathroom

The family of a teenager in North Carolina is suing American Airlines because they say a flight attendant taped an iPhone to an airplane toilet to record her using the bathroom on a September flight. Lawyers for the 14-year-old girl and her parents say the airline “knew or should have known the flight attendant was a danger,” according to the Associated Press. – Andy Kalmowitz Read More

U.S. Military Grounds $34 Billion Fleet Of Dangerous VTOL Aircraft

Photo: Bernd von Jutrczenka/picture alliance (Getty Images)

The American military announced that it has grounded its entire fleet of V-22 Ospreys after a fatal crash off the coast of Japan. A preliminary investigation showed an equipment failure likely caused the crash that killed eight Air Force Special Operations Command service members, the Associated Press reports. At least 475 tilt-rotor VTOL aircraft are in service across the United States Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy. – Ryan Erik King Read More

Suspect Arrested For Allegedly Selling Counterfeit Engine Parts To Airlines

If there’s one place you really, really don’t want to experience any engine problems, it’s when you’re more than 30,000 feet in the air and strapped inside a glorified cigar tube. So it was a big deal when it came out that a London-based company was accused of selling counterfeit engine parts to airlines. Now, the UK’s Serious Fraud Office’s investigation into AOG Technics has led to an arrest, Business Insider reports. – Collin Woodard Read More

Off-Duty Pilot Who Tried To Turn Off Plane Engines Mid-Flight Indicted On 84 Charges

Photo: Eric Thayer/Bloomberg (Getty Images)

An off-duty airline pilot accused of trying to shut off an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737’s engines mid-flight has been indicted on 84 charges. However, none of them are attempted murder, according to The New York Post. It looks like the grand jury just couldn’t commit. – Andy Kalmowitz Read More