Feature
Two pilots suspended for letting 10 year old fly Airplane
Algiers: To fulfill a 10-year-old orphan dreams, resulted in two pilots getting suspended for letting the youngster manipulate controls during a commercial flight, as reported in media.
It’s great that the kid, who reportedly wants to be an airline pilot when he gets older, got to dress the part, hang out in the cockpit and play around with buttons while the plane was stationary. But the charity initiative that put the whole thing together went a little too far when the pilots allegedly allowed the untrained kid to manipulate controls while the airplane was en route from Algiers international airport to a nearby regional airport.
As great as it probably was for the kid, a novice at the controls of an enormous machine carrying multiple souls thousands of feet above ground is a violation of aviation regulations. As a result of Algeria’s national airline suspended the two pilots, according to the media report.
The news site says one of the pilots seemed oblivious to the dangers of letting the kid work the controls, complimenting the boy for being “.very disciplined, calm and attentive,” and going on to say “I am sure he will make a good pilot.”
Though we don’t know the true extent to which the child was really able to control the airplane, it’s worth noting that back in 1994, all 75 people aboard the flight Aeroflot 593 perished when the pilot allowed into the cockpit his 16 year-old son, who accidentally pressed a pedal and sent the aircraft into a chaotic spin.
According to local media, the pilots were suspended because the act was a breach of civil aviation regulations.
The boy’s adventure was filmed by a TV crew as part of a charity initiative and aired on local television station, reports say.
The pilots were suspended on July 29 for investigation into the incident, it added. The number of passengers in the flight is unknown.
The boy, dressed like a pilot, was filmed seated in the cockpit and pushing buttons under the supervision of the two pilots during a flight from the capital Algiers to Setif in the east. The video showed the boy being taken around the plane before take off.
Entertainment
Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.