D Friday, November 13, 2009 METRO Plane to crash as experiment TWO pilots will parachute from a passenger jet before it crash-lands in a desert as part of a scientific experiment to be screened on TV next year. Viewers will be able to watch as the pilots set the plane on a collision course in a Channel 4 documentary. Plane Crash is expected to give scientists invaluable information about how aircraft react in potentially fatal accidents. The 300-seat wide- bodied jet will be loaded with cameras and sensors, along with crash test dummies. Producer Geoff Deehan said: It will give us unprecedented answers to the big question: how can we make air crashes more survivable? Kidnapped priest: Im staying putA KIDNAPPED Irish priest freed after more than a month in captivity in the Philippines yesterday vowed to remain in the Asian islands and continue his work. Fr Michael Sinnott is resting at the Co- lumban missionaries compound in the capital Manila after his 32-day ordeal, which ended after he was handed over to police and government officials. The 79-year-old cleric, who suffers from a serious heart problem, said his captors treated him well and he remained in good health despite the conditions. I hope to stay on here in the Philip- pines and go back to doing my work. I dont know what my superiors are going to say about that, but that is my own wish, Fr Sinnott said. The Co Wexford cleric said he had no desire to leave and believed he would not be targeted by kidnappers again. If they wanted to kidnap somebody, theyd be inclined to go for a much younger man because I was not able to hike with the speed and keep going, he said. Fr Sinnott, who runs a school for chil- dren with hearing and learning difficul- ties, was snatched by gunmen from his gated house in Pagadian City, on the is- land of Mindanao on October 11. After being taken away by speedboat he was initially held outdoors in a cramped, swamped area, sleeping rough in a hammock, but was moved after ten days to a more open space in the jungle where he said he was well looked after. The night I was kidnapped they were quite rough in getting me into a small pick-up truck and getting me out of it and into a boat. But after that they couldnt have done more to make it easi- er for me in the conditions. It is believed a splinter group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front the largest Muslim rebel group in the Philip- pines was behind the kidnapping. Of- ficials from the organisation helped Irish diplomats and Philippine negotiators se- cure the release. There had been fears over Fr Sinnotts health because he did not have vital heart medication, but the cleric said his cap- tors eventually provided supplies. Video footage of the priest appealing for a 2million ransom was released on October 31. But Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin said no money was paid. Father Pat ODonoghue, director of the Columban Fathers in the Asian islands, spoke to Fr Sinnott after his release. In typical Mick form he apologised for causing all the fuss, he said. By COLM KELPIE Staying: Freed missionary Fr Michael Sinnott upon his release Picture: Reuters Seven-point plan to beat recession AN IRISH-based academic has handed EU chiefs seven commandments to help turn around recession-hit economies. Product design director at NUI Maynooth, Damini Kumar (pictured), who is the inventor of the worlds first non-drip teapot and one of Cosmopolitan magazines Top 100 Women, drew up the plan with 26 creativity ambassadors. Their aim is to pressure EU officials to invest in knowledge through schools, universities, learning at work and by promoting culture and the arts. The Manifesto for Creativity and Innovation in Europe, drawn up with the help of Erno Rubik, inventor of the eponymous cube, author Edward de Bono and Microsofts Jean- Philippe Courtois, includes investing in knowledge, emphasising the primary importance of schools and universities, promoting workplace learning, nurturing an independent cultural sector and promoting scientific research. index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html24.html25.html26.html27.html28.html29.html30.html31.html