Travel

Jenifer Lewis is using her nearly deadly fall in Africa to teach life lessons ... emphasizing the importance of getting up after suffering such a catastrophic crash.

The beloved actress joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" and recounted her frightening tumble in Africa, but told us she prefers to focus on the incredible steps she took to get back up on her feet again.

Lewis said she walked out onto a deck at her luxurious accommodation on the Serengeti of Tanzania -- she says it was pitch black outside, so she never saw a huge gap in the deck between her and the infinity pool. Suddenly, she plummeted down 10 feet and slammed to the ground.

Jenifer was unable to move and had to scream for her travel companion to come to her aid, and call for medical assistance ... which took a long time. She told us, while she was down there she had some scary encounters with wild animals, before a Doctors Without Borders team airlifted her to Nairobi, Kenya.

JL says she suffered through a 9-hour surgery before spending the next 6 days in the ICU ... and then she had to start a long stretch in a hospital bed.

She's got a ton of kind words for the people who took care of her when she couldn't walk or go to the bathroom by herself.

As for why she's sharing her story now ... Jenifer wanted to tell people she'd fallen once she could also tell the world how she'd gotten back up -- an inspiring message no doubt.

Jeni was on the verge of tears as she recalled her ordeal, but soldiered through the convo, displaying the kind of strength that got her back to her feet.

Boeing's video footage showing exactly who worked on the 737 Max 9 door that flew off an Alaska Airlines flight has been erased, and the NTSB believes the company's trying to hide the information.

National Transportation Safety Board chairman, Jennifer Homendy, wrote a letter Wednesday to the Senate Commerce Committee ... saying they're still in the dark about which Boeing employees were involved in the door's repair. They had requested the list of names when the preliminary report into the investigation revealed the door had no bolts during the mid-flight scare on January 5.

Homendy accused Boeing of obstructing their investigation ... telling Senators Maria Cantwell and Ted Cruz, "We still have no clue who did the work to open, reinstall, and close the door plug on the accident aircraft." She added, "Boeing has informed us that they are unable to find the records documenting this work."

During her testimony before the SCC earlier this month, Homendy clarified Boeing only provided a list of employees who report to the door crew manager, but not exactly who had worked on the door plug in question.

In her letter, Homendy says she then reached out to Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun to obtain the names, but he informed her he couldn't provide that info, maintaining Boeing had no records of the work being done.

Homendy says the absence of those names has resulted in a frustrating roadblock in the NTSB's investigation -- and she clarifies they're not seeking the names for punitive reasons, and will safeguard the identities of the employees involved.

You'll remember ... the Boeing aircraft had to make an emergency landing in Portland after one of the cabin windows blew out, causing a terrifying scene with belongings of frightened passengers being sucked out.

Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci announced at the time the company would be grounding its fleet of 65 Boeing 737-9 aircraft temporarily for a thorough inspection and maintenance as a precautionary measure. By the end of the month, they got the all-clear to resume flights.

However, former Boeing quality manager John Barnett came on "TMZ Live" to make it clear he disagreed with that decision ... because he claimed Boeing was ignoring significant safety concerns.

Barnett had even taken his fight against Boeing a step further by filing a lawsuit, alleging retaliation for his whistleblowing efforts. He sat for a deposition in the cast last week, and the very next day he was found dead ... allegedly by suicide.

Los abogados del denunciante del Boeing dicen que no parecía suicida antes del incidente, y es por eso que piensan que su muerte es increíblemente sospechosa y están pidiendo respuestas de inmediato.

Robert Turkewitz y Brian Knowles -que estuvieron con John Barnett en una demanda por represalias contra Boeing- le dicen a TMZ que Barnett estaba en medio de las deposiciones de su caso civil, un proceso que aseguran estaba a punto de terminar.

Nos dicen que Barnett estaba de buen humor y listo para seguir adelante. Y añaden: "No vimos ningún indicio de que fuera a quitarse la vida. Nadie puede creerlo".

Y añaden: "Todos estamos desolados. Necesitamos más información sobre lo que le ocurrió a John. La policía de Charleston tiene que investigar esto a fondo y con precisión y contarle al público lo que averigüen. No se puede dejar ningún detalle sin investigar".

Los abogados explican que Barnett había presentado la demanda, porque sentía que Boeing tomó represalias contra él después de tratar de hacer sonar la alarma, debido a que él creía que estaban haciendo la vista gorda a las cuestiones de seguridad, y alegó en su demanda que habían fomentado un ambiente de trabajo hostil.

Como hemos dicho, el caso de Barnett parecía estar terminando, y Barnett se quitó la vida repentinamente en medio de todo el drama. Su equipo legal asegura que hay gato encerrado. Knowles incluso fue citado, llamando "presunta" a la herida autoinfligida que se le atribuye a su cliente.

Como hemos informado, Barnett estuvo hablando sobre los problemas que el Boeing había experimentado últimamente, incluso llegando a nuestro propio programa, "TMZ Live".

Explicó por qué sentía que conseguir la luz verde para volver a surcar los cielos tan pronto luego del incidente de Alaska Airlines era dudosa, alegando que esto le recordaba su propia experiencia con Boeing como gerente de calidad. Período durante el cual alegó que vio muchos problemas.

2:03 PM PT -- John Barnett's family released a statement on their loved one's passing, and they reiterated his cause of shining a light on safety concerns that he was raising while at Boeing -- noting he was deeply affected by the lawsuit he was embroiled in, which they say was going to trial in June. His family says they believe his experience at Boeing contributed to his death.

The Boeing whistleblower's attorneys say he didn't appear suicidal before he died -- which is why they think his death is incredibly suspicious ... and are calling for answers immediately.

Robert Turkewitz and Brian Knowles -- who were repping John Barnett in a retaliation lawsuit against Boeing, which was well underway -- tell TMZ ... Barnett was in the middle of depositions last week in his civil case, a process they say was nearing an end soon.

We're told Barnett was in good spirits and very much so looking forward to putting this whole saga behind him, ready to move on. They add, "We didn't see any indication he would take his own life. No one can believe it."

They add, "We are all devastated. We need more information about what happened to John. The Charleston police need to investigate this fully and accurately and tell the public what they find out. No detail can be left unturned."

The attorneys explain that Barnett had filed suit because he felt Boeing had retaliated against him after he tried sounding the alarm on what he believed was them turning a blind eye to safety issues ... and alleged in his lawsuit they'd fostered a hostile work environment.

Like we said ... Barnett's case seemed to be wrapping up -- and amid reports Barnett took his own life in the middle of all this, it's safe to say his legal team is incredulous. Knowles was even quoted as calling the self-inflicted wound being attributed to his client "alleged."

As we reported ... Barnett had been going around and speaking very publicly about the issues Boeing had been experiencing lately -- even coming onto our own show, "TMZ Live."

He explained why he felt them getting the green light to hit the skies again so soon after the Alaska Airlines incident was dubious -- claiming this was in line with his own experience with Boeing as a quality manager ... a period during which he alleged he saw many lapses.

In the aftermath of our chat with Barnett, Boeing planes have continued to experience problems -- including something dramatic just this week ... with a flight from Australia to New Zealand beginning to drop out of the sky after apparent massive equipment failure.

Las vacaciones de primavera se parecen más a un combate de la UFC, ya que el caos total se apoderó de las playas al sur de Florida, y la buena gente de Fort Lauderdale probablemente está diciendo: "¡¡¡Muchas gracias, Miami!!!"

La escapada anual de los estudiantes universitarios comenzó el lunes con miles de jóvenes haciendo su arribo a Florida y las cosas se salieron casi inmediatamente de control, cuando unas estudiantes en bikini se enzarzaron en una pelea cuerpo a cuerpo como muestra este video, que rápidamente se convirtió en una riña que involucró a decenas.

No sabemos exactamente lo que provocó la pelea, pero creemos que el alcohol jugó un rol.

Este es exactamente el tipo de escena que temía Miami Beach cuando la ciudad impuso nuevas restricciones antes de las vacaciones de primavera, pero como se puede ver, la locura se ha trasladado un poco más arriba de la costa a Lauderdale.

La decisión de Miami se produjo luego de registrar 2 tiroteos durante las vacaciones del año pasado, que también provocaron 488 detenciones y más de 230 casos de delitos graves.

Como informamos, la ciudad publicó un video de campaña donde se instó a los spring breakers a llevar la fiesta para otra parte y se les informó que habría toques de queda, control de los bolsos, acceso restringido a la playa y puestos de control de DUI.

Muy desalentador para los universitarios, por lo que no es de extrañar que Fort Lauderdale esté absorbiendo las masivas fiestas ahora.

Un día después, la ciudad ya ha tenido que reforzar la presencia policial, poniendo más agentes en la arena para patrullar las fiestas en la playa y unidades K-9 para inspeccionar a los juerguistas que estaban tomando el sol.

11:03 AM PT -- Fort Lauderdale PD is saying this brawl has nothing to do with their city or their beaches -- so it's unclear where exactly this happened ... but it's still pretty crazy all the same.

Spring Break's looking more like a UFC match as all-out mayhem erupts on South Florida beaches ... and the good people of Fort Lauderdale are probably saying, "Thanks a lot, Miami!!!"

The annual college student getaway kicked off Monday with thousands of students making their way to FL, and it almost immediately got outta hand. Multiple bikini-clad students went toe-to-toe in the sand -- as the video shows, it quickly turned into a melee involving dozens.

No word on what exactly sparked the brawl, but we're guessing alcohol played a part.

This is exactly the kinda scene Miami Beach feared when the city imposed new restrictions ahead of Spring Break -- but, as you can see, the madness has just moved up the coast a bit to Lauderdale.

Miami's decision came after 2 shootings during last year's break, which also resulted in 488 arrests ... and more than 230 of them were felony cases.

As we reported ... the city posted a campaign video where spring breakers were urged to take the party elsewhere and informed there would be threatened curfews, bag checks, restricted beach access and DUI checkpoints.

All vibe killers, so it's no wonder Fort Lauderdale is absorbing the massive party scene.

One day in, and that city has already had to ramp up the police presence ... putting more officers in the sand to patrol beach parties, and K-9 units were inspecting sunbathing revelers.

Cops or not, one thing's already clear -- when the crowds gather, there's gonna be fighting.

Un pasajero a bordo del Boeing 787 de Latam Airlines, que sufrió una caída en el transcurso del vuelo y se dirigía de Australia a Nueva Zelanda, relató su terrible experiencia y está compartiendo fotos de las lesiones que sufrió la gente también.

Brian Jokat, de 61 años, estuvo en CNN diciendo que se había quedado dormido en el avión cuando despertó y vio cuerpos volando y golpeándose con el techo, una escena que comparó con "El Exorcista" mientras el avión caía alrededor de 500 pies, según él.

Al principio, dice que pensó que era un sueño, pero entonces un pasajero que estaba junto a él cayó desde el techo y se golpeó con su reposabrazos y fue entonces cuando se dio cuenta de que estaba en una pesadilla real.

Después del vuelo, un portavoz de la aerolínea dijo que un problema técnico había causado la caída, pero dejó a todos sin saber lo que realmente pasó. Sin embargo, Brian compartió una idea de lo ocurrido, diciendo a CNN que el piloto reveló que perdió el control de sus instrumentos repentinamente, lo que provocó que todo quedara a oscuras.

Dice que el piloto, que estaba en estado de shock, regresó para chequear cómo estaba todo el mundo y les dijo que había perdido esencialmente el control del jet porque los indicadores se quedaron en blanco. Absolutamente aterrador, sin duda.

Al cabo de unos segundos, los indicadores volvieron a su patrón de vuelo normal y el avión aterrizó sin problemas en el aeropuerto de Auckland, para el alivio de Brian. También le dijo a The Post que estaba seguro de que todos iban a caer y se había hecho la idea de que todo estaba fuera de su control.

Por cierto, Brian compartió fotos de las heridas de los pasajeros mientras fueron sacudidos en la cabina y se ven absolutamente brutales, por decir lo menos.

Alrededor de 50 pasajeros fueron atendidos por heridas leves o moderadas, y una persona quedó en estado de gravedad.

Este es solo el último incidente de Boeing en los últimos tiempos: sus aviones han sido objeto de un escrutinio increíble debido a problemas en el aire y doblemente a raíz de la repentina muerte de John Barnett.

A passenger onboard the nosediving Boeing flight from Australia to New Zealand has recounted his horrific experience ... and he's shared pics of the injuries people sustained, too.

61-year-old Brian Jokat gave the blow-by-blow to CNN -- saying he'd fallen asleep on the plane only to awaken to see bodies flying past him and hitting the roof ... a scene he likened to "The Exorcist," as the plane dropped around 500 feet on Monday, according to him.

At first, he says he thought it was a dream -- but then a fellow passenger suddenly dropped from the roof, hitting his armrest ... and that's when he realized he was in a living nightmare.

After the flight ... an airline spokesperson said there was a technical issue that had caused the drop, but left everyone in the dark about what it actually was. However, Brian has given insight into what really went down ... telling CNN the pilot revealed he'd lost control of his instruments on a dime, with everything just going dark.

He says the shocked pilot came back to check in on everyone ... telling them he'd essentially lost control of the jet 'cause the gauges went blank on him. Absolutely terrifying, no doubt.

After a few seconds, the gauges returned and reengaged to their normal flight pattern ... with the plane ultimately landing safely at Auckland airport, much to the relief of Brian. He also told The Post he was certain they were all gonna go down and had made peace that it was all out of his control.

BTW, Brian shared pictures of people's injuries as they were being tossed around in the cabin -- and they look absolutely brutal, to say the least.

Roughly 50 passengers were treated for mild to moderate injuries, and one person was in serious condition.

This is just the latest incident with Boeing of late -- their aircrafts have come under incredible scrutiny due to problems in the sky ... and doubly so amid John Barnett's sudden death.

Puka Nacua put his hoops skills on full display at the NBA's All-Star festivities last month ... and he tells TMZ Sports if he ever needed basketball to pay his bills, he could probably get it done professionally overseas!!

The Rams wideout put on the show on Feb. 16 at the All-Star Celebrity Game in Indianapolis ... scoring 16 points while throwing down two highly impressive dunks. It was so eye-opening, many wondered if the football player could actually transition just fine into the sport if he wanted to.

So, when we got him out at LAX this month ... we asked the question -- and he didn't say no!!!

While he was sure he could never get it done in the NBA, the 22-year-old didn't rule out other pro leagues across the pond ... telling us, "Maybe in another country!"

Nacua, however, doesn't seem interested at all in pursuing another career anytime soon -- telling us straight up, "I'm a lot better at football, that's for sure."

Of course, there's really no reason whatsoever to even explore at this point. The former BYU standout just had one of the greatest rookie seasons in NFL history, catching 105 passes for 1,486 yards and six touchdowns.

A whistleblower who was at war with Boeing died last week -- and investigators say it appears he took his own life, this while he was embroiled in a lawsuit against the company.

John Barnett was discovered dead on Saturday out in Charleston, SC -- where cops say his body was found in his truck in a hotel parking lot ... with him suffering an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. No word on if foul play is suspected -- but police are investigating.

Barnett's attorney, Brian Knowles, called the passing of his client "tragic" ... and went on to express explicit doubt about the circumstances of his death, making sure to call the self-inflicted gunshot wound cops are citing as "alleged."

What's more startling is Barnett was literally in the midst of a whistleblower lawsuit against Boeing -- his former employer of 32 years -- as he was alleging retaliation for sounding the alarm on what he characterized as cutting corners on assembly lines for their planes.

This is a drum Barnett had been beating for a long time -- and he even came on "TMZ Live" recently to address issues that Boeing's 737 Max aircraft had been experiencing lately.

Of course, the one incident that comes to mind is a door blowing off a 737 flight mid-air in January ... which left the passengers clinging to dear life as the plane tried to land safely.

Barnett -- a former quality manager at Boeing -- spoke with us and said he wasn't surprised by the mishap ... alleging he'd seen Boeing turn a blind eye to safety concerns for years. He also told us that Boeing's 737 Max aircraft being given the green light to fly again so soon after the Alaska Airlines incident was alarming ... suggesting it might've been unsafe.

Fast-forward to last week ... when Barnett was in the middle of depositions in his case against Boeing. The company released a statement and said it was saddened by his death.

He was 62.

Passengers on a flight from Australia to New Zealand were being tossed around in a cabin after a technical problem caused the plane to take a brief nosedive -- leaving many injured.

Check it out ... one passenger's doubled over in pain and attended to by others, while another's clutching her head in agony onboard an LATAM Airlines Boeing 787-9 ... a model that's, ironically, called the Dreamliner.

It was certainly a tense moment Monday for everyone on board ... they're all looking around, wide-eyed and scared, not knowing what the heck just happened or if it's gonna happen again.

One passenger said some folks weren't strapped into their seatbelts at the time of the drop ... while another told CNN some people were tossed around so vigorously, the plane's ceiling ended up with blood on it!

Despite all the mid-air chaos, the flight -- which was stopping in New Zealand before heading to its final destination in Santiago, Chile -- managed to land safely at Auckland Airport as planned.

A spokesperson for the airline didn't elaborate on what the tech issue was ... just telling the New Zealand Herald the situation had affected some crew and passengers. Understatement much?

Chris Brown apparently got into a little fender-bender this weekend -- and while the scrape to his sports car will probably buff right out ... that doesn't mean he was happy about it.

The singer was hitting the town very early Sunday morning in Hollywood -- leaving The Nice Guy after a little partying, we're told -- and on his way out ... he seems to have bumped into another vehicle that left the front of his Lamborghini with some major scuff marks.

The fact that his whip is white makes the black marks all the more noticeable, of course, and it looks like Chris stopped to exchange info with whoever it was he might've tapped.

He certainly looked frustrated at the moment -- but handled his biz and went on his way.

The next morning, however, Chris seems to have realized the extent of the damage -- 'cause he was photographed looking a little heated as he appeared to be addressing the mishap with a crew of people he was with while leaving a private house party just hours later.

No word on what exactly he was saying -- but it sure reads like ... "LOOK WHAT HAPPENED TO MY F***ING CAR!!!" This new angle also appears to show the bumper is slightly dented.

Like we said ... it should be easy enough to fix it -- but considering how damn pricey these cars are -- it might end up costing CB a pretty penny ... assuming insurance doesn't just handle it. In any case ... Chris wasn't happy about having to deal with it, period.

Taylor Swift y Travis Kelce están oficialmente de vacaciones y los tortolitos fueron a celebrarlo el viernes por la noche en Singapur con parte del equipo de Taylor.

Dio la impresión que la pareja tuvo una cita casual cerca de un centro comercial, donde algunos fans los divisaron siendo escoltados en un carrito de golf. Uno de los Swifties gritó, "Felicidades, Travis", tal vez refiriéndose a su victoria en el Super Bowl el mes pasado, ¡pero más probablemente por estar saliendo con Taylor!

Traylor ha estado muy ocupado desde que Travis aterrizó en Singapur para ver sus dos últimos shows allí. También fueron a cenar a un elegante restaurante japonés llamado KOMA, al que se sumaron algunos compañeros de su banda.

Los shows de Singapur dieron por cerrada la etapa del "Eras" tour en el sudeste asiático y ahora ella tiene un par de meses libre para viajar y/o relajarse con su novio, quien también está en modo de vacaciones por el receso de temporada.

Donde quiera que vayan, siempre atraen toneladas de atención, incluso mientras caminaban por un centro comercial aparentemente vacío, alguien los vio mientras se abrazaban y paseaban de la mano.

Como informamos, Travis lo pasó de maravillas en el concierto de TayTay la noche anterior. Él y sus amigos fueron pillados bailando como locos en una suite de lujo del estadio y, más tarde, el jugador de los Kansas City Chiefs la estaba esperando con un abrazo y un beso apenas se bajó del escenario.

El próximo show de Taylor es en mayo, en París, así que tienen un buen tiempo para hacer lo que quieran.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are officially in their vacay era -- something the lovebirds eased into with a night of celebrating in Singapore with her band.

The couple looked to be having a casual date night near a mall, where some fans spotted them getting escorted around the grounds in a golf cart. One of the Swifties shouted, "Congrats, Travis" ... perhaps referring to his Super Bowl victory last month -- but, more likely, giving the NFL star props for dating Taylor!

Traylor's been busy as ever since he touched down in Singapore to catch her last 2 shows there. They also did dinner at a fancy Japanese restaurant called KOMA, where they were joined by some of her bandmates.

The Singapore shows wrapped up the Southeast Asia leg of her "Eras" world tour, and now she has a couple months free to travel and/or chill out with her BF ... who's also in off-season vacay mode.

Wherever they go, they're sure to draw tons of attention -- even as they walked through an apparently empty mall, someone spotted them as they hugged and walked hand-in-hand.

As we reported, Travis was having the time of his life at TayTay's concert the previous night. He and his buddies were dancing their asses off in a stadium luxury suite ... and, later, he was waiting for her with a hug and kiss as soon as she ran off the stage.

Taylor's next scheduled show isn't until May, in Paris, so they've got time to do whatever the hell they choose.

"Love Is Blind" stars Jimmy Presnell and Chelsea Blackwell might not be over after all ... as the season 6 exes are having a surprise reunion down in Florida.

Spoiler alert here, in case ya haven't seen the finale yet!

So, those who did see it know Jimmy called things off with Chelsea, ending their engagement even before they got to the altar in the finale episode that dropped this week. However, they're stirring reconciliation buzz now after appearing to share a meal together Thursday while out and about in the Sunshine State.

Though they didn't post pictures of each other, they both shared images from JB's on the Beach in Deerfield Beach ... with a bottle of Corona providing a major clue.

Earlier in the day, Chelsea (AKA the Megan Fox girl) mentioned she was heading to the Fort Lauderdale area for her best friend's wedding. She later posted a pic of herself enjoying a meal at JB's, where she appeared to have a dinner companion who was enjoying a certain Mexican cerveza.

Fans flocked to Jimmy's social media -- where he uploaded an image from the same restaurant and, yes, he had ordered a Corona. But it took a TikTok video to officially confirm the reunion, as the upload showed Jimmy and Chelsea smiling and laughing while enjoying their meal.

The twosome happily snapped a photo with a fan, too -- so it's clear they are on friendly terms.

The supposed reconciliation would be a far happier ending than the pair had on 'LiB' ... which showed Jimmy canceling their nuptials after several explosive fights -- one of which was over his close friendship with a former lover.

Thankfully, fans are set to get all the relationship deets when the reunion episode premieres March 13 on Netflix.

And it's clear there is a lot to get caught up on ... remember, Jessica Vestal was recently spotted with castmate Johnny McIntyre days before she teased she was dating an unnamed costar.

That would be an absolute bombshell, though, as Johnny was the only guy to actually get married this season ... and it wasn't to Jessica!

United Airlines left its mark on San Francisco when one of its flights took off Thursday ... and almost immediately lost one of its tires, which came crashing down on parked cars at SFO Airport.

Video captured the moment the Boeing 777 took off bound for Osaka, Japan with 249 passengers aboard -- before the jumbo jet's landing gear retracted into the fuselage, the massive tire flew loose right above an SFO employee parking lot.

Thankfully, no one was injured on the ground, but there was plenty of damage to some vehicles.

As for the damaged plane, United says it landed safely at LAX, mainly because it's a 777, which has 6 tires on each of its 2 main landing gear struts. The airline says it's designed to land safely with missing or damaged tires.

Once it was on the ground, United moved all the passengers to a new aircraft for the next leg of the flight ... which is heading to Osaka Thursday evening.

While there were no casualties from this incident, it's still concerning from the standpoint of it being yet another issue with a Boeing aircraft. You'll recall, the door blew off a Boeing 737, operated by Alaska Airlines, 2 months ago -- leading to a temporary grounding of all 737 Max 9s.