In Case of Emergency, Fly to One Tiny Airport in Maine

Trouble lands here, sometimes twice a week. Airline flights with security threats, sick passengers and mechanical problems often end up at Bangor International Airport—the first or last major airport in the U.S. for the hundreds of flights across the Atlantic Ocean every day. Flights that are running low on fuel or need to wait out bad weather at their destinations put down here, too. (online.wsj.com) Mehr...

Cirrus Chute Deployment Fails Over Texas, Pilot Still Makes Safe Landing

You know you're having a bad day when a flight goes so bad that you feel you must resort to using a parachute to see you safely through the flight... but the day is TRULY bad when that chute fails and leaves you to battle the emergency that you thought you had escaped from. (www.aero-news.net) Mehr...

Flying's Glamour Fading for Pilots, Attendants

After 24 years of flying for Continental, Jones knows it takes him exactly 24 minutes to get out of bed, dress and walk out his hotel room door. He's a professional traveler, and to him the life isn't that glamorous. (www.chron.com) Mehr...

FAA probing 'anomalies' in Hobby airspace

Two close calls between Southwest Airlines jets and privately owned aircraft during an eight-day period have prompted a federal review of control tower staffing, procedures and electronic gear at Hobby Airport. (www.chron.com) Mehr...

Solar Plane Set to Soar Abroad in May

The project offers the aviation industry a new look at dealing with the rising cost of oil, which has continued to creep higher amid unrest in the Middle East, weighing on some airline profits. American Airlines (AMR), for example, said last week that higher fuel prices crippled its profit, sending its first-quarter income down $436 million. (www.foxbusiness.com) Mehr...

Mon, Dec 12, 2011 NTSB Forwards Recommendations On Tailwind Landings To FAA

The NTSB has issued a series of safety recommendations to the FAA in response to an incident in which an American Airlines B737 overran the end of the runway on landing in Kingston, Jamaica in December 2009. The aircraft landed approximately 4,000 feet down the 8,911-foot-long, wet runway with a 14-knot tailwind component and was unable to stop on the remaining runway length (www.aero-news.net) Mehr...

Pentagon Eyes New Air Force One

The U.S. Air Force is looking at replacing the Boeing 747-200B "VC-25A" aircraft which serve as Air Force One when the President is on board. The acquisition program was authorized late last week by Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition Frank Kendall. The authorization also reportedly includes new Marine One helicopters as well. (www.aero-news.net) Mehr...

Pilots Stood Down After Dispute in Cockpit

QANTAS has stood down two pilots who had a heated argument in the cockpit of a Boeing 747 jumbo on the tarmac at Dallas' international airport. Just weeks after Qantas stood down a captain for returning a positive alcohol reading, it has emerged that another captain and a second officer on a 747-400 had an argument over the take-off calculations they should be punching into the passenger jet's computer system. (www.watoday.com.au) Mehr...

Air Force Tells Pilots ... Slow Down

The USAF is exploring options in its effort to reduce the amount of fuel used across its 4,693 aircraft fleet. With the recent price increase in oil, the Air Force is seeing a $1 billion increase in fuel cost for 2012. The Air Force is the largest energy user in the federal government, making 900 air mobility flights globally daily, including combat sorties. (www.aero-news.net) Mehr...

Ask the Captain: Questions About Fast Flights, Concorde

Interestingly, air travel has become slower over the past few decades. I'm looking at an ad from American Airlines from 1958 touting its new 707 service from LA to New York. (travel.usatoday.com) Mehr...