aviation

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Northwest Pilots Clammed Up After Overshooting Airport

FAA transcript shows pair blaming silence on 'cockpit distractions'

(Newser) - Air traffic controllers who sought an explanation from the pilots of the "runaway plane," which overshot the Minneapolis airport by about 100 miles last month, got little satisfaction. After being out of radio contact for over an hour, controllers asked the crew of Northwest Flight 188 for a...

'Jet Man' Ends Up in Drink
 'Jet Man' Ends Up in Drink 
FAILED WORLD RECORDS
Nov 25, 2009 1:14 PM CST

'Jet Man' Ends Up in Drink

Thanks to parachute, wing and pilot seem intact

(Newser) - Swiss daredevil Yves Rossy wound up swimming today after a botched attempt at the world’s first intercontinental flight on a jet-powered wing. Rossy, the self-styled “Jet Man,” had intended to fly from Africa to Europe, launching himself from a plane over Tangier. But about 15 minutes later...

Northwest Pilots Were Working on Laptops: NTSB
Northwest Pilots Were Working on Laptops: NTSB
runaway plane
Oct 26, 2009 3:12 PM CDT

Northwest Pilots Were Working on Laptops: NTSB

Captain, first officer deny falling asleep in cockpit

(Newser) - The pilots of the Northwest flight that wandered 150 miles past its destination were working on their personal laptops in the cockpit, a violation of company policy. The two denied falling asleep and could hear the radio when they fell out of communication with ground personnel, they told NTSB investigators...

Flight Attendant: 'I Have No Idea' When We're Landing
Flight Attendant: 'I Have No Idea' When We're Landing
runaway plane
Oct 23, 2009 10:42 AM CDT

Flight Attendant: 'I Have No Idea' When We're Landing

Investigation continues into errant Northwest flight

(Newser) - The passengers aboard the Northwest flight that overshot the Minneapolis airport by 150 miles—possibly while the pilots napped—didn't have a clue anything was amiss beyond a nagging sense that the flight was taking a long time. One tells the Star Tribune that he asked about it, and a...

This Amelia Never Takes Off
 This Amelia Never Takes Off 
MOVIE REVIEW
Oct 23, 2009 7:19 AM CDT

This Amelia Never Takes Off

Swank shines as Earhart in largely forgettable biopic

(Newser) - Hilary Swank is superlative as Amelia Earhart, say critics, but the too-conventional movie around her never really engages in what made the aviatrix tick and stays earthbound as a result.
  • Swank is "strangely mesmerizing as Earhart," writes Connie Ogle in the Miami Herald , but director Mira Nair's biopic
...

Capt. Sully Plans Return to Flying
Capt. Sully Plans Return to Flying
Sep 28, 2009 5:15 PM CDT

Capt. Sully Plans Return to Flying

Hero pilot will also become part of US Airways' safety management team

(Newser) - Chesley Sullenberger, who saved the passengers and crew of US Airways Flight 1549 when he executed daring water landing on the Hudson River in January, will soon return to flying. The hero pilot's return to the cockpit is imminent, the NBC affiliate in Los Angeles reports. In addition to flying,...

Airlines Pledge to Halve Emissions by 2050

Industry makes vow to UN ahead of Copenhagen summit

(Newser) - The airline industry is pledging to cut carbon emissions by 50% in 2050, reports the Guardian, in a reluctant concession meant to stave off more dramatic action—but one that will likely increase fares and trigger a race for new, greener technology. The plan will be presented at the UN ...

Above the Hudson, a Chaotic Airspace

(Newser) - Above the Hudson River west of Manhattan, where a helicopter and a light plane fatally collided on Saturday, a pilot can have as many as a dozen other aircraft to monitor at busy moments. Flight instructors describe the river corridor as dangerous and tunnel-like, and government is once again facing...

Top American Inventions
 Top American Inventions 
Aug 4, 2009 5:06 PM CDT

Top American Inventions

(Newser) - President Obama has called on Americans to innovate their way to a speedy economic recovery. In that spirit, Live Science rounds up the top 10 US innovations:
  1. Flight. The Wright Brothers’ 12-second flight in 1903 ushered the world into the age of aviation.
  2. Atomic bomb. The Manhattan project left a
...

Computer Crash May Have Doomed Air France Flight

Crash raises questions on if today's pilots can cope with computer failure

(Newser) - Investigators trying to piece together the fate of Air France Flight 447 in the absence of its black boxes are focusing on possible computer failures, the Wall Street Journal reports. The evidence suggests a problem with the sensors quickly snowballed into widespread computer outages, leaving the crew struggling to manage...

AIG Dodges Insurance Claims from Hudson Flight

Insurer accused of using goodwill towards flight crew to dodge paying up

(Newser) - Passengers from US Airways Flight 1549 are having a tough time getting its insurer, AIG, to cough up for claims, the New York Times reports. Aviation liability insurance requires a finding of negligence. But Capt. Chesley Sullenberger and his crew were universally acknowledged to have performed amazingly well in saving...

Flight 447 Autopilot Not On Before Crash

(Newser) - Signals sent by Air France Flight 447 before it disappeared show its autopilot was not on, the head of the French agency leading the investigation into the crash said today, though it was not clear if it had been switched off or had stopped working because it received conflicting airspeed...

Air France Flight May Join Aviation Mysteries

Crash likely to remain a puzzle as ocean currents shift debris over a vast area

(Newser) - As shifting ocean currents spread debris from Air France Flight 447 over a wider area, the chances rise that it will become one of aviation's unsolved mysteries. CNN rounds up some other biggies:
  • Amelia Earhart disappeared over the Pacific in 1937 while on a round-the-world flight.
  • Numerous aircraft have crashed
...

Alert Air Passenger Warns of Fuel Leak

Air force sergeant spotted leak before 747 headed over the Pacific

(Newser) - An eagle-eyed passenger warned a 747 flight crew about a fuel leak on a recent Japan-bound flight from Chicago, CNN reports. Air Force Sgt. Bartek Bachleda, who serves in an air refueling squadron, spotted vapor billowing from behind the wing and realized the jet was losing fuel fast. He alerted...

iPhone App Lets Users 'Fly' Like Sully

Flight simulator includes actual air traffic communication from US Airways 1549

(Newser) - A new iPhone app gives users the opportunity to compare their flying skills to those of Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, reports the Unofficial Apple Weblog. The "Sully's Flight" simulator application re-creates the conditions experienced by Flight 1549 before the hero pilot safely brought it down in the Hudson River....

South Korea Slams North's 'Inhumane' Flight Threat

Pyongyang condemned for warning it can no longer guarantee safety for civilian aircraft

(Newser) - South Korea has called on North Korea to withdraw an apparent threat to passenger jets, the Times of London reports. Flights have had to be diverted since North Korea, enraged by upcoming US-South Korea military exercises, warned yesterday that it could no longer guarantee the safety of civilian aircraft—a...

NASA Aims to Stifle the Sonic Boom

Researchers experiment with quieter ways to smash the sound barrier

(Newser) - NASA scientists are trying to mute the ear-splitting boom caused by supersonic flight into more of a sonic rumble, Wired reports. Researchers using modified F-15 jets have been experimenting with different wing shapes to spread out shock waves from breaking the sound barrier so they sound more like thunder than...

NY Crash Is Sign That Bird Strikes Are Soaring

(Newser) - Yesterday’s US Airways crash is just the most high-profile illustration of the growing problem of bird strikes, Time reports. Such run-ins quadrupled from 1,759 in 1990 to 7,666 in 2007. The problem, ironically, may be improving technology: Most jets now have two engines rather than four, leaving...

Former Union Leader In Line for FAA Post

Obama team hopes labor support can help reform aviation industry

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s hoping to bring about long-needed reforms in aviation, but to do it, he’ll need the support of organized labor. Hence, reports the Wall Street Journal, the frontrunner for the top job at the Federal Aviation Administration is the head of the former pilots union, Duane Woerth....

Did Air Ace Fossett Fake His Death?
Did Air Ace Fossett
Fake His Death?
Jul 28, 2008 3:05 AM CDT

Did Air Ace Fossett Fake His Death?

Questions surround disappearance

(Newser) - Air adventurer Steve Fossett may have faked his own death, reports the tabloid News of the World. No wreckage was ever found after Fossett disappeared last year in a light plane over the Nevada desert. Fossett didn't bother to wear his GPS watch—and he may have had strong motives...

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