July 27, 2008
CBS News: Did Oxygen Tank Explode On Qantas Jet?
On July 25, 2008, a Qantas Airlines Boeing 747 was forced to make an emergency landing in the Philippines following a mid-air explosion over the South China Sea that left a nine foot hole in the aircraft’s fuselage.  Although senior investigator from the Australian Transport and Safety Bureau, Neville Blyth, cannot yet specify the cause of the explosion, Qantas Airlines has been instructed to inspect each of the oxygen cylinders aboard the plane.

June 30, 2008
Fox News: Medical Choppers Collide Over Arizona, Killing 6
Two medical helicopters collided in mid-air, in northern Arizona, killing six people and critically injuring a nurse.  The Air Methods helicopter and the Classic Helicopters were both coming in for landing at the Flagstaff Medical Center.  The Air Methods helicopter, out of Englewood, Colorado, was carrying three people and the Classic Helicopters helicopter was carrying four people.  The flight nurse from the Classic Helicopters is in critical condition.  There are no flight controllers at Flagstaff Medical Center and it's up to the pilots to watch for each other as they approach the medical center. The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) as well as the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) are sending investigators to the crash site.

June 30, 2008
WTOP News: 3 hurt, 1 critically, in AZ medical chopper crash
An Air Evac, Inc. Eurocopter AS350 crashed Friday, June 27, 2008 near Ash Fork, Arizona.  The medical helicopter was on its way to pick up an injured motorcyclist when it crashed.  Three crew members were on board and all were injured, one critically.  The flight originated from Air Evac's base at Prescott airport.  Air Evac is a subsidiary of PHI Inc., which is located in Louisiana and provides services for the energy industry and medical evacuation.

June 23, 2008
KPUA AM: Bodies, wreckage of missing plane found in Hawaii forest
The Island Hoppers aircraft that had been missing since its departure from Kona International Airport on June 17, 2008, has been located.  A helicopter search team located the wreckage on Sunday, finding the two bodies of the passengers and the body of the pilot.  The Cessna was found in the Ka'u Forest Reserve, approximately eight miles west of Pahala.  It had been on a three hour tour of the Big Island when it disappeared.  Search crews had flown over the area twice since the search began on June 17th, but the area where the aircraft was found is not accessible from the ground since there are no roads in the area.

June 20, 2008
KNX 10.70 NewsRadio: Search For Missing Plane Resumes
An Island Hoppers tour aircraft departed on June 17, 2008 from the Kona International Airport and never returned.  Extensive air searches have been going on since the aircraft became missing.  It was carrying two Japanese tourists along with the pilot.  Search crews are focusing on the area near Kilauea's volcano eruption area since the aircraft was spotted there.  Investigators believe the plane may have been heading south.

June 11, 2008
Sudan Airways A-310 Plane Consumed by Flames on Landing
An Airbus A310 operated by Sudan Airways burst into flames after it overshot the runway at Khartoum International Airport. The pilot tried to land the plane amid a thunderstorm and overshot the end of the runway and rammed into the lights used by pilots to navigate when landing in bad weather. Preliminary reports stated that as many as 100 passengers and crew were killed. However, reports later, confirmed 173 of the 203 passengers the plane was carrying survived along with one crew member. One person remains missing. Yusuf Ibrahim, the airport's director said the plane had landed normally and the flight crew was discussing the taxi route with the tower when an explosion occurred. A technical problem caused the explosion and not the weather.

May 27, 2008
Sight-seeing Helicopter Crashes on Catalina Island
A tour helicopter operated by Island Express of Long Beach, California crashed on May 24, killing three people and critically injuring three others.  The helicopter took off from Long Beach and was on a private sightseeing tour.  The Eurocopter AS-350 was shooting flames from its exhaust pipe while over the ocean and went down near Two Harbors on Santa Catalina Island, and burned beyond recognition.  The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating.

May 22, 2008
The New York Times: F.A.A. Bans Anti-smoking Drug, Citing Side Effects
The FAA has banned the smoking cessation drug Chantix for use by pilots and air traffic controllers. The Institute for Safe Medication Practices, a watchdog group, linked Chantix to a variety of safety and health problems. These include heart attacks, seizures, potentially lethal heart rhythm disturbances, accidents, falls, diabetes and various psychiatric disturbances, including suicide. An analysis was completed using adverse events that were reported to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from May 2006 through December 2007. There were 397 cases of possible psychosis, 525 reports of hostility or aggression and 227 reports of suicide attempts or suicides. The reports also included 60 cases of paranoia, 55 hallucinations, 41 homicidal thoughts and 28 suicides. The report states that the risks of treatment with Chantix have been underestimated. Earlier this year, Public Citizen's Health Research Group called for a black box warning. The FAA is planning on notifying associations that represent private and commercial pilots that Chantix is no longer permitted for use.

May 15, 2008
Federal Aviation Administration: Runway Safety Fact Sheet
There were 370 runway incursions in 2007.  An incursion is an incident where any aircraft or vehicle encroaches on space that is reserved for takeoffs and landings.  Aviation experts are warning that near-misses on the ground are becoming one of the most serious safety issues in aviation.  When airports try to alleviate the bottleneck of aircraft traffic by adding runways, the danger rises even more.  By adding more taxiways intersecting the runways, it raises the risk of accidental incursions in which an aircraft or vehicle could possibly venture onto a runway that is being used for takeoffs and landings.  Regulators in the United States and Europe are looking into speeding up certification for new electronic displays that will provide commercial pilots with detailed information.  An international pilots group said that standardizing the use of external lights on aircraft would also help prevent collisions.  The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Eurocontrol (European Organization for the safety of air navigation) have drawn up a set of common sense guidelines on using the external lighting. The guidelines include turning on rotating beacons before starting engines so ground staff are warned to switching on all exterior lighting whenever the aircraft is taxiing across a runway. The International Civil Aviation Organization is responsible for standardizing procedures regarding the use of lighting. 
Watch Aviation Attorney Ron Goldman's TV Interview About an LAX Runway Incursion.

April 23, 2008
Fox News: Investigators: Cracked Wing Parts Found on US Airways Planes
US Airways has fixed and found faulty wing fasteners on their 757s after part of a wing broke off and struck a passenger window on March 22, 2008.  Three clips that secure the leading edge of the panel to the wing failed, causing the 4x5 foot panel of the wing to fly off during flight.  The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating to determine whether the wing clip failures were caused by maintenance, poor inspection, design or improper installation.  The NTSB did say the clips that failed were redesigned and installed in 1991 after problems were identified with the 757 wings in late 1980.  US Airways reported they had inspected all 18 of their 757s and found cracked wing fasteners on six of them, in addition to the plane that lost the wing panel.  The incident was reclassified from an accident to an incident after it was found there was no injury and no change in the aircraft's handling after the panel flew off.

April 15, 2008
Los Angeles Times: Investigators remove plane wreckage in Compton
The Cessna 310 aircraft which slammed into three homes in Compton, California injuring several people on April 12, 2008, most likely experienced a loss of engine power, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Wayne Pollack, a senior air investigator with the NTSB said, "We also have a witness who heard the engine rev up just before the loss of power." A 105 foot crane was used to lift the remains of the Cessna 310 from the homes. The plane has been taken to an NTSB investigation site in Lancaster, California for further inspections.
See: Plane lifted from Compton homes

April 12, 2008
Long Beach Press-Telegram: Officials probe area plane crash
A Cessna 310, owned by Eureka International of Carson City, NV, crashed into two homes in Compton, California, injuring five people. The pilot and passenger are in critical condition and three people in the homes are in critical and serious condition. The plane was flying from Hawthorne to Montgomery Field in San Diego. At the time of the crash, the plane was headed back to Compton, when the pilot tried to make an emergency landing. The fuselage of the aircraft landed in one house while one of the wings landed in another house.

March 19, 2008
United Press International: FAA orders safety audit of U.S. airlines
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) set two deadlines. Inspectors must audit 118 airlines for compliance with 10 airworthiness directives, which include inspecting older aircraft for fatigue cracks. This must be completed by March 28, 2008. The second deadline is June 30, 3008, in which inspectors must audit compliance with 10% of all airworthiness directives. This was ordered due to Southwest Airlines having to pay $10.2 million for missing inspections for fatigue cracks. When their aircraft were inspected, six had cracks as long as 3.5 inches.

March 12, 2008
Three employees of Southwest Airlines have been put on leave due to allegations from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that the company flew 46 airplanes that had not been inspected for dangerous fuselage cracks. Gary Kelly, Southwest chief executive, said he is concerned with some of the findings of their own internal investigation. He said in a statement, "I have insisted that we have the appropriate maintenance organizational and governance structure in place to ensure that the right decisions are being made." The FAA and Southwest Airlines are the subjects of a congressional investigation. The U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has scheduled a hearing on this case for April 3, 2008.

March 10, 2008
The Baltimore Sun: 'Lapses' by FAA deplored
Oberstar assails 'complacency' over Southwest's safety checks
Representative James Oberstar, chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) should "clean house from top to bottom." He also said that the FAA’s relationship with the airlines is too cozy. These problems, he believes, led to the lax enforcement that allowed Southwest Airlines to fly at least 100 planes past mandatory inspection deadlines. The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee inspected evidence that Southwest, with the complicity of the FAA, allowed the aircraft to fly in violation of federal aviation regulations. Southwest stated that it voluntarily disclosed its maintenance violations. Oberstar said the law requires that planes be grounded until they are in full compliance, however, the Southwest planes continued to fly with the full knowledge of an FAA inspector.

March 7, 2008
Southwest Airlines has been fined $10.2 million for failing to inspect their planes for structural cracks. Southwest continued to fly undisputed aircraft after the airline notified the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that it had missed the mandatory deadline to complete the inspections. Southwest flies 737s and even though commercial jetliners are built to fly for decades, the fuselage inspections imposed in 2004 are aimed at finding minor cracks or other structural issues that occur with heavy use. The FAA states that Southwest operated 46 planes on nearly 60,000 flights while the airline failed to comply with the inspection requirement between June 2006 and March 2007. Cracks were found on six planes after the inspections were completed. A team of inspectors from the FAA are being sent to review the maintenance program. The fine would be the largest ever against an airline.

March 6, 2008
Fox News: Planes Avert Mid-Air Collision Near Pittsburgh by 400 Feet
A Delta Airlines plane and a PSA Airlines (a subsidiary of US Airways) aircraft averted a mid-air collision east of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by 400 feet on March 4, 2008. Delta Flight 1654 was flying from Cincinnati, Ohio to LaGuardia International Airport in New York. PSA Flight 2273 was flying from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania to Charlotte, North Carolina. Each flight was carrying more than 50 passengers. The Delta Airlines pilot was told by an Ohio air traffic control trainee to turn into the path of the oncoming PSA aircraft. The Delta pilot had to make a nosedive and missed the PSA plane by approximately 400 feet. The cockpit collision avoidance system alerted both pilots to the danger.

March 6, 2008
The Dallas Morning News: Southwest Airlines reportedly facing
$3 million fine over improper inspections
Southwest Airlines is facing a $3 million penalty for failing to inspect close to four dozen older planes for hazardous structural cracks. The penalty would be the largest imposed against any air carrier in two decades. A congressional committee and the Department of Transportation are investigating why the Federal Aviation Administration did not ground the planes last March after it learned of the missed inspections. Southwest voluntarily notified the agency of the problem and the airline completed all the inspections approximately ten days after notification. Six of the affected 46 aircraft ended up having cracks. Some of the cracks were as long as four inches, this according to a person familiar with the details of the inspections. Mandatory inspections of aircraft are designed to detect and repair cracks when they are smaller and pose less of a safety risk.

March 3, 2008
FAA Press Release: FAA to Install Runway Safety Warning System at LAX
A runway safety warning system will be installed at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) under a partnership of the Federal Aviation Administration and the City of Los Angeles. The new system, named Runway Status Lights, uses a series of red lights embedded in the pavement warning pilots if it unsafe to enter a runway or cross over. Pilots will begin testing the system early next year. With the new system, as pilots approach a runway which has the Runway Status Lights, they will see red lights illuminated if the airport's ground surveillance radar detects traffic either on that runway or approaching that runway. Air Traffic Control will have to give clearance to cross or enter a runway. Pilots must verify the clearance before proceeding. The lights system has already improved runway safety at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and San Diego International Airport where the system is already in place.

February 26, 2008
Northwest Airlines Flight 19, flying from Manila in the Philippines, made an emergency landing in Tokyo, Japan. Smoke was reported in the passenger cabin. When the plane made its emergency landing, only smoke was found and no passengers were injured.

February 25, 2008
Dallas News: American Airlines defends woman's care
Carine Desir, a 44 year-old nurse, was a passenger on American Airlines Flight 896, flying from Haiti to New York. The aircraft was nearly full carrying 263 passengers. Carine was sitting with her brother and her cousin in Row 10, four rows back from first class. Five hours into the flight, she became very ill and died.

Her family and American Airlines are now in disagreement of what exactly occurred. American Airlines claims their crew was professional and the oxygen tanks and defibrillator were working. Carine's cousin however said the crew ignored her pleas for help and that the emergency equipment did not work correctly.

After eating, Carine complained she wasn't feeling well and was very thirsty. A flight attendant brought her some water, but a few minutes later, she was having trouble breathing and asked for oxygen. Per Carine's cousin, the flight attendant refused twice saying that they usually don't treat diabetes with oxygen and that she would check and get back to her. Meantime, a pediatrician on board, went to assist Carine who by this time was detoriating quickly.

Other passengers were becoming agitated over what was happening and the flight attendant tried to administer oxygen to Carine, but the tank was empty. They tried another tank and the defibrillator. The defibrillator indicated that Carine's heart was too weak for the unit to work.

Carine's cousin asked for the plane to land right away so they could get her to a hospital and the pilot agreed to divert to Miami, which was about 45 minutes away. But during that time, Carine died. Her body was moved to the floor of first class and covered with a blanket. When the plane touched down in New York, passengers had to walk around her body to get off the plane.

February 22, 2008
An ATR 42-300 carrying 43 passengers and three crew members crashed in the Andes Mountains in Venezuela on February 21, 2008.  The Venezuelan Santa Barbara Airlines Flight 518 crashed shortly after take-off from Merida's airport. The pilots failed to contact control towers in two cities as expected after it took off en route to Caracas on its schedule one hour and 45 minute flight.  The wreckage was located at 13,500 feet in the Andes Mountains, which are notoriously difficult for pilots to navigate around.  All passengers and crew died. This was the second major air accident in Venezuela this year after a plane carrying 14 people crashed into the sea close to a group of Venezuelan islands in January. 

February 4, 2008
Nebraska TV: United flight makes emergency landing after smoke reported in the cabin
United Airlines Flight 871 made an emergency landing in Kansas City today after smoke was reported in the cabin.  The flight was headed to San Francisco from Washington and landed safely at Kansas City International Airport.  No injuries were reported and all 215 passengers were being placed on other flights.

January 31, 2008
The Denver Channel: 757 Diverted To Grand Junction Over Smoke In Cabin
An American Airlines flight from New Jersey to California made an emergency landing in Grand Junction Colorado.  The Boeing 737 was flying from Newark when passengers on Flight 119 said there was haze in the plane with a bad smell.  When the plane landed in Grand Junction all passengers and crew members were immediately evacuated.  No injuries occurred and another plane was sent to take the passengers on to Los Angeles.

January 31, 2008
The Philadelphia Inquirer: Smoke fills cockpit of Philadelphia-bound plane
American Airlines Flight 1738 left San Juan, Puerto Rico at 5:40 pm and was scheduled to arrive in Philadelphia at 9:40 pm.  However,  a couple of hours into the flight, the captain reported smoke in the cockpit and declared an emergency.  As the Boeing 757 carrying 139 passengers descended for the emergency landing, a section of glass in front of the first officer cracked and shattered.  The outer pane remained intact so cabin pressure was not lost.  The plane landed safely at Palm Beach International Airport and taxied to the gate.  The pilot, first officer, three flight attendants and two passengers were taken to a hospital for treatment.

January 30, 2008
WSAZ.com: Trial Earlier Than Expected
U.S. District Judge Karl Forester has announced that the liability trial against Comair will occur earlier than was expected.  Comair Flight 5191 crashed in August 27, 2006 at Lexington Blue Grass Airport in Kentucky.  The liability aspects of the case will begin on August 4th instead of in December.  These proceedings will decide who is at fault in the crash.  The crash killed 49 people.

January 23, 2008
The Desert Sun: Visibility may be factor in fatal plane collision over Corona
Two Cessna planes collided in mid-air in Corona, California on January 20, 2008 killing four people in the two planes and one man on the ground.  Parts of the planes, a Cessna 172 and a Cessna 150, scattered debris across a wide area with one of the planes crashing into a car dealership. The sky was clear tha day but investigators think visibility may have been a factor in the crash as the sun was shining very bright in the late afternoon and the pilots probably didn't see each other until it was too late. The Corona airport does not have a staffed control tower and the skies over Corona on the weekend are very crowded with pleasure flights.  Although it is not required, neither pilot had filed a flight plan and neither of them announced their location over the radio as some pilots do during landings and takeoffs.  There have been five fatal plane crashes in Corona over the past 10 years, killing 10 people.

January 18, 2008
WCBS Channel 2: Another Near Collision Rattles Newark Liberty
Continental Airlines Flight 536 from Phoenix and Continental Express Flight 26-14 from Halifax, came within 600 feet of each other as the planes came in for landings on January 16, 2008, at Newark Liberty Airport.  It was the second time in two months that two planes barely missed each other.  In December, two planes came within 300 feet of each other.  One of the aircraft had to make an emergency adjustment in mid-air and fly over the other aircraft.  In the incident occurring on Wednesday, an air traffic controller at TRACON (Terminal Radar Approach on Long Island) was supposed to give the Continental Express crew the tower frequency for Newark, which he did not, instead guiding the crew to the wrong frequency for Teterboro Airport which is 13 miles away.  As a result, some procedures at TRACON are now suspended.

January 15, 2008
San Francisco Chronicle: FAA investigators examine slow-speed jet collision at SFO
A United Airlines 757 and a smaller United Express Bombardier CRJ700 jet collided in a ramp area at the San Francisco International Airport. The 757 was headed to the maintenance area when it backed into a Bombardier CRJ700 jet operated by SkyWest Airlines under the United Express name. The collision damaged the tail sections on both aircraft. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating. Earlier reports quoted FAA spokesman, Ian Gregor, as saying San Francisco International Airport was one of the riskiest airports for collisions. Today Gregor denied declaring the airport as one of the riskiest. There are no "wing walkers," workers on the ground who guide the planes with air motions. FAA regulations do not require wing walkers, instead leaving the control of aircraft in the ramp areas to the airlines. Gregor said, "The accident, given its location, does not constitute a runway collision."

January 10, 2008
The Windsor Star: Air Canada flight plummets, makes emergency landing
Air Canada Flight AC190 carrying 83 passengers and five crew members, en route from Victoria, BC to Toronto had to make an emergency landing at Calgary International Airport after it plummeted during its flight.  At least 10 passengers were injured on the Airbus SAS A319.  The seriously injured passengers suffered C-spine injuries and were taken off the plane on a long spine board or stretcher with potential injuries to their neck, spine or back.  One passenger whose friend was hurt stated, "The aircraft went up and then sideways. She flew up to the ceiling and right down."

Baum Hedlund has handled inflight accidents including one in 1993, when a China Eastern Airlines MD-11 jetliner traveling from Shanghai to Los Angeles, experienced an accidental flap/slat deployment, which the NTSB later determined was caused by the pilot accidentally hitting the flap/slat handle in the cockpit.  Two people died and dozens were injured. Baum Hedlund represented 26 passengers, including a flight attendant, in this accident.

January 4, 2008
USA Today: Passenger jets get anti-missile devices
Airline passenger jets will soon be equipped with anti-missile systems to protect them from terrorist attacks. American Airlines will be among the first to install the anti-missile laser jammers this spring on three of its Boeing 767-200 jets which fly round-trip between New York and California.  The jammer device will be mounted on the belly of the planes between the wheels.  The system's sensors detect heat-seeking missiles and shoot a laser at it to send the missile off course. Anti-missile systems have been tested on cargo planes, but this is the first time they have been placed on passenger jets.  Homeland Security has warned about the possibility of an attempt to take down a jet on U.S. soil because the portable, lightweight shoulder fired missiles can be bought on the black market.  There have been numerous attacks on military jets and cargo planes overseas and several near collisions with passenger planes.

December 28, 2007
Associated Press: Baggage Ban on Batteries Begins
Beginning January 1, 2008, passengers will no longer be allowed to pack loose lithium batteries in checked baggage.  Airline passengers are still allowed to check bags with lithium batteries if the batteries are already installed in electronic devices, such as cell phones and laptops.  Passengers are otherwise limited to two lithium batteries per passenger in carry on bags as long as they are packed in a plastic bag. The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) has discovered that fire protection systems in the cargo hold cannot put out fires sparked by lithium batteries.

December 21, 2007
Chicago Tribune: Southwest Airlines jet has close call near Springfield; controller error blamed
A federal investigation will begin in January 2008 due to the large amount of close calls involving planes on runways at O'Hare International Airport and in the skies across the Midwest.  On December 19, 2007, a Southwest Airlines flight planning to land at Midway Airport was incorrectly directed to descend toward a private business turboprop.  The two planes came within 300 feet of each other.  The air traffic controller was a trainee with only three weeks of experience.  A collision was avoided when a veteran controller supervising the trainee ordered the Southwest pilots to speed up their descent to avert the business flight turboprop.  The collision avoidance system on the Southwest jet sounded in time to warn the pilots.    The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) is classifying this close call as the second most serious on its severity scale.  If the two aircraft had collided, it would have been a T-bone crash.  This controller error was the second serious error in three days at Chicago Center and the facility's sixth serious incident in just 11 weeks.

December 19, 2007
LA Daily News: Air traffic controllers to City Hall
Staffing shortage contributes to close calls on runways
Air traffic controllers will testify before a Los Angeles City Council committee that they believe a staffing shortage at LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) has contributed to a record number of close calls between planes on the ground since 2001.  The Trade, Commerce and Tourism Committee is holding the hearing.  Councilman Bill Rosendahl requested the presentation after the Government Accountability Office released their report on December 5, 2007 in which one of the conclusions determined that Los Angeles International Airport led the nation in close calls over the past eight years.

December 10, 2007
eCanadaNOW: Search Called Off For Missing Alaska Helicopter
A LifeGuard medical helicopter has been missing since December 3, 2007, near the Spencer Glacier in Alaska.  On board were four people, including the pilot, a paramedic, flight nurse and patient.  Aircraft, boats and snowmachines have been searching for the remains and wreckage for the past week.  The Alaska Air National Guard also searched when the helicopter went missing, about 40 minutes into its flight.  The search has now been called off.  One body was found and some pieces of wreckage.

December 5, 2007
Fox News: Study: High Risk of Catastrophic Runway Collisions in U.S. Airports
There is a high risk of a catastrophic runway collision occurring in the United States.  In 2007, incidents spiked to 370 runway incursions per one million air traffic control operations.  An incursion is when any aircraft, vehicle or person goes where it shouldn't be into the space that is reserved for take-off or landing.  The Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative branch of Congress, stated in a newly released report that at this time, "no single office is taking charge of assessing the causes of runway safety or taking the steps needed to address those problems."  The report makes it clear that the Bush administration is cutting corners and failing to put passenger safety first.  Senator Lautenberg stated, "The Federal Aviation Administration is taking too many chances and ignoring too many red flags."  Sixty three people have died in six U.S. runway collisions since 1990.  There have been dramatic near misses this year.  On August 16, 2007, two jets came within 37 feet of colliding at Los Angeles International Airport.  On July 11, 2007, a Delta Airlines plane touched down in Florida and had to take off immediately to avoid impact with a United Airlines plane.  July 5, 2007, a Delta Airlines jet landing at New York's LaGuardia airport narrowly missed a commuter jet that was mistakenly cleared to cross its runway.  The GAO urged the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) to assume more responsibility for safety.

November 29, 2007
CBS Channel 2: Fast Jets May Be Banned From Santa Monica Airport
Santa Monica City Council and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are in a feud over the city's decision to ban jets such as the Gulfstream IV, Challenger and Citation X aircraft from using the Santa Monica Airport.  Nearby residents of the Southern California cities of Santa Monica and Mar Vista have complained for years that the lack of runway buffers and the airport's location on a plateau creates the potential for a deadly accident or crash.  "Landings and takeoffs at the airport have been likened to aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier," the report says. "There is little or no margin for error."  The FAA has vowed to challenge the ban.  The ban is set for a second and final vote in January 2008.

November 28, 2007
Aero-News.net: TSA to Take Over Aviation Worker Screening
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is taking over the job of checking background information on all pilots, flight attendants and technicians, 1.2 million aviation employees, in the United States.  The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has had this task since September 11, 2001.  Every licensed aviation worker will be checked against the FBI's "watch list," not only when applying for a job, but every time the list is updated, which is almost daily.   Raids conducted earlier this month at several warehouses around Chicago's O'Hare International Airport resulted in the arrests of 24 illegal workers who were suspected of using fake security badges to work in restricted areas around the airport. In October a former Orlando-based Comair worker was sentenced to 15 years in prison for attempting to smuggle guns and drugs on a Delta Connection/Comair flight to Puerto Rico in March.

November 16, 2007
Fox News: Two Planes Come Within Seconds of Colliding Over Indiana
An air traffic controller error caused two aircraft to come within seconds of a mid-air collision over Indiana, according to the FAA.  A Midwest Airlines plane was traveling east from Milwaukee in the path of United Express jet heading west out of North Carolina.  The collision avoidance device in the Midwest plane's cockpit sounded in the Fort Wayne, Indiana area and the pilots executed an emergency climb, according to an airline spokeswoman. 

November 5, 2007
China View: Seven die in Brazilian airplane crash
An executive Learjet 35 crashed nose first into a neighborhood in Sao Paulo, Brazil.  At least eight people were killed.  The plane is registered to an air taxi company.  The jet took off from the Campo de Marte airport which is used by executive jets and helicopters.  It was en route to Rio de Janeiro.  Investigators are sifting through the smoky rubble, trying to determine the cause.  There were no immediate indications that it was related to Brazil's recent air traffic chaos.

November 1, 2007
Forbes.com: Brazil aviation chief resigns in wake of July TAM airline crash
Milton Zuanazzi, director of Brazil's civil Aviation agency has resigned.  He has been under criticism from the defense minister.  Zuanazzi presided over the agency during the two deadliest plane crashes: the air collision of a U.S. owned Embraer Legacy 600 executive jet and a Gol Boeing 737-800, killing 154 in September 2006; and the crash in July when a TAM Linhas Aereas SA Airbus crashed in Sao Paolo, killing 199.

October 29, 2007
USA Today: SAS says to stop using Dash 8 Q400 after accidents
Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) is pulling all Bombardier Q400 turboprops from its fleet after several crash landings due to landing gear malfunctions in the past two weeks.  The airline canceled about 50 flights today and Sunday after the latest emergency landing which occurred on Saturday.  SAS is demanding $78.25 million in compensation from Bombardier for costs and lost income.  Horizon Air, Frontier Airlines, Pinnacle Airlines and Continental Airlines, all in the United States, currently operate the Q400 and have orders pending for the aircraft.

October 22, 2007
Associated Press: NASA Sits on Air Safety Survey
A 1997 White House commission proposal to reduce fatal air crashes by 80% as of 2007, resulted in NASA hiring an aviation safety expert to conduct an unprecedented survey, officially known as the National Aviation Operations Monitoring Service, of pilots across the nation.  About 24,000 interviews with commercial and general aviation pilots were conducted over the past four years.  Among the questions they were  asked concerned engine failure, passenger disturbances, smoke or fire, inadequate tower communication and severe turbulence. Despite the government's suppression of the survey results and their FOIA denial to the Associated Press, the AP obtained information and documents through an anonymous source which showed pilots reported more midair near-collisions, runway incursions and bird strikes than reported in other government monitoring systems.  Pilots also answered questions about last-minute changes in landing instructions, near midair collisions, near collisions with ground vehicles or buildings, overweight takeoffs or incidents of pilots leaving the cockpit. Known for playing down safety issues, NASA has decided to withhold the survey results from the public so as not to upset air passengers and to protect the profits of the airlines. One congressman discussing NASA's decision not to release the information stated, "There is a faint odor about it all."  Since the AP's disclosure of the survey details, NASA is reconsidering how much of the survey findings will be made public.

October 19, 2007
National Transportation Safety Board Preliminary Report
Before a Cessna 208 Grand Caravan crashed on October 7, 2007, killing all 10 aboard, it flew into clouds and rainy weather over the Cascades in Washington.  According to FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), who is assisting the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) in the investigation, there is no record of the pilot receiving a weather briefing, though he could have listened to a broadcast or logged onto a weather site before take-off.  AIRMETs (Airmen's Meteorological Information) had been issued for icing, low level turbulence, and mountain obscuration. Even though it is optional, no flight plan was filed.  The aircraft traveling from Star, Idaho to Shelton, Washington, crashed at 4,300 feet in the Cascade range, traveling at about 70 mph when it crashed nose first into a mountain.

October 18, 2007
USA Today: Most fake bombs missed by screeners
Security screeners at Los Angeles International Airport missed about 75% of simulated explosives and parts of bombs according to a classified report. Chicago's O'Hare's screeners missed about 60%, while security screeners at San Francisco International Airport missed about 20%. TSA (Transportation Security Administration) testers hid the fake bombs under their clothes. Approximately 70 tests were run at LAX, 145 at SFO and 75 at O'Hare. The screeners at the San Francisco airport performed better because they work for a private company and are more suspicious because they are constantly tested. Terrorists assembling bombs once aboard airliners is a top aviation concern.

October 17, 2007
The Joplin Globe: Authorities refile manslaughter case in lake plane crash
Manslaughter charges were refiled today against an unlicensed pilot of a small plane which crashed into an Oklahoma lake in 2006. The pilot swam away from the sinking plane while three others died.  The pilot, Thomas Brent Caldwell, was charged with first degree manslaughter within a month of the December 16, 2006 crash of a Bellanca 17-30A.  The charges were, however, dropped in May 2007 after the district judge ruled there was no evidence as to why the engine had stalled and there was no evidence Caldwell did anything to make the engine stall.  When the engine lost power it crashed into Grand Lake with the nose partially underwater and upside down.  Caldwell swam to shore, but the three passengers died.  Caldwell did not have a pilot's license and had not logged a flight in five months.  Also, according to the NTSB report, authorities at the crash site reportedly detected a "strong" smell of alcohol on Caldwell's breath and noted his speech was slurred.  He will surrender to authorities.

October 16, 2007
Fox News: Feds Bust JFK Drug Trafficking Scheme, Charge 18 Airline Employees
Feds busted a major drug trafficking ring today at JFK International Airport. Eighteen airline workers were arrested, including seven  Delta Air Lines  employees  and  an American Airlines worker.  Airport workers in the Dominican Republic concealed the drugs in luggage flying to New York. A second group of workers at JFK Airport would then retrieve the packages and get them to a safe area before the bags were inspected.