Federal agents searched home of pilot who criticized TSA on YOUTUBE...

SACRAMENTO, CA - An airline pilot is being disciplined by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for posting video on YouTube pointing out what he believes are serious flaws in airport security. The 50-year-old pilot, who lives outside Sacramento, asked that neither he nor his airline be identified. He has worked for the airline for more than a decade and was deputized by the TSA to carry a gun in the cockpit. He is also a helicopter test pilot in the Army Reserve and flew missions for… (www.news10.net) More...

Cyclists In Burbank Beat JetBlue To Long Beach!

LONG BEACH (CBS) — Bike vs. Plane? It should be obvious to anyone who would win that contest. Well, not so fast! Some bloggers, hearing about JetBlue’s $4 fare from Burbank to Long Beach decided to lay down a challenge and see if some bike riders could beat the airline in a cross town race. A cycle group known as the Wolfpack Hustle set off just before 11 a.m. Saturday. A blogger also left his home, in Burbank, about the same time. Using the bike path along the LA River for most of their trip,… (losangeles.cbslocal.com) More...

How an RC airplane buzzed the Statue of Liberty, with no arrests

The video is absolutely stunning: a remote-controlled plane flies over and around the Brooklyn Bridge, buzzes the Statue of Liberty, and explores New York from a point of view even "real" airplanes rarely see. While the police were curious about what was happening, no arrests were made, and the creators of the video praise the police and the TSA for their professionalism. This is the story of how one group of enthusiasts made flying a plane around New York City fun again. The video was… (arstechnica.com) More...

Person walked into the propeller of the small aircraft

A 23-year-old Plano woman was severely injured Sunday by the propeller of a small aircraft at McKinney's Aero Country Airport in west McKinney. Shortly after landing at about 9:30 p.m., Lauren Scruggs walked into the propeller of the small aircraft she had been riding in and was struck by the propeller in the upper body. Scruggs was taken to a local hospital where she is in stable condition. According to Scruggs' Caring Bridge page, her left hand was amputated and she also underwent… (www.friscoenterprise.com) More...

Tokyo Passengers Trigger U.S. Airport Detectors

Two flights that originated in Tokyo and landed in Dallas and Chicago yesterday triggered radiation detectors when passengers passed through customs, The Post has learned. Tests on the jet that landed at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport showed low levels of radiation on the travelers' luggage and inside the cabin's filtration system. No passengers were quarantined. Details about the incident at O'Hare Airport in Chicago were not immediately clear. Locally, the Port Authority was… (www.nypost.com) More...

Southwest Captain Reduced Power Before NYC Crash Landing

The captain of a Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) plane that skidded on its belly at New York’s LaGuardia Airport in July 2013 wrested control from the co-pilot and reduced power shortly before the landing, new documents show. (www.bloomberg.com) More...

India catches 57 pilots over alcohol limit, only grounds 11

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India's airline authorities caught 57 pilots over the alcohol limit about to take to the cabin of passenger-carrying jets over the past two years, but most were cleared to fly again, media said on Friday. Only 11 of the pilots found to be under the influence of alcohol in random pre-flight medical tests between January 2009 and November 2010 lost their job, the Times of India newspaper said, citing a statement by Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi to lawmakers. The rest… (news.yahoo.com) More...

L.A. City Council Seeks To Close Flight Schools/Santa Monica Airport

By Sam Bennett Monday, March 21, 2011 As a pilot, Nick Ullmann is an expert in aviation. As a flight school owner at Santa Monica Airport, Ullmann is getting a crash course in politics. Ullmann and the operators of five other flight schools at the airport find themselves under attack from an unexpected source: members of the Los Angeles City Council. For years, the city of Santa Monica has heard complaints from nearby L.A. residents about the noise and dangers of the municipal facility. But the… (www.labusinessjournal.com) More...

Government sues Apollo 14 astronaut over lunar camera

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. government has sued a former NASA astronaut to recover a camera used to explore the moon's surface during the 1971 Apollo 14 mission after seeing it slated for sale in a New York auction. The lawsuit, filed in Miami federal court on Wednesday, accuses Edgar Mitchell of illegally possessing the camera and attempting to sell it for profit. In March, NASA learned that the British auction house Bonhams was planning to sell the camera at an upcoming Space History… (news.yahoo.com) More...

Banner plane collides with parasail carrying 2 young boys

NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) - The sign from a banner plane ripped through two parasailers' parachute last weekend, forcing them to make an emergency landing. The parasailing pair are brothers who were visiting from Virginia for the Fourth of July. Their fun took a turn for the worse when one of the boys saw the plane coming straight towards them. The two boys went out with the North Myrtle Beach Parasailing crew. As they were up in the air, they noticed the plane flying very close to… (www.wfsb.com) More...