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Stories 61 - 79 | << Prev 

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...

Errant Plane Breaches Security at White House

(Newser) - An errant plane set off a brief security scare in Washington today, prompting the relocation of President Obama and VP Biden, Bloomberg reports. The small aircraft entered restricted airspace before being intercepted by military jets and obeying orders to leave the area and land at a nearby airport. During the...

Baby Born on Transatlantic Flight

Passengers cheer as Boston-bound flight gets an extra passenger

(Newser) - Passengers on a Boston-bound plane from Amsterdam got a New Year's surprise when a woman on board went into labor, the Boston Herald reports. Two doctors on the flight informed the pilot that the baby would come before the aircraft could make an emergency landing. Passengers cheered after the woman...

McCain-Endorsing Papers Lose Seats on Air Obama

But Fox News keeps its spot

(Newser) - The Obama campaign has kicked reporters from the New York Post, Washington Times, and Dallas Morning News off its campaign plane, and as the Drudge Report was quick to note, all three papers endorsed McCain. An Obama spokesman confirmed the report, but said it was not politically motivated, noting that...

Obama Lives Large on Decadent Jet
Obama Lives Large on Decadent Jet

Obama Lives Large on Decadent Jet

Inside the candidates' rides

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s new campaign plane oozes luxury—at least for Obama. The candidate’s section of the 757 is decked out with leather recliners, a dining booth, and a small table kept stocked with up-to-date newspapers, CBS reports. "O-Force One" is so far beyond the typical charter jet...

New-Look 'Obama One' Has Dem Flying High

Hammered earlier for trying to look too presidential, candidate aims for balance

(Newser) - The jet bearing Barack Obama on his trip abroad is sporting a new look, the Los Angeles Times reports. The plane is emblazoned with Obama’s “Change You Can Believe In” slogan, and sports the candidate’s rising-sun logo on its tail. Obama is using the jet for campaign-financed...

Man Sues JetBlue After Spending Flight in Bathroom

Passenger humiliated after sitting in can for 3 hours

(Newser) - A New York man is suing JetBlue for $2 million, claiming he was put in the bathroom during a cross-country flight, the New York Post reports. Gokhan Mutlu said he was "mortified, disgraced, degraded and shamed" after a flight attendant took his seat and the pilot told him to...

No Survivors in Venezuela Crash
No Survivors in Venezuela Crash

No Survivors in Venezuela Crash

Wreckage of 46-passenger plane found

(Newser) - Search helicopters today found what was left of the Venezuelan passenger plane that crashed yesterday with 46 people aboard. No survivors were found in the wreckage, which was nestled among the Andes mountains at an altitude of 13,000 feet, the AP reports. The plane crashed into the mountain head-first,...

Airbus Goes Light on New A350 Jetliner

In about-face, switches to composite material used by rival Boeing

(Newser) - Airbus joined rival Boeing in switching from aluminum to carbon-fiber composites to build its new jetliner’s frame, reports the Wall Street Journal. Boeing has built the new 787 Dreamliner entirely from composites, which are lighter and easier to maintain. Airbus had held out on the A350, claiming its method...

Solar Plane Beats World Record
Solar Plane Beats World Record

Solar Plane Beats World Record

Aviation officials absent for the Zephyr's 54-hr flight

(Newser) - A lightweight, solar-powered plane has broken the world record for the longest unmanned flight by a whole day. The Zephyr, built by a British security firm, flew for 54 hours during a test flight, beating the US Air Force's record for a similar vehicle by 24 hours. But it's not...

Dreamliner Delayed Again
Dreamliner Delayed Again

Dreamliner Delayed Again

Issues in supply chain, flight software slow production of Boeing's new jet

(Newser) - The maiden flight of Boeing's next-generation jet, the 787 Dreamliner, has been delayed until November or December, the manufacturer announced today, blaming problems in the supply chain and flight-control software. Nevertheless, the Seattle Times reports, Boeing remains on schedule—with much less room for error—to deliver the first aircraft...

FAA Orders Inspections of Boeing 737s

Hundreds of jets to be checked for loose nut that caused China Airlines fire

(Newser) - The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered airlines to inspect hundreds of Boeing 737s after a loose bolt punctured a China Airlines jet last week, causing a fire that destroyed the aircraft. Southwest, Delta, Continental, AirTran, Alaska Air, ATA and Aloha Airlines have 24 days to check for loose nuts on...

Jet Catches Fire in Japan; Passengers, Crew Escape

Plane's engine exploded; cause unknown

(Newser) - A jet burst into flames after landing in Okinawa today, moments after all 165 people onboard escaped. The China Airlines plane skidded while landing on arrival from Taipei, and its left engine exploded shortly afterward. The cause of the fire is unknown, the AP reports. Firefighters took an hour to...

Skybus Soars With No-Frills Flights
Skybus Soars With No-Frills Flights

Skybus Soars With No-Frills Flights

Passengers snap up $10 seats but extras add up fast

(Newser) - Budget-conscious flyers have snapped up seats on Skybus Airlines from Columbus, Ohio, to 11 cities, with $10 tickets selling out on each new route hours after they go on sale. The Los Angeles Times tests the Skybus experience, where everything costs extra, from pillows to pretzels. The plane, a new...

Hijacking Ends Peacefully in Turkey
Hijacking Ends Peacefully
in Turkey

Hijacking Ends Peacefully in Turkey

Pair protesting US surrender after passengers and pilots flee

(Newser) - Two hijackers of a Turkish plane claiming to be protesting US foreign policy surrendered yesterday after nearly all 136 people on board fled from the tarmac unharmed and the rest were released, the BBC reports. The men, believed to be a Turkish national and a Palestinian, tried to force their...

Snakes on a Plane! Almost!
Snakes on a Plane! Almost!

Snakes on a Plane! Almost!

Security nabs passenger in Cairo bearing bags of live vipers

(Newser) - Flyers could have found themselves reliving the scenario of cheesy horror classic "Snakes on a Plane" had security agents failed to nab a passenger with carry-on bags of live snakes headed for a jet leaving Cairo. Agents found a large number of reptiles, including at least one cobra, after...

Pilots Killed at Two Air Shows
Pilots Killed at Two Air Shows

Pilots Killed at Two Air Shows

One collided with another plane, the other crashed doing loop-the-loop

(Newser) - A stunt pilot doing loop-the-loops at a Dayton air show was killed in a crash today, just a day after another pilot died in a Oshkosh, WI, air show. The stunt pilot  was flying one of two  S2S biplanes when he crashed at the end of the runway, before thousands...

Plane Angry: Fliers Blast Lying Late Stats

Figures don't report delays to passengers, only to planes

(Newser) - Even as the on-time performance of airlines reaches an all-time low, the reality is worse, the New York Times reports. Since they track how late planes are, not how late passengers are, airline statistics don't reflect a good deal of the waiting time—particularly when a passenger misses a connecting...

Military Shreds Old Fighter Jets
Military Shreds Old Fighter Jets

Military Shreds Old Fighter Jets

Parts from "Top Gun" planes were landing in the wrong hands

(Newser) - The US military is paying a contractor to destroy its retired fleet of F-14 fighter jets, after evidence surfaced that Iran had been acquiring the old parts and was intending to rebuild the planes, reports the AP. “There were things getting to the bad guys,” the contractor says....

Stories 61 - 79 | << Prev