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Fatal Plane Crashes Fall 65%
Fatal Plane Crashes Fall 65%
Oct 1, 2007 10:38 AM CDT

Fatal Plane Crashes Fall 65%

Better equipment and focus on crash prevention makes air travel safer

(Newser) - The fatal domestic plane crash rate has fallen 65% in the last decade. It's not quite the 80% decrease over 10 years the government demanded in 1996 after two crashes killed 375 people, but it's a significant improvement, the Times reports. The decline rests on tighter air traffic control, better...

Private Jet Demand Soars
Private Jet Demand Soars
Sep 24, 2007 1:39 PM CDT

Private Jet Demand Soars

Weak dollar, high oil prices fuel surge

(Newser) - The demand for private business jets is sky-high, with international buyers taking advantage of the weak dollar to propel a projection-beating trend expected to last at least a decade, MarketWatch reports. "Domestic demand is solid but it's not showing the type of growth rates going on outside the US,...

Airline to Offer Internet Access
Airline to Offer Internet Access
Sep 19, 2007 5:17 AM CDT

Airline to Offer Internet Access

Alaska jet will have Wi-Fi hot spots for phones, laptops

(Newser) - Alaska Airlines will become the first US carrier to offer  satellite-based Wi-Fi internet access to passengers, reports AP. The airline will install the wireless service on one 737 jet next spring with a view to outfitting the entire 114-plane fleet. American Airlines announced plans for internet access on some of...

Surfers Scour Google Earth for Signs of Aviator

Internet volunteer army pores over photos in Fossett search

(Newser) - An army of web surfers—even the guy in the next cubicle—has joined the search for missing aviator Steve Fossett. Google Earth has released fresh images of the Nevada desert, and surfers can scour chunks of wilderness for aircraft wreckage. One problem: "We're finding them left and right—...

Solar Plane Beats World Record
Solar Plane Beats World Record
Sep 10, 2007 11:23 AM CDT

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...

Fossett Hunt Yielding No Clues
Fossett Hunt Yielding No Clues
Sep 8, 2007 7:49 PM CDT

Fossett Hunt Yielding No Clues

Search for millionaire adventurer yields no clues

(Newser) - Searchers combing Nevada for Steve Fossett's plane have found six other uncharted wrecks, but no sign of the millionaire adventurer who's been missing since Monday. One downed plane thought to be his was found to have been last registered 30 years ago, CNN reports. Fossett's family remains optimistic, despite the...

Dreamliner Delayed Again
Dreamliner Delayed Again
Sep 5, 2007 3:14 PM CDT

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...

Aviation Adventurer Is Missing
Aviation Adventurer Is Missing
Sep 4, 2007 4:32 PM CDT

Aviation Adventurer Is Missing

Search parties on the lookout for America's Richard Branson

(Newser) - Quixotic aviator and adventurer Steve Fossett, the first person to make it around the world in a balloon, was missing today when his plane disappeared over western Nevada. A search is on for his single-engine Bellanca, but the millionaire entrepreneur didn't file a flight plan, the AP reports.

Senators&rsquo; Plane Draws Iraqi Fire
Senators’ Plane Draws Iraqi Fire
Aug 31, 2007 10:25 AM CDT

Senators’ Plane Draws Iraqi Fire

Flight crew of VIP aircraft used evasive maneuvers in 'close call'

(Newser) - An airplane carrying three US senators and a congressman was fired upon by rockets as it left Baghdad last night, forcing the pilot to resort to evasive maneuvers to avoid being struck. Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby described the rocket attacks as “near misses,” CNN reports. “Our plane...

Passenger Restrained After Midair Attempt to Deplane

Crew, other travelers duct-tape man to seat

(Newser) - A redeye flight from Denver to New York took a frightening turn yesterday when a passenger leaped from his seat and tried to open the rear door of a Frontier Airlines jet. Flight attendants and passengers then restrained the man by strapping him to his seat with duct tape. A...

Military Battles for Drone Control
Military Battles for Drone Control
Aug 20, 2007 1:45 AM CDT

Military Battles for Drone Control

Branches vie with each other for high-tech craft

(Newser) - New enemies are hovering over America's unmanned drone aircraft—branches of the US armed forces battling each other for control of the high-tech flyers. The Air Force is lobbying Congress for exclusive control over purchasing and developing the spy planes, a move opposed by the Army, Navy and Marines. 

New Air Force Drones Refuel Without Pilots

Technology gives fighter jets longer striking distance and more time in air

(Newser) - A Defense agency has developed an on-board flight system that connects an airplane to a re-fueling aircraft without the need for a human pilot, allowing unmanned fighter jets to remain in the air longer. The technology uses exact inertial, GPS, and video measurements to latch a probe into a 32-inch...

Flying Monkey Travels Coach
Flying Monkey Travels Coach
Aug 8, 2007 11:51 AM CDT

Flying Monkey Travels Coach

Man smuggles baby marmoset onto flight under his hat

(Newser) - A man smuggled a monkey onto a Spirit Airlines flight from Ft. Lauderdale to LaGuardia yesterday by hiding it under his hat. Fellow passengers caught on when the small primate—a baby marmoset the size of a fist—came out and hung on the man's ponytail. The monkey-smuggler, whose flight...

Plane in Brazil Crash Had Brake Problems

Demand for answers, heat on absent president grow

(Newser) - The Airbus A320 that crashed at the Sao Paulo airport Tuesday was flying with part of its braking equipment disabled, the manufacturer said today, as pressure on the government escalated. Flying without one of the aircraft's two thrust reversers is legal, but the revelation suggests the slick, short runway probably...

Officials Demand Sao Paulo Airport Shutdown

Authorities blame airplane crash on poor runway conditions

(Newser) - In the wake of Tuesday's catastrophic plane crash, Brazilian officials are calling for the closure of Sao Paulo's Congonhas airport pending a review of safety conditions, the BBC reports. The Tam Airlines Airbus 320 landing in heavy rain skidded off a wet runway that was resurfaced last month and had...

Fellow Airline Passengers Sue TB Lawyer

They're just after my money, says newlywed

(Newser) - Nine airline passengers are suing the Atlanta lawyer infected with a rare TB strain who flew to Europe for his wedding despite CDC warnings not to travel. The $1.3 million suit filed in Montreal claims Andrew Speaker recklessly exposed them to a deadly disease. The passengers, seven Canadians and...

Higher Flying Lowers Comfort
Higher Flying Lowers Comfort
Jul 6, 2007 10:56 AM CDT

Higher Flying Lowers Comfort

On flights at 8,000 feet, passengers feel the pain; cabin pressure often too low

(Newser) - Airline passengers routinely suffer from altitude sickness, and aircraft cabins are insufficiently pressurized to prevent it, a new study concludes. Altitudes of 8,000 feet above sea level result in 4% lower oxygen saturation in the blood, researchers found; cabins are often pressurized at the equivalent of 8,000 feet.

Boeing Bags Another Big One
Boeing Bags Another Big One
Jun 20, 2007 8:23 AM CDT

Boeing Bags Another Big One

(Newser) - International Lease Finance Corporation, the world’s #1 jet leasing company, ordered 52 787 Dreamliners, Boeing announced at the Paris Air Show.  This brings total orders for Boeing's new plane to 634 -- way ahead of rival Airbus' 127 orders for its A350XWB.  Both planes incorporate lightweight composites...

Airbus, Boeing Cross Wings at Air Show

Top aircraft manufacturers ride high as industry rebounds

(Newser) - Rival aircraft producers Airbus and Boeing landed a slew of new orders at a gigantic air show that began today outside Paris. The biennial air show, the largest in the world, takes place as the airline industry begins to turn around; after two years of losses, profits this year are...

Grandpas Take Down Unruly Passenger

Retired cop and marine team up to help flight crew subdue suspicious man

(Newser) - A 65-year-old former police commander and a gray-haired former marine helped flight attendants subdue an unruly passenger on a Northwest Airlines flight Saturday night. The suspicious man threatened other passengers and refused to take his seat during the three hour Minneapolis-to-Boston flight, but the two undaunted grandpas managed to detain...

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