pilots

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Pilot's Ejection Caught on Camera After Fighter Jet Crash

Pilot is OK after slow-moving accident at Texas military base

(Newser) - The pilot of a fighter jet that crash-landed in Texas will be fine after ejecting from the plane after it hit the ground. The Washington Post describes the "bizarre slow-moving crash" that took place Thursday morning at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, where a spectator captured...

Virgin Atlantic's Uniform Update Lets Crew Show 'True Identity'

Virgin Atlantic introduces gender-neutral skirts/trousers

(Newser) - Airlines are known for their often-rigid rules around the uniforms their crew members wear, often leading to complaints that the garb is impractical, uncomfortable, and outdated. Virgin Atlantic is now attempting to remedy the "outdated" part by releasing a new policy that gets rid of "gendered uniform" requirements...

Widow of F-16 Pilot Blames His Death on Counterfeit Parts

David Schmitz's ejection seat failed in 2020

(Newser) - F-16 pilot David Schmitz was killed in June 2020 when his nighttime landing at a South Carolina base went wrong. Now the 32-year-old's widow has filed a federal lawsuit blaming counterfeit parts in his ejection seat for causing his death, reports the Air Force Times . Valerie Schmitz has sued...

Air France Suspends 2 Pilots for 'Totally Inappropriate' Behavior

They allegedly came to blows in cockpit during Airbus flight to Geneva

(Newser) - Air France says two pilots have been suspended while management decides what to do about their "totally inappropriate behavior" on a flight in mid-June. The airline confirmed the suspensions after La Tribune reported that the captain and co-pilot brawled in the cockpit of an Airbus A320 flight from Paris...

Student Pilot Runs Out of Fuel, Lands on Highway

And is then charged with DWI in Missouri

(Newser) - That somebody hit a guardrail on Interstate 70 in Missouri and then was charged with DWI wouldn't typically make national headlines. But in this case, the circumstances are a little unusual—it wasn't a car involved but a small plane, reports NBC News . The state Highway Patrol says...

Navy Fighter Jet Crashes, Killing Pilot

F/A-18E Super Hornet went down Friday in Southern California desert

(Newser) - A Navy fighter jet crashed Friday in the Southern California desert, killing the pilot, authorities said. An F/A-18E Super Hornet based at Naval Air Station Lemoore went down at about 2:30pm in the area of Trona, an unincorporated Mojave Desert community in San Bernardino County, the Navy announced in...

Miracle in Florida: 'I Have No Idea How to Fly the Airplane'

Man with no piloting experience safely lands Cessna after pilot is incapacitated

(Newser) - A man got a crash course in flying an airplane this week, luckily minus the crashing. A passenger in a single-engine Cessna 208 was forced to land the plane at Palm Beach International Airport on Tuesday afternoon after the pilot had an apparent medical emergency on the way back from...

Passenger Jet Turns Back Over Pilot's Certification

Virgin Atlantic co-pilot hadn't taken his final assessment flight with the airline

(Newser) - As far as reasons go for a passenger jet having to turn around midflight, it's a weird one. A Virgin Atlantic flight returned to UK's Heathrow Airport after 40 minutes because the co-pilot technically wasn't qualified to fly, reports the BBC . It may sound worse than it...

People With Lasers Torment Pilots at Record-Setting Rate

'It's a guy thing,' says one expert, and also a federal crime

(Newser) - It’s not a new problem, but it’s worse than ever. Last year alone, the FAA recorded over 9,700 cases in which laser beams struck cockpits, per the New York Times. It was a record high, but some 70,000 cases have been reported since 2010, and—worldwide—...

Report: EgyptAir Crash Likely Caused by Pilot's Cigarette

Terrorism was initially blamed for 2016 crash that killed 66; French investigators found otherwise

(Newser) - Smoke was detected on EgyptAir Flight 804 shortly before it plunged into the Mediterranean on May 19, 2016, killing all 66 aboard, and initial analyses pointed toward terrorism. Now, a report from French investigators points to something far less nefarious: a fire caused by a cigarette smoked by one...

British Airways Pilot Jailed After Faking Flying Experience
He Flew for 2 Years
Unsuspected.
Then, the Press of
a Wrong Button
in case you missed it
Apr 9, 2022 9:00 AM CDT

He Flew for 2 Years Unsuspected. Then, the Press of a Wrong Button

British Airways pilot Craig Butfoy jailed after faking flying experience

(Newser) - Who knows how things would've worked out for Craig Butfoy, and the passengers on the planes he piloted, if he simply hadn't pressed a wrong button one day at work. That button press, as it turns out, led to questions being asked, and then a startling revelation: The...

'I Think We're Making History,' Pilot Said. Then He Crashed

Marc Olson died Tuesday during pioneer mission to battle Colorado wildfire at night

(Newser) - A pilot who'd flown for 42 years—32 of those spent in the Army and Air Force— died Tuesday during a pioneering effort to fight a Colorado wildfire at night. Marc Thor Olson of CO Fire Aviation successfully completed a water drop over the Kruger Rock Fire in Larimer...

Pilots Are Returning to Work, and Some Are Making Mistakes

Many have barely flown for 18 months

(Newser) - If you haven't flown for a long time because of the pandemic, you're far from alone—tens of thousands of pilots worldwide have barely flown in the last 18 months, and rusty pilots tend to make mistakes. Bloomberg reports that dozens of incidents involving out-of-practice pilots have been...

Taliban Go After Air Force By Assassinating Its Pilots

Afghan military pilots are being tracked down in their neighborhoods

(Newser) - The Taliban have been rolling through Afghanistan on the ground as US forces leave, seizing territory sometimes without resistance. But Afghanistan's government still has a tactical advantage, something it has that the Taliban don't: an air force. In an apparent campaign to eliminate that advantage, Taliban forces have...

Hot Mic Picks Up Pilot Ranting Against Liberals

And Hyundais, in Southwest Airlines audio caught on air traffic control scanner

(Newser) - Rule No. 1 of wearing a microphone: Always assume it's a hot one. A Southwest Airlines pilot found that out the hard way after his rant against liberals and a certain car manufacturer got picked up by air traffic control. Per travel site One Mile at a Time , the...

Feds Lay Out Final Moments in Kobe Bryant Crash

NTSB says pilot apparently became disoriented in clouds before crashing

(Newser) - US safety investigators said Tuesday the pilot of Kobe Bryant's helicopter flew through the clouds last year in an apparent violation of federal standards, likely becoming disoriented just before the helicopter crashed and killed Bryant and eight others, per the AP . Pilot Ara Zobayan was flying under visual flight...

He Was Taking Off on Suicide Mission When the War Ended

Kamikaze pilot Kazuo Odachi is telling his story

(Newser) - He's a 93-year-old former fighter pilot for Japan, but Kazuo Odachi has one more highly unusual entry on his military resume. He was a kamikaze pilot and thus not supposed to survive World War II. But as the New York Times explains, Odachi did indeed survive and has begun...

Pakistan Unearths Alarming Stat About Its Pilots

About 1 in 3 have a bogus license

(Newser) - More than 30% of commercial pilots in Pakistan aren't qualified to fly and carry a fake license, according to the country's aviation minister. While faulting pilot error in last month's plane crash that killed a total of 98 people in Karachi, Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said...

Air Force Officially Drops Height Requirement
Air Force Scraps
Pilot Height Rule
May 25, 2020 2:06 PM CDT

Air Force Scraps Pilot Height Rule

It's a 'huge win' for women, official says

(Newser) - Would-be aviators no longer need to worry about being too short or too tall for the Air Force. Officials say the Air Force height requirement has been scrapped and applicants will now go through an "anthropometric screening process" to determine what aircraft they can safely fly, CBS reports. Under...

He Left His Room for 3 Hours. He Got 4 Weeks in Jail

Singapore jails US pilot for breaching quarantine

(Newser) - An American FedEx pilot has become the first foreigner jailed for breaching Singapore's strict quarantine regulations. Alaska resident Brian Yeargan, 44, and two co-pilots were told to spend 14 days isolated in an airport hotel before entering the city after arriving from Australia on April 3. They had planned...

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