FAA

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Feds Order Emergency Checks of 80 Planes

Older 737s to be inspected after Southwest crack

(Newser) - The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered emergency inspections of 80 older Boeing 737s similar to the Southwest plane that suddenly cracked open last week during a flight. The order covers aircraft built with a specific process in the '80s and '90s and those that have more than 30,000 flight...

Snoozing Controller's Excuse: 'Stuck Mike'

Supervisor who fell asleep on the job has been suspended

(Newser) - The air traffic supervisor who fell asleep early Wednesday at Reagan National Airport, forcing two planes to land on their own , was suspended yesterday. Federal officials say the veteran controller was also given a drug test, although the FAA will not confirm the testing or the results. The Washington Post...

This New FAA Rule Could Kill You

No more emergency oxygen masks in airplane lavatories

(Newser) - The FAA recently ordered the emergency oxygen masks removed from the lavatories of all US commercial planes, a directive it says will protect the public from potential terror attacks—but which could also kill anyone who happens to be in the airplane lavatory during a rapid decompression event. The FAA...

Air Traffic Control Errors Soar 81%

But FAA say it's just because more are being reported

(Newser) - The number of air traffic control errors reported to the FAA has taken off over the past three years, climbing 81% from 2007 to 2010. More than 1,800 incidents were reported last year, according to USA Today , including 43 classified as the kind of error most likely to cause...

Planes That Fly Over US Pose Security Threat: Expert

Flights passing over, not landing in nation could house 'dirty bomb'

(Newser) - The thousands of cargo and passenger flights that fly over but don't land in the US each week aren't subject to full security screenings—and pose a potentially deadly risk to Americans, reports the Washington Post . The cargo aboard these flights isn't screened to federal standards, and passenger names aren't...

FAA Safety Program Riddled With Holes

Airplane maintenance not rigorously checked by FAA

(Newser) - An FAA program designed to ensure safe practices at US airlines has lapses that could cost travelers their lives, the AP reports. A report by the Department of Transportation's inspector general found that the oversight program was riddled with holes—the most glaring lapse being in the program's review of...

FAA Not Sure Who Owns Thousands of US Planes

Chaos prompts terror fears; agency calls for re-registration

(Newser) - The FAA lacks key information on who owns some 119,000 private and commercial aircraft in the US, prompting concerns that terrorists or drug traffickers could use the paperwork mess to their advantage—something the latter group is already doing. The FAA is calling for all owners to re-register the...

American Airlines Faces Record $24.2M Fine

FAA says it didn't correct faulty wiring

(Newser) - The FAA is apparently trying to prove it can't be bulled by the airlines. It plans to fine American Airlines $24.2 million—that's more than twice the size of the current record fine—over maintenance violations, reports USA Today . The agency alleges that American flew thousands of unsafe flights...

FAA Lifts Ban on Antidepressants for Pilots

Advocates say change in decades-old policy will improve safety

(Newser) - The FAA will change a 70-year-old rule that bars pilots taking medication for depression from operating planes. The new policy, which takes effect Monday, allows pilots who have been successfully treated for a year with the patented or generic versions of Celexa, Lexapro, Prozac, or Zoloft to request a waiver...

Kid Directs Air Traffic at JFK
 Kid Directs Air Traffic at JFK 
brilliant ideas dept
Mar 3, 2010 10:16 AM CST

Kid Directs Air Traffic at JFK

Air traffic controller apparently allows child to take reins

(Newser) - Take Your Child to Work Day reached a whole new level when an air traffic controller apparently let his kid direct traffic at New York’s JFK airport, spurring an FAA investigation. The child’s voice is heard making five transmissions in audio recordings obtained by Fox , as pilots respond—...

FAA Investigates American After Rocky Landings

Spate of incidents puts airline on the hot seat

(Newser) - The Federal Aviation Administration is stepping up its oversight of American Airlines, looking for a link amid a spate of recent rough landings. Three American jets have had problematic landings in recent weeks, the most dramatic being an incident in Jamaica on Dec. 23, in which a 737 skidded off...

Schumer Lands in Hot Water Over 'Bitch' Comment

Flight attendant made him hang up on Harry Reid

(Newser) - Chuck Schumer set off an unfortunate cascade of events Sunday when he bridled at a flight attendant’s request that he turn off his cell phone so a plane could take off and then muttered that she was a “bitch.” As the story circulated around the Beltway, it...

Northwest Pilots Clammed Up After Overshooting Airport

FAA transcript shows pair blaming silence on 'cockpit distractions'

(Newser) - Air traffic controllers who sought an explanation from the pilots of the "runaway plane," which overshot the Minneapolis airport by about 100 miles last month, got little satisfaction. After being out of radio contact for over an hour, controllers asked the crew of Northwest Flight 188 for a...

FAA Says Airport Computer Glitch Fixed
FAA Says Airport Computer Glitch Fixed
UPDATED
Nov 19, 2009 9:56 AM CST

FAA Says Airport Computer Glitch Fixed

System broke down in both Atlanta and Salt Lake City

(Newser) - FAA officials say failed computers that delayed flights across the country are now working again. The air traffic controllers union says the computer failure involved both of the Federal Aviation Administration's computer centers in Salt Lake City and Atlanta, which handle flight plans for air traffic throughout the country.

Computer Glitch Causes Nationwide Flight Delays

Planes in the air not affected

(Newser) - A problem with the FAA system that collects airlines' flight plans has caused widespread flight cancellations and delays across the US today. An FAA spokeswoman says she doesn't know how many flights are being affected or when the problem will be resolved, but the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world's...

FAA Admits Flubs on Wandering Northwest Flight
FAA Admits Flubs on Wandering Northwest Flight
Runaway Plane
Nov 13, 2009 3:29 PM CST

FAA Admits Flubs on Wandering Northwest Flight

Miscommunication marked regulator's response to stray airliner

(Newser) - The FAA should have taken more decisive action on the Northwest Airlines flight that fell out of communication with ground control for 77 minutes last month, officials acknowledged today. While the plane was out of contact, air-traffic controllers changed shifts and failed to warn their replacements about the runaway plane....

FAA Revokes Northwest Pilots' Licenses
FAA Revokes Northwest Pilots' Licenses
RUNAWAY PLANE
Oct 27, 2009 4:41 PM CDT

FAA Revokes Northwest Pilots' Licenses

Distracted duo have 10 days to appeal

(Newser) - The distracted pilots of Northwest Airlines Flight 188 are no longer pilots: the FAA today announced it has revoked the licenses of Timothy Cheney, 53, and Richard Cole, 54, for the incident last week in which the pair overshot their destination airport by 150 miles. The pilots, who attributed the...

Naptime Nothing New for Pilots
 Naptime Nothing New for Pilots 
Oct 26, 2009 5:45 AM CDT

Naptime Nothing New for Pilots

Cole, Cheney interview by NTSB investigators

(Newser) - Pilot naps and arguments are hardly unique in airline screw ups, statistics reveal as investigators try to figure out what caused Northwest Airlines flight 188 to overshoot its destination airport by 155 miles. Pilots Timothy Cheney and Richard Cole, who were interviewed yesterday NTSB investigators, claim they missed the Minneapolis...

Cockpit Recorder No Help in Northwest Flight Probe
Cockpit Recorder No Help in Northwest Flight Probe
runaway plane
Oct 23, 2009 3:30 PM CDT

Cockpit Recorder No Help in Northwest Flight Probe

Device captures just half an hour; record of 78-minute gap lost

(Newser) - Because the aircraft has an old cockpit voice recorder, the world may never know why the pilots of Northwest Flight 188 lost contact with ground control for 78 minutes. The recorder on the Airbus A320 has a maximum memory of 30 minutes, after which it tapes over itself. So investigators...

Agencies Squabble Over Controller's Role in Hudson Crash

(Newser) - The National Transportation Board's view of the events that caused last weekend's crash over the Hudson River doesn't jibe with the FAA's, the Wall Street Journal reports. The NTSB chronology released yesterday suggests that errors from air traffic controllers—one of whom was one the phone to his girlfriend at...

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