Topic: Federal Aviation Administration

Top galleries, list articles, quizzes

All Content

Illegal immigration: Homeland Security to use drones along border

Illegal immigration is the target of a new Homeland Security project that will use unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, to protect the southern border of the United States.
Unmanned aerial vehicles give troops an airborne assist

Unmanned aerial vehicles give troops on the ground an airborne assist with surveillance duties.
American crosses English Channel in chair tied to helium balloons

American Jonathan Trappe set the world record for the first successful cluster balloon flight across the English Channel today.
Satellite goes rogue, threatens other spacecraft

An adrift Intelsat satellite that went silent last month could collide with other satellites in its path, officials say.
Ash cloud from Iceland volcano shuts down air traffic

Ash cloud from Iceland's spewing volcano halted air traffic across a wide swath of Europe on Thursday.
Child 'air traffic controller' adds to New York JFK's aviation trouble

Reports of the child of an air traffic controller interacting with planes from the JFK tower brings more scrutiny to New York's busy air corridor.
UK union's proposed strike could destroy British Airlines

Unite, Britain's self-proclaimed largest union, lost its bid to stop British Airways from changing their cabin crew staffing. The union is now threatening to strike.
Small plane crashes into Austin office building – was it intentional?

Witnesses say the single-engine plane appeared to accelerate before crashing into the seven-story building, where IRS employees, among others, worked.
Probe blames pilot errors for Colgan Air's Buffalo crash

Last year's Colgan Air crash in Buffalo, N.Y., was due to pilot errors and poor training, officials said Tuesday. The board is looking to standardize safety norms across large and small carriers.
Airplane contrails and their effect on temperatures

Contrails from airplanes impact temperatures at Earth's surface. But do they raise or lower them?
After US Airways 'miracle on the Hudson,' concern grows about bird strikes

For the first time since records have been kept, the number of instances in which aircraft hit birds or other wildlife could top 10,000 for 2009. Increasingly, pilots worry about 'feathered bullets'.
Haiti earthquake: Small Port-au-Prince airport strained by aid demand

US Air Force specialists got the small Port-au-Prince airport running again after the Haiti earthquake, but with a backlog of cargo planes to be unloaded on the tarmac, some flights still can't get in.
Passenger yells 'kill all the Jews,' but air rage is declining

Two unruly passengers caused security emergencies Wednesday, putting the US on edge after the failed Christmas Day terror attempt. But reports of air rage are actually going down.
Detroit attack: terrorist once again confounds airport security

From 9/11 to the Christmas Day attack on Northwest Flight 253 over Detroit, terrorists have changed their tactics to get around airport security.
Both balloon boy parents sentenced to jail time for hoax

Richard Heene will serve 90 days in jail, the maximum proposed under a plea deal reached earlier for his role in the hoax. Mayumi Heene will serve 20 days. 'Balloon boy' parents' sentence also bars them from profiting from the incident.
Opinion: Flight delays this Christmas?

Flight delays aren’t inevitable. There are proven ways – from revamping air traffic control to congestion pricing – to fix the problem.
Air France crash still a mystery: new search for black boxes

French authorities will launch a new search in February for the black boxes from Air France flight 447 which crashed in the Atlantic last June. French official is "optimistic" they will find the debris from the crash and solve the mystery.
Boeing 787 Dreamliner poised for first flight

Boeing's 787 Dreamliner is set to attempt its first flight Tuesday after years of delays. The company's first new jetliner in almost 15 years, the plane is made of lightweight composite materials and supposed to reduce fuel costs by 20 percent.
Federal Register lights up the online world

Tome of official Washington, the Federal Register is now searchable after debut of fancy online version. Journalists rejoice...sort of.
Airline safety: The next generation of smart planes

New ways of handling air traffic, including 3-D infrared upfront, may cut delays and improve airline safety.
Flight delays fade as airports recover from computer glitch, FAA says

Worst flight delays on Thursday morning came in Atlanta, Washington, and New York area. FAA grapples, again, with flight-plan computer glitch.
Pilots distracted by laptops? Not in cockpits of the future.

Automated flight controls under research may be able to sense how alert pilots are. It’s one way science could help prevent mistakes like the one made by the Northwest pilots who overflew Minneapolis by 150 miles.
Wayward pilots' licenses revoked, but larger questions remain

The FAA moved quickly to revoke Northwest pilots' licenses. But their mistake raises thorny issues. Do cockpits need better monitoring? Does communication between flight controllers and the US military need improvement?
Northwest pilots' mishap highlights delay in new cockpit rules

Northwest pilots who flew past Flight 188's destination by 150 miles aren't the first to overshoot. Despite other such incidents, new rules on pilot fatigue and cockpit oversight are not yet in place.
Northwest Airlines flight leads to probe of pilot professionalism

The FAA is working on new rules regarding fatigue and other aspects of pilot conduct in the cockpit.