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Two planes began their takeoffs on intersecting runways at Chicago’s Midway airport on Tuesday evening, before being ordered to stop by air traffic control and averting a collision in the center of the airport, the FAA confirmed. The two planes involved were Southwest Flight 3828 bound for

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) established a “no-fly zone” for commercial airplanes around the site of Hillary Clinton’s campaign launch Saturday on New York City’s Roosevelt Island. The FAA’s “Temporary flight restrictions for VIP Movement” notice made clear that people in planes trespassing over Hillary’s event could get shot down. “The United States government may use deadly force against the airborne aircraft if it is determined that the aircraft poses an imminent security threat,” the notice said. Though Clinton is not the president, and thus should not normally warrant this kind of federal privilege, her husband, former president Bill Clinton,...

How far will our ideologically demented ruling class push Affirmative Action before people start pushing back? Already it has played a role in destroying our schools, with a liberal judge actually abolishing aptitude tests on the grounds that blacks don’t score as well. But apparently people don’t think it matters whether teachers have any qualifications other than skin color. If being black can get you into the White House, why not a classroom? Maybe airliners crashing into each other will wake people up:

In a move that shows commercial space exploration is not just possible, but probable, the United States House of Representatives just passed the SPACE Act in order to lay down some general guidelines in case you want to, you know, start a mining operation in space. While private charters like Virgin Galactic, and colonization missions to Mars by the likes of SpaceX are all the rage these days, the bill would suggest that enough private organizations have an interest in mining valuable resources from space that the need for legislation is necessary. Bear in mind, not a single private company...

The Fox Business Network (FBN) should be congratulated for launching a six-month investigation into the Federal Aviation Administration’s hiring practices, an investigation revealing complicity between the FAA and diversity groups such as the National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees (NBCFAE). The findings were revealed on “The Willis Report” last week on FBN. The investigation resulted in an article by Adam Shapiro, exposing a story of corruption and attempts to stoke favoritism, where an FAA employee and head of an NBCFAE chapter worked to increase the likelihood that minority candidates would succeed under the FAA’s new hiring practices. Ironically, one...

Trouble in the Skies Adam Shapiro FOX Business' "Trouble in the Skies," a six month investigation of the FAA’s new hiring practices, uncovered changes that may put the nation’s flying public at risk as well as allegations that the newest air traffic control recruits had access to answers on a key test that helped them gain jobs with the FAA. snip... Also uncovered was an FAA effort to promote diversity that discarded 3000 qualified college graduates with degrees in air traffic control despite their following FAA procedure and obtaining FAA accredited degrees.

A small gyrocopter that flew through miles of the nation’s most restricted airspace before landing at the U.S. Capitol was “indistinguishable” on radar from non-aircraft such as a flock of birds, a kite or a balloon, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday. FAA Administrator Michael Huerta told a House committee that the slow-moving gyrocopter appeared as an “irregular symbol” on radar monitored by air traffic controllers. Huerta and other officials said the small, unidentified object did not pose an apparent threat before landing on the Capitol’s West Lawn April 15. Forensic analysis conducted later identified a slow-moving...

Today’s post, direct from the Rabbit Hole:Due to the recent mass murder of 149 men, women and children with a high-capacity Airbus A320 airplane – which is just the most recent in an epidemic of suicidal airplanes – airplane safety rules are being reviewed by the Federal Transportation Department for possible revision.Under the leadership of luminaries like former NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg as well as other well known anti-gun politicians and Hollywood activists, grass root advocacy groups have been quickly organized and funded. One of the largest to-date is Mothers Against Planes* (MAP). They’ve already begun to lobby Congress for...

The co-pilot of the Germanwings flight that authorities believe was deliberately crashed in the French Alps was certified by U.S. aviation officials. The co-pilot, 28-year-old Andreas Guenter Lubitz, was granted status as an airman by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Jan. 6, 2012, according to the agency’s online database. French authorities have accused Lubitz of locking the captain of Germanwings Flight 9525 out of the cockpit and intentionally crashing the plane, killing all 150 people who were on board. The FAA certification lists Lubitz as a “private pilot (foreign based)” who is proficient in single engine landings and gliders....

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is recognizing Andreas Guenter Lubitz with inclusion in the prestigious FAA Airmen Certification Database. The database, which appears on the agency's website at www.faa.gov, names Lubitz and other certified pilots who have met or exceeded the high educational, licensing and medical standards established by the FAA. Pilot certification standards have evolved over time in an attempt to reduce pilot errors that lead to fatal crashes. FAA standards, which are set in consultation with the aviation industry and the public, are among the highest in the world. Transportation safety experts strongly recommend against flying with an...

Amateur drone hobbyists, beware! If you happen to make one red cent from any video filmed with your small drone – or if Uncle Sam thinks you are -- you might soon receive an unwelcome notice in the mail or an ominous visitor at your door. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is cracking down on what it deems to be “commercial use” of drones or “Unmanned Aerial Vehicles” (UAVs), as it prefers to call them. The agency is turning amateur hobbyists and small business owners into potential outlaws should they ignore the FAA’s demands to “cease and desist” from operating...

Haven’t we been here before? Nader Ali Sabouri Haghighi, an Iranian National, obtained an FAA-issued pilot’s license and flight instructor certificate using an American pilot’s stolen identification. The illegally obtained credentials would not only have allowed him to fly American aircraft, but to train others to fly planes inside the United States. Haghighi’s plot was similar to the type of planning that led to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. After an international chase spanning most of the globe, Haghighi was apprehended, tried, and found guilty. He was then given a mere 27 months in federal prison. “It seems this...

A common plot device in action movies is for terrorists to seize control of the air traffic control system, so they can crash plans into the ground or into each other. It's always seemed a bit far-fetched, until this week.

A newly leaked document by the Federal Aviation Administration may offer a first look at upcoming regulations for drones, and the laws discussed appear to be somewhat favorable for photographers who fly camera drones.

The FAA’s Office of the Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation (AST) has given thumbs-up regarding private sector operations on the Moon.

It's very early days, but the US government is apparently looking to encourage commercial development of the moon, offering to assist investment by helping companies to claim territory through existing space launch licensing. According to Reuters, which has spied related documents, the Federal Aviation Administration state that it intends to "leverage the FAA's existing launch licensing authority to encourage private sector investments in space systems by ensuring that commercial activities can be conducted." The letter to Bigelow Aerospace could mean that the company's inflatable living spaces and other structures built or established on the moon could confer exclusive rights to...

Pilots around the United States have reported a surge in near-collisions and other dangerous encounters with small drones in the past six months at a time when the Federal Aviation Administration is gradually opening the nation’s skies to remotely controlled aircraft, according to FAA records. Since June 1, commercial airlines, private pilots and air-traffic controllers have alerted the FAA to 25 episodes in which small drones came within a few seconds or a few feet of crashing into much larger aircraft, the records show. Many of the close calls occurred during takeoffs and landings at the nation’s busiest airports, presenting...

Remember that record flyover of 49 Van's RVs at last season's Chiefs-Raiders game in Kansas City? The FAA remembers too. In the wake of that sanctioned overflight, some pilots of Experimental-category airplanes are now receiving letters of investigation from the agency for other flights that may have run afoul of regulations.

A no fly zone has been instituted above and around Ferguson, Missouri while reports are emerging that area airports are being shut down. The Federal Aviation Administration announced the no fly zone after the grand jury decision came through on Monday night in the Michael Brown shooting. Listed under the reason for the no fly zone, the agency put: “To provide a safe environment for law enforcement activities.” It later said that the decision stemmed partially from reports of gunshots being fired into the sky. The prohibited airspace is designated as three nautical miles around Ferguson. “On the ST LOUIS...

U.S. airlines are saving tens of millions of dollars every week because of lower prices for jet fuel, their largest expense. So why don't they share some of the savings with passengers? Simply put: Airlines have no compelling reason to offer any breaks. Planes are full. Investors want a payout. And new planes are on order. In fact, fares are going higher. And those bag fees that airlines instituted in 2008 when fuel prices spiked aren’t going away either. …