Free Republic

In a significant step, US President Donald Trump has released $397 million to Pakistan to sustain the F-16 fighter jet fleet for counter-terrorism operations, despite ordering a 90-day foreign aid freeze soon after taking office. Incidentally, it was Trump who had, in his earlier tenure, stopped the security aid to Pakistan which was reversed by the Biden administration. Shortly after taking office on 20 January this year, Trump ordered a 90-day halt to foreign aid programmes. However, until 13 February, the Trump administration had released roughly $5.3 billion in funds for security-related programmes, according to a report by Reuters. Of...

Lockheed bets on F-35 upgrades to remain relevant in an airpower race with China that favors revolution over evolution US F-35 in a file photo. Image: US Air Force Bested at the next-generation US fighter competition, Lockheed Martin is betting big on turning the F-35 into a “fifth-gen-plus” fighter — retrofitting tomorrow’s tech into yesterday’s jet to stay in the game. This month, multiple media sources reported that Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet announced that the defense giant will not challenge the US Air Force’s decision to award the US$20 billion Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter contract to rival...

After my story on the FAA’s hiring scandal went viral, many of the people impacted and involved in bringing it to light reached out to me to share their stories in detail. While I initially intended to publish this in another outlet, after a couple of instances of radio silence and with life getting in the way, I put it on the shelf. Now, in the wake of the tragic plane crash on January 29 and a resurgence of focus on this topic, it’s more important than ever to get the story straight. I neither have nor claim to have...

Parts of Toronto Pearson International Airport have been put on lockdown after a man was shot, with police and paramedics swarming the area. Terminal 1 Departures at the major airport has been closed due to a 'police-involved shooting', the province's Special Investigations Unit confirmed. They later confirmed that an adult male had been shot, adding that it was an isolated incident and there are no known threats to the public. Images taken at the scene show a body on the ground behind a blacked out SUV outside of the terminal. Police said that the officer involved in the shooting was...

A recent flight to Italy was disrupted by a passenger who was upset about getting the wrong onboard meal. Before the plane turned back to the U.S., the man tried to charge into the cockpit. Passengers were stranded at their original airport for eight hours until their flight could take off again the next morning. Passengers on board a transatlantic American Airlines flight from New York City to Milan earlier this month were nearly at the the halfway mark of their eight-hour journey when they learned their plane was making a U-turn back to the U.S. The reason: one disruptive...

Passengers evacuate Delta Airlines flight at Orlando International Airport after engine fire Over 200 evacuated

Chinese airlines have begun returning Boeing aircraft to the U.S., with one 737 Max recently landing back at a Boeing production hub in Seattle over the weekend, according to Reuters. Saturday’s return occurred shortly after China ordered its airlines not to take further deliveries of Boeing aircraft in response to the U.S. imposing 145% tariffs on Chinese goods, Bloomberg News reported last week. A trio of 737 Max 8 jets that were originally being readied at Boeing’s Zhoushan delivery center for two Chinese airlines were recalled to the U.S. last week, according to aviation news service The Air Current, citing...

Passengers were left in fear for their lives when a pilot encountered landing difficulties while operating a Frontier Airlines flight bound for Puerto Rico. Frontier Flight 5306 from Orlando was carrying 228 passengers and approaching Luis Marín Muñoz International Airport in San Juan on Monday when its landing was aborted at the last second. The Airbus A321 encountered a 'mechanical problem' when one of the wheels broke off the front landing gear, the airline told El Nuevo Día newspaper. FlightAware - the flight tracking company - showed that aircraft flew around the airport four times and made a second landing...

An American citizen identified as Akinyela Sawa Taylor hijacked a Cessna 208 Grand Caravan with 14 souls on board in Belize on Thursday. Taylor held the pilot at knifepoint and demanded a new flight path out of the country. He also demanded more fuel for the plane, according to ABC News, citing local law enforcement. Video at link................ According to police, the crazed American was fatally shot in the chest by a passenger carrying a licensed firearm. Video at link............... The Cessna 208 had been circling near Belize City at the time of the incident and nearly ran out of...

Terrified passengers aboard a Frontier Airlines flight from Florida feared “it was the end” when one of the plane’s wheels broke off during a hard landing in a frightening moment caught on camera. Frontier Flight 5306 was on final approach to San Juan, Puerto Rico, when the 228-passenger plane touched down at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport before quickly climbing back up on April 15. During the first landing attempt, the Airbus A321 suffered a “mechanical problem” resulting in one of the wheels tearing off the front landing gear, Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Dia reported. The mother of two...

A violent mid-air incident aboard a domestic flight in Belize ended in the fatal shooting of an American man who attempted to seize control of the aircraft on Thursday morning, The New York Post reported. According to Belizean authorities, Akinyela Sawa Taylor, 49, brandished a knife and began attacking fellow passengers aboard Tropic Air flight V3HIG en route to San Pedro. The altercation began around 8:30 a.m. while the plane was still airborne. During the chaos, Taylor managed to injure several individuals. However, another passenger on board intervened and fatally shot the attacker in the chest. The suspect later succumbed...

The Chinese Communist Party has ordered its state-controlled airlines to halt all deliveries of Boeing aircraft, striking a blow to one of America’s manufacturing giants. The directive, reported by Bloomberg News, comes as a retaliatory jab in response to President Donald Trump’s bold 145% tariffs on Chinese goods—a policy aimed at leveling the playing field for American workers long exploited by China’s unfair trade practices. Boeing, the US’ largest exporter, now faces the loss of a critical market. China’s top three airlines—Air China, China Eastern, and China Southern—had planned to receive 179 Boeing planes between 2025 and 2027. This abrupt...

April 11 (UPI) -- The South African Civil Aviation Authority said a low-altitude helicopter crash that didn't result in any injuries was caused by an unusual passenger famous for its lack of flight experience -- a penguin. The SACAA's incident report said the pilot and three human passengers landed on Bird Island, off the Eastern Cape, on Jan. 19, and a passenger described as a "specialist" placed a penguin from the island in a cardboard box and brought it aboard the aircraft "The pilot conducted a risk assessment of the flight; however, he omitted to include the carriage (transportation) of...

Boca Raton Seriously — what the heck is happening with all these aircraft crashes recently? Three people have reportedly been killed in a small plane has crashed near Boca Raton Airport in Florida. ... Videos of the scene showed smoke billowing from several fires at the side of a highway lined with palm trees. The aircraft had reported mechanical issues at around 10.17am, according to BocaNewsNow. Video and photos of the horrific incident rolled in on social media on Friday morning:

The Awesome F-22 Thrust Vectoring ● Falling Leaf 🍂 Maneuver ● J-Turn ● Tail Slides

Air Force Special Operations Command marked a new chapter with its latest aircraft April 3 when the first Skyraider II fully modified for military use arrived at Hurlburt Field, Fla. A modified crop duster, the OA-1K will provide airborne eyes, ears, and precision fires to support ground troops in permissive airspace, just as its namesake, the A-1 Skyraider, did in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. AFSOC commander Lt. Gen. Michael Conley said at the welcoming ceremony that the aircraft’s small maintenance footprint and ease of swapping out sensors, weapons, and communications equipment will play a key role in future conflicts....

The Taraia Object is the commonly used name for a visual anomaly in the lagoon of Nikumaroro Island in the south Pacific Ocean. Its location is alongside the Taraia Peninsula, which projects southwestward from the north side of the lagoon. The Object is visible in satellite images, aerial photos, drone footage, and video footage of the lagoon. Its location is directly east of the Tatiman Passage, which connects the lagoon to the open ocean. (Satellite image)

An air traffic control supervisor at Reagan National Airport punched a colleague Thursday during a dispute in the control tower that forced others to step away from their duties to intervene, according to two people with knowledge of the incident. Damon Marsalis Gaines, 39, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, was arrested Friday and charged with misdemeanor assault and battery “following reports of an incident in the ATC control tower at DCA,” a Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority spokesperson said. He was taken to the Arlington County jail, served with a misdemeanor summons and released. The two people familiar with the incident, speaking...

Plane that crashed into a home in Minnesota went straight down "Like a lawn dart", caught of neighbor's RING camera. Can some FReeper pilots explain this?........... 2:25 VIDEO AT LINK...................

A Delta Airlines plane carrying 136 people nearly collided with a military jet Friday afternoon in a loss-of-separation incident outside the same DC airport where a mid-air collision took the lives of 67 people in January. Delta Airlines Flight 2983 departed its gate from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport at 2:55 p.m. local time and was cleared for takeoff to Minneapolis-St. Paul around 3:15 p.m As the commercial plane headed south over the Potomac River, a group of four Northrop T38 Talon jets traveled west toward Arlington National Cemetery for a flyover. The Airbus A319 and the military jet crossed...