Free Republic

Daniel Huff, a former White House lawyer, noted in a recent analysis that the drive toward diversity and inclusion in the airline industry has put passengers at risk. In an article for the New York Post, Huff wrote that President Donald Trump was right to rescind diversity efforts at the Federal Aviation Administration. That's because female and minority pilots -- many of whom entered the industry amid a drive toward diversity among pilots -- were responsible for half of pilot-error crashes. Despite making up 10 percent of pilots, they were responsible for four out of eight such crashes since 2000....

Every flight has a callsign that's used with air traffic control, and for commercial aircraft, that's generally going to be the generic airline callsign plus the flight number. Callsigns are of course unique to a particular flight, because that's the way that air traffic control communicates with pilots. That brings us to what happened very late last night (Thursday, August 13, 2026), in Phoenix. AA2482 is a flight number used by American between Chicago (ORD) and Phoenix (PHX). The flight number is actually used in both directions of travel, which isn't that uncommon, with both flights being operated by Boeing...

Air India pilots were due to undergo mandatory drug screening from Thursday, after a plane captain involved in a mid-air plunge last week tested positive for use of marijuana. Existing rules require airlines to randomly test at least 10% of their flight crew for psychoactive substances each year. But AFP reported it had seen an internal memo following the mid-air drama on a flight from Thailand to New Delhi. It said: “We have decided to undertake a full screening of all Group pilots for any substances or medications that are not permitted under prevailing regulations. Testing is mandatory and will...

Two people were killed Wednesday when a Fort Hood AH-64 Apache attack helicopter violently crashed into a field in Central Texas, sparking a wildfire that forced evacuations and sent emergency crews racing to the scene, authorities said. Bell County Sheriff's Office spokesman Cliff Coleman said authorities received the call about the crash at approximately 1:34 p.m. The helicopter went down in a field south of Salado, roughly 30 minutes from Fort Hood. KWTX reported the crash occurred off Dove Hollow Lane. Coleman described the crash as violent and confirmed two people were killed. No one else was injured. Coleman identified...

VIDEOS AT LINK.................... An American Airlines airplane was forced to make an emergency landing in South Carolina after flames shot from one of its engines after the aircraft reportedly struck birds while taking off in Myrtle Beach. “Mayday, mayday, mayday. We’ve got a engine problem here,” the pilot said shortly after takeoff, according to CNN. “I saw he took up birds, it looked like, at least in the left side engine,” another pilot who saw the bird strike said on radio. The Boeing 737 carrying 181 people landed safely. Watch below: CNN shared further: Patrick Gotwalt was a passenger on...

An Alaska Airlines flight bound for Seattle was forced back to the gate Sunday evening after two unruly passengers allegedly threatened to seize control of the aircraft, prompting the crew to trigger a cockpit lockdown and call for law enforcement. The Boeing 737 had pushed back from the gate at Miami International Airport and was taxiing for departure around 6:40 p.m. when the situation escalated. According to air traffic control audio obtained by ATCapp, the pilot alerted controllers that the crew was responding to a serious onboard disturbance. “Ramp, Alaska 305, we have set the parking brake and we have...

These parents' names should be published, and they should be publicly humiliated. These horrible parents and their spoiled brat child should be banned from flying for the rest of their lives. https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/flight-cancelled-child-refused-sit-085812096.html

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating a safety incident involving a commercial airplane and Marine One, the helicopter carrying President Donald Trump, according to multiple reports. Trump departed the White House in Marine One yesterday at 2:33 pm on his way to Joint Base Andrews. The president often helicopters from the White House to JBA, where he boards Air Force One for trips. One minute later, a commercial airplane took off from Reagan National Airport, Reuters reported. At the time of the president’s departure, air traffic control hadn’t halted flights at Reagan National Airport per policy, sources told Reuters....

RICHFIELD, Wis. — A 69-year-old man flew a helicopter from the Rosendale area to a Cabela’s store in Richfield on Saturday evening because “the drive was too long,” the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said. A sheriff’s deputy responded about 6 p.m. to a report that a helicopter had landed in the Cabela’s parking lot in the Village of Richfield. The deputy contacted the pilot, a 69-year-old Rosendale man, who said he had flown to the sporting goods store. The drive from Rosendale to Richfield takes about 50 minutes. The sheriff’s office said the pilot was properly licensed, landed safely and...

A terrifying scene unfolded over Greece on Sunday as two firefighting helicopters collided in midair while crews battled a fierce wildfire west of Athens. The frightening crash was captured on video obtained by Kefalonia Press, showing the kind of split second disaster that turns an already dangerous emergency into a nightmare in the sky. In the footage, one helicopter appears to clip the rotor of another aircraft. Moments later, flames erupt and one of the helicopters plunges toward the ground. The helicopters had been leased by the local fire department to fight a blaze in Psatha, a coastal area west...

The F-47 program has entered its engineering and manufacturing development phase with unprecedented maturity. The F-47 program has entered its engineering and manufacturing development phase with unprecedented maturity. Kalawin/USAF =========================================================================== The United States’ next-generation fighter aircraft program has reached a significant milestone. Boeing has begun manufacturing prototype aircraft for the F-47, the U.S. Air Force’s future sixth-generation stealth fighter. According to Air Force officials, the program remains on schedule, with the aircraft’s maiden flight expected in 2028. The progress marks the transition from years of design, research, and technology demonstrations to the construction of physical aircraft that will undergo rigorous...

KAAN fighter jet prototype in powered taxi tests. Turkish Aerospace Industries, Inc. ========================================================================================= Turkey’s next-generation KAAN fighter has entered another key phase of development after Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAŞ) began powered taxi tests with the P1 prototype, bringing the stealth aircraft closer to its next flight milestone. Footage released by the company shows the twin-engine jet rolling down the runway under its own power as engineers assess braking, steering, engine response and ground handling. Those evaluations are a standard part of aircraft development and must be completed before a prototype is cleared for flight. The milestone carries added significance because...

A fighter jet crashed at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar Friday morning, sparking a small fire on the military base. The F-35B assigned to 3rd Marine Aircraft Group 11 went down around 10 a.m. in what Marine Corps spokesperson Capt. Steven Keenan called a "Class A mishap." The pilot, the only person aboard, ejected from the plane and was recovered, Keenan said. It was not clear if the individual was injured. Footage from SkyRanger 7 showed a plane in at least two pieces amid a football-field-sized patch of scorched earth, which fire crews doused in streams of water. It was...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court agreed Monday to review an Alaska bush pilot’s claims that state authorities have tried to illegally seize his $95,000 airplane after a passenger brought a six-pack of beer on a flight bound for a dry village. The pilot, Kenneth Jouppi, sued to block his plane’s seizure after he was convicted of an alcohol-related misdemeanor charge. The Alaska Supreme Court ruled in the state’s favor that Jouppi’s plane was subject to criminal forfeiture laws. On Monday, however, the nation’s highest court agreed to hear Jouppi’s case. He argues that taking his 1969 Cessna would violate...

A Sukhoi Superjet 100 performing a demonstration flight for media, airline and aviation personnel with 46 people onboard crashed near a mountain in Indonesia on Wednesday. Their fate was not immediately known, as a search and rescue operation had to be called off due to bad weather. Contact with the 100-seat jet (registration RA-97004) was lost about 20 minutes after takeoff from Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in Jakarta, according to early reports. An official told Reuters that that radio contact was lost with the plane after it descended from 10,000 feet to 6,000 feet. It disappeared from radar near the 7,200-ft...

A new aircraft is coming in hot. JetZero, the California-based aerospace company, is in the midst of ejecting Boeing from the game with its newest prototype — the Z4. The aircraft is a blended-wing-body, and it’s aimed at disrupting air travel. The Z4 is set apart from the traditional tube-and-wing design most airliners have today. JetZero’s new model blends the wings and body into one surface. This creates an aerodynamic lift and could help conserve fuel.

My moment of awakening, to the fact that the government lies to us and covers stuff up happened in the Flight 800 crash over Long Island Sound. It was July 17, 1996, and I took a Mental Health day from work. I was tuned to MSNBC. Back in those days, MSNBC had not yet become an asylum for the politically insane, and actually had decent coverage about Clinton's many foibles, to eventually cover his scandals and subsequent impeachment. Suddenly, Norah O'Donnell, who was working there at the time (and actually was a pretty decent journalist back then) cut into the...

MESA, Ariz. - A U.S. Marine Corps military aircraft caught fire at Mesa Gateway Airport on Sunday, prompting an emergency response from local firefighting crews. What we know: Mesa Fire & Medical Department units rushed to the airfield around 6 p.m. on July 19 after reports of a fire originating in one of the aircraft's engines. Specialized Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting equipment was quickly deployed to the scene, where crews used advanced foam agents to smother the flames and bring the hazard under control. Officials confirmed that there were no injuries reported among the aircraft's crew or the responding firefighters....

A terror group from Egypt told the FBI it was responsible for downing TWA Flight 800 and killing all 230 people aboard, according to newly surfaced FBI records featured in a new documentary marking the 30th anniversary of the tragedy. An explosive claim buried in a trove of newly obtained Freedom of Information Act documents is reviving decades-old questions about whether a missile or bomb brought down the Boeing 747-100 off Long Island on July 17, 1996. Among the records obtained by the transparency nonprofit Judicial Watch is a New York teletype dated two days after the crash, case file...

Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, the “Hero of the Hudson” who safely landed a US Airways flight in the Hudson River to save 155 passengers in 2009, has been diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer’s. “I recently found out I have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. It is early stage,” Sullenberger, 75, said in a statement.