Free Republic

A World War II fighter pilot received an extra special present when vintage aircraft flew over Boeing Field, about five miles south of downtown Seattle, honoring Dorothy Olsen's 99th birthday, NBC Station KING reports. She was one of about 1,000 female pilots during the war and flew 22 different types of fighter planes from factories to U.S. Army Air Force bases from 1943 to 1945. After Olsen delivered the plane, male pilots would fly them overseas to combat destinations. Dorothy Olsen, left, watches the sky as vintage aircraft fly over Boeing Field, honoring her 99th birthday. "I've been lucky," Olsen...

It's big, it's ugly and it nearly took out a small plane that got too close. The Boeing Co.'s Large Cargo Freighter, a modified 747 that will be used to ferry sections of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, left a wake vortex so powerful that it apparently sent the small plane plunging toward the earth as it prepared to land at Boeing Field. The single-engine Cessna was being flown by a student pilot, but an instructor took over and regained control, avoiding a crash. By then, however, the Cessna was below the level of the booms of the cranes that are used...

SEATTLE - King County Executive Ron Sims on Tuesday rejected proposals by Southwest Airlines and Alaska Air Group to begin flying passenger jets out of Boeing Field, citing concerns about traffic, noise and the potential cost to taxpayers. "I have said all along that I would not endorse any proposal from any airline if it led to significant traffic and noise impacts," Sims said. Southwest was the first to propose the move from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to the smaller county-run airport closer to Seattle. The airline said it needed to make the move to continue its low-cost service, and...