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OKANOGAN COUNTY, Wash. – Officials with the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island said one of their aircraft was involved in the obscene skywritings spotted in Okanogan County. Photos sent to KREM 2 by multiple sources show skydrawings of what some people are saying is male genitalia. Some sources have even tweeted pictures of what they saw. A mother who lives in Okanogan who took pictures of the drawings reached out to KREM 2 to complain about the images, saying she was upset she might have to explain to her young children what the drawings were. In a statement to KREM...

The secretary of Air Force said that, after weathering a 1,500-pilot shortfall last summer, the problem has escalated to being 1,926 pilots short -- or missing 1 in 10 of a force that's supposed to have 20,000 pilots. Secretary Heather Wilson told Pentagon reporters today that "it's not just pilots, though, and air crew, when it comes to readiness." "It is spare parts and flying hours and munitions," she noted. "So increasing the readiness of the force so that we win any fight, any time, is our top priority." The biggest reason for the pilot shortage, in the secretary's...

Jury awards millions to pilots flying improperly packed airplane with USMC MRAPs By USMC Life| July 13th, 2017|Featured, News|11 Comments A Cook County jury has returned a verdict in favor of the families of three of seven crew members who perished in the dramatic crash of a National Airlines 747 cargo airplane in Bagram, Afghanistan on April 29, 2013. The crash itself was captured on a dashcam video that went viral over the internet shortly after the accident occurred.

The Air Force is updating its awards to recognize drone pilots and hackers Christopher Woody Jun. 23, 2017 US airmen tasked with jobs like surveillance and cyber operations have a growing role on the battlefield, even though they are often physically distant from it. To ensure that kind of work is recognized, the Air Force has introduced new hardware for its service men and women. "As the impact of remote operations on combat continues to increase, the necessity of ensuring those actions are distinctly recognized grows," Defense Department officials said in a memo published on January 7, 2016.

U.S. pilots over Syria will defend themselves if attacked by Russians, a Pentagon spokesman said Monday, following a report that Russia will treat U.S. or coalition aircraft as targets if they fly over areas in western Syria controlled by Russia. The Russian Defense Ministry made the threat Monday after a U.S. F/A-18E Super Hornet shot down a Syrian Su-22 after that plane bombed U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces that are working with the U.S. to defeat the Islamic State on Sunday. "Any aircraft, including planes and drones of the international coalition, detected in the operation areas west of the Euphrates River...

For the 115th Congress that began on January 2017, I became the Chair of the House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee. In this new position, I deal with a wide range of issue that impact our national security. One somewhat surprising issue the committee is currently confronting is a growing military pilot shortage. Right now, the U.S. Air Force alone is short more than 1,500 pilots and the short fall is increasing yearly. In return for their flight training, most pilots sign an initial service commitment of about 12 years. When their obligated service ends, many, but not all, of...

Skirmishes involving irate passengers broke out at a Florida airport following the cancellation of multiple Spirit Airlines flights. Broward Sheriff's officials tell ABC News that deputies were called to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Monday to deal with angry passengers. Videos posted online show deputies trying to break up fights and detaining some unruly passengers.

This may be the single greatest aviation story ever told, it’s about the iconic SR-71 Blackbird whose full operating specs are still classified to this day. The story, from the now out-of-print book Sled Driver by former SR-71 jockey Brian Shul (available used on Amazon for just $700). Here’s the ultimate aviation troll: There were a lot of things we couldn’t do in an SR-71, but we were the fastest guys on the block and loved reminding our fellow aviators of this fact. People often asked us if, because of this fact, it was fun to fly the jet. Fun...

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating why pilots trying to land at the Boise Airport were met with silence from air traffic controllers during the early hours of Nov. 19. Boise Police officers and paramedics were called out to the air traffic control tower at 2:41 a.m. for a welfare check after learning that pilots and airport officials had been unable to reach the tower operators, despite trying multiple radio frequencies, telephone and the emergency "red phone." The first officers on scene wrote in a report that after reaching a locked gate, they used a spotlight to flash the tower...

A 2009 email published by Wikileaks from former White House Counselor John Podesta's private, non-government unsecured email account details the exact travel time and location of then-President Elect President Obama. The email also details the names and phone numbers of pilots escorting Obama and the number designations of planes on which he was flying.

The shortage stands at 723 pilots this year and is expected to worsen, reaching 1,000 in 2017, with no immediate way to plug the gap because the Air Force needs two years to transform a young officer into a fighter pilot. While active-duty pilot training will increase from 200 this year to 285 in 2017, it won’t begin to replace the lost talent and institutional memory.

First U.S. testing of a man-carrying drone planned for later this year in Nevada Alexandru Micu June 8, 2016 The Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems has granted permission to Chinese drone company EHang to test its on-demand, passenger-carrying aerial vehicle inside state boundaries. This marks the first time a passenger-carrying drone has ever been tested anywhere in the United States. Chinese company EHang received testing rights for its EHang 184 model inside the state of Nevada on Monday, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. The vehicle is an autonomous human sized drone, which EHang was very happy to hail as the...

Mid-sized and regional airlines in the US are suffering from a pilot shortage that could threaten the health of the broader US aviation industry. The labor shortfall has led to canceled flights at carriers like Mesa Airlines and Silver Airways. That has hit smaller airports, such as in Redding, California, or Erie, Pennsylvania, according to figures from the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). The staffing crunch could also constrain traffic for larger companies like United Airlines and Delta Air Lines that depend on the mid-sized companies to serve rural consumers and feed customers into their networks. "It's becoming a...

Muslim airline pilots planned to bomb four UK citiesIf their plot had succeeded, would the British government have awakened to the reality of the global jihad? No, it would have commissioned a blue-ribbon study of "islamophobia." And of course anyone who suggests that it might be unwise to hire Muslims as airline pilots is a racist-islamophobic-antimuslim-bigot. "RAF 'foiled ISIS airline terror plot to bomb four UK cities after cracking pop song code,'" by Steve Robson, Mirror, January 24, 2016

Moody Air Force Base officials are not releasing the names or photographs of two missing Afghan trainees. Capt. Korey Fratini said Wednesday the decision to not release the names is a U.S. Air Force decision and not one that has been made by the base commander. "It is a matter of policy," Fratini told The Valdosta Daily Times. The Air Force has maintained a policy of not releasing the names or images of any Afghan personnel in the interest of their personal safety and the safety of their families back in Afghanistan, the captain said. Fratini said the fact the...

Terrorism ISIS takes flight: Terror group training pilots at airbase in Libya ISIS is training pilots at an airbase in Libya, using small plane left over from the Qaddafi regime and at least one flight simulator in an effort experts fear could lead to aerial attacks targeting Europe, according to regional analysts. The terrorist group, which is bulking up its footprint in the chaotic north African nation even as airstrikes by Russia, the U.S. and other western allies pound its headquarters in Syria, is functioning unfettered in the Mediterranean city of Sirte. Given that Sirte is just a short flight...

Wartime female pilot's glider flight - aged 100 By Ben_Falconer | Posted: November 22, 2015 Jill Farquarson was an ATA flyer VIEW GALLERY Comments (0) Glider pilots have honoured a 100-year-old wartime hero by taking her back up in to the skies. When former Air Transport Auxiliary flyer Jill Farquarson visited Cotswold Gliding Club's Aston Down airfield near Stroud in August, members discovered her heroic past and took her for a flight. She was one of just 168 women who ferried all kinds of planes all over the country, often with precious little prior knowledge, during the Second World War....

The U.S. military on Tuesday labeled as an "incursion" the Russian fighter jet that was shot down by Turkish aircraft over the Syria-Turkey border. Army Col. Steve Warren, the top military spokesman in Baghdad, confirmed the Turk's version of events in saying they repeatedly warned the two Russian SU-24 pilots to back off. Col. Warren used the word "incursion" to describe the Russian flight, but also said the command was studying radars and other data, such as radio chatter, to make a definite conclusion. The incident happened at the border," Col. Warren said. "These things are not as clean as...

A RUSSIAN helicopter has been downed while searching for the pilots who ejected from their burning jet after it was shot down this morning while flying over Syria, according to unconfirmed reports.

The Islamic State continues to target, taunt and terrorize American military service members with impunity. Obama’s “JV” is on the march emboldened, empowered by our jihadi-in-chief. “Government Report: U.S. Fight Against Islamic State Disorganized, Incoherent,” Washington Free Beacon The fruit of President Obama’s anti-American jihad. Americans are not safe in our own homeland. These lists are trying to spark Muslim attacks in the United States like the ones in Garland, Texas, and Chattanooga, Tennessee, in recent months.