Aircraft in the News and Odd Stories

U.S Air Force Officers leave blast door opened to Nuclear Missles; punished

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/23/us-air-force-nuclear-missiles-blast-door

French investigators have cautioned ground-handling crew and their procedures that take for granted that an arriving aircraft is safe to approach after the anti-collision beacons have been turned off. The warning comes on the heels of an incident at Chambery in which a ramp agent was injured after being hurled by jet blast after the crew forgot to shut down the engines of a British Airways CityFlyer Embraer 190.

Serious marketing here in this pre-flight safety routine by Virgin America.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6CJXdYPRLk

Spirit Aerosystems reported a 10 percent rise in quarterly revenue due to strong demand for large commercial aircraft. Spirit reported a net profit of USD$93.7 million for the third quarter ended September 26, compared with a loss of USD$134.4 million a year earlier. Revenue rose to USD$1.50 billion from USD$1.36 billion the previous year.

(Reuters)

Skydivers escape when jump planes collide over Wisconsin

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20131103/NATION/311030033

Rc plane attacked by hawks during flight

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_h489G9vmzw

Boeing Dreamlifter cargo plane lands at the wrong airport

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/21/travel/kansas-cargo-plane-wrong-airport/

It was quite a surprise for commuters in the rush hour traffic of Cumberland, Maine, when a Cessna 152 landed on Interstate 295 around 5 p.m. Thursday.

Boeing is to modify 737s to improve protection against potential freezing of elevator systems, after investigation into a near-stall by a Norwegian aircraft highlighted the risk of de-icing fluid contaminating power control units for the horizontal stabiliser.

An Airbus A321 carrying passengers who were are Manchester United soccer team was forced to abort a landing attempt this week at Konrad Adenauer Airport in Cologne, Germany, at 1,300-feet after the crew spotted another airplane on the runway.

EU Bans All Nepal-Based Airlines in Latest Update of Blacklist

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-05/eu-bans-all-nepal-based-airlines-in-latest-update-of-blacklist.html

French investigators are looking into a low-altitude incident involving a Turkish-registered aircraft which descended to less than 50ft above runway height while still 3nm from landing.

Airbus is to freeze concept work for the A350-1000 by the end of this month, and shift to a more detailed design stage in the new year. Chief executive Fabrice Bregier says 2014 will be a “very busy year” for the -1000. He says the airframer is “ramping down” design teams from the -900 so that it will have sufficient resources to develop the larger twinjet.

The McMinnville, Oregon, museum housing Howard Hughes' mammoth H-4 Hercules (better known as the "Spruce Goose") is facing financial scrutiny, and the ownership of the historic airplane is in question. The Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum is backed by Evergreen International Airlines founder Delford Smith, 83, and along with some of Smith's other business entities, the cargo carrier is facing financial difficulty. According to reports in the Oregon Live online news source, creditors are trying to force Evergreen International Airlines into Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and the Oregon Department of Justice is investigating whether or not funds from Smith's businesses have been illegally comingled with museum financing. (FM)

A SIA (Singapore Airlines) A380 apparently lost cabin pressure and had to be diverted...

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-01-06/singapore-air-a380-flight-diverted-after-cabin-loses-pressure

Virgin Galatica private commercial space craft makes successful test flight.

Southwest Airlines Plane Lands, airline in hot water

http://www.forbes.com/sites/grantmartin/2014/01/12/southwest-airlines-plane-lands-at-wrong-airport-almost-careens-off-cliff/

Heart Attack in the sky...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/14/nurses-save-pilot-heart-attack-united-airlines_n_4595692.html

Shake up in the sky...United Airlines flight experiences severe turbulence...

http://pix11.com/2014/01/16/5-injured-as-severe-turbulence-forces-united-airlines-plane-back-to-newark/