The challenges inherent in getting a 162,000-pound aircraft off the ground and landing it safely are pretty obvious to most observers. But at cruising altitude, above 10,000 feet, pilots face a different critical challenge: staying focused.
The Federal Aviation Administration revoked the licenses of two Northwest Airlines pilots Tuesday in an extraordinary letter in which the agency chastised the pair, saying they endangered the public by flying an hour and half without contacting controllers "while you were on a frolic of your own."
The co-pilot of a Northwest Airlines flight that overshot the Minneapolis, Minnesota, airport by 150 miles says he and the pilot weren't asleep and they weren't arguing.
The pilots of the commercial jetliner that last week overshot its destination by about 150 miles have said they were using their laptops and lost track of time and location, federal safety officials said Monday.
Police met a wayward jet that overshot the runway by 150 miles -- while not responding to control tower communications -- and said the pilots were "cooperative, apologetic and appreciative."
A Northwest Airlines flight from San Diego, California, overshot the Minneapolis, Minnesota, airport by about 150 miles Wednesday evening, and federal investigators are looking into whether the pilots had become distracted, as they claimed, or perhaps fell asleep.
The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday proposed fines against two of the nation's largest airlines, saying the airlines flew planes on hundreds of occasions in violation of FAA or airline safety standards.
The "Hero of the Hudson" begins his first day back on the job since saving Flight 1549
Reports of a lone child having survived Tuesday's crash of a Yemenia Airways flight in the Indian Ocean have people wondering: How does anyone survive a plane crash?
Tess Sosa and her daughter have had a hard time forgetting US Airways Flight 1549's emergency landing in New York City's Hudson River in January.
The challenges inherent in getting a 162,000-pound aircraft off the ground and landing it safely are pretty obvious to most observers. But at cruising altitude, above 10,000 feet, pilots face a different critical challenge: staying focused.
The Federal Aviation Administration revoked the licenses of two Northwest Airlines pilots Tuesday in an extraordinary letter in which the agency chastised the pair, saying they endangered the public by flying an hour and half without contacting controllers "while you were on a frolic of your own."
The co-pilot of a Northwest Airlines flight that overshot the Minneapolis, Minnesota, airport by 150 miles says he and the pilot weren't asleep and they weren't arguing.
The pilots of the commercial jetliner that last week overshot its destination by about 150 miles have said they were using their laptops and lost track of time and location, federal safety officials said Monday.
Police met a wayward jet that overshot the runway by 150 miles -- while not responding to control tower communications -- and said the pilots were "cooperative, apologetic and appreciative."
A Northwest Airlines flight from San Diego, California, overshot the Minneapolis, Minnesota, airport by about 150 miles Wednesday evening, and federal investigators are looking into whether the pilots had become distracted, as they claimed, or perhaps fell asleep.
The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday proposed fines against two of the nation's largest airlines, saying the airlines flew planes on hundreds of occasions in violation of FAA or airline safety standards.
The "Hero of the Hudson" begins his first day back on the job since saving Flight 1549
Reports of a lone child having survived Tuesday's crash of a Yemenia Airways flight in the Indian Ocean have people wondering: How does anyone survive a plane crash?
Tess Sosa and her daughter have had a hard time forgetting US Airways Flight 1549's emergency landing in New York City's Hudson River in January.
An Airbus A320 that took off from the Canary Islands had to turn back Wednesday because of an engine problem and then make an emergency landing, officials from Spain's airport authority and the airline said.
It's been little more than a week since an Air France jet crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, bringing a horrific end to the lives of the 228 people aboard.
You can blame it on out-of-towners.
The National Transportation Safety Board said Monday that a bird strike may have preceded the January 4 crash of a Sikorsky helicopter near Morgan City, Louisiana.
In this week's PEOPLE, Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger III recounts the terrifying moments in the cockpit and reflects on saving lives
Canada geese got into both engines of US Airways Flight 1549 and forced the plane to ditch into the Hudson River last month, the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday.
In cockpit voice recording, an unrattled Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger tells the controller he's "unable" to return to airport
The National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday that both engines of the US Airways flight that ditched last month into the Hudson River contained bird remains.
The pilot who made a treacherous crash-landing on New York's Hudson River look like a routine maneuver got a hero's welcome Saturday in his California hometown.
The missing engine from a US Airways jet that ditched in the Hudson River was recovered Friday, more than a week after the crash landing.
Two days before US Airways Flight 1549 crashed into the Hudson River, passengers on the same route and same aircraft say they heard a series of loud bangs and the flight crew told them they could have to make an emergency landing, CNN has learned.
A bird struck an Arkansas hospital's helicopter Saturday, tearing a hole into the aircraft's nose and prompting the pilot to land early, according to officials and pictures taken after the landing.
Pilot Chesley Sullenberger saved the lives of 155 passengers and crew
Lessons learned from previous successful airliner ditchings helped pilot C.B. "Sully" Sullenberger save 155 lives when he put his US Airways A320 jetliner down in the Hudson River, a fellow pilot told CNN.
There are no fatalities when a US Airways jet reportedly flies into flock of geese
Fred Berretta was aboard US Airways Flight 1549 bound for Charlotte, North Carolina, when he heard a loud bang and the plane shook.
US Airways (NYSE: LCC) flight 1549, an Airbus A320 en route to Charlotte from LaGuardia, has been involved in an accident in New York at approximately 3:03 p.m. Eastern Time.
The problem of planes hitting birds comes down to a key fact: "We're competing for airspace," says Richard Dolbeer, a biologist who spent 20 years studying the problem at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
High net-worth individuals will always find ways to enjoy, celebrate and flaunt their wealth -- the yacht at Monte Carlo, the chateau, the vineyard and the Rolls Royce Phantom. The very wealthy add to this their private jets -- Gulfstreams and Lears -- providing mobile bedrooms and boardrooms for upwards of four people.
Search and rescue teams worked through the night to find the remains of an Airbus jet that crashed into the Mediterranean Sea with seven people aboard, the jet's owner, Air New Zealand, said Friday.
A plane with seven people aboard crashed into the Mediterranean Sea on Thursday, a French regional government official told CNN.
Five people died and more than 80 were injured when a commercial airliner overshot the runway into an adjoining street, crushing three vehicles and splitting into three sections before resting a few feet from a house, officials said.
United Airlines canceled 31 flights Wednesday in order to test fire suppression systems on a number of Boeing 777 aircraft, after discovering a routine check had not been done.
United Airlines has found faulty wiring in the landing gear of three of its Airbus A320 planes, the company said Monday.
After a six-month hiatus, TIME's veteran Iraq correspondent returns to gauge the surge's impact. Have things changed?
Battling blustery weather, a Lufthansa Airlines flight scraped its wing on the ground during a landing attempt in Hamburg, Germany, over the weekend.
Four Greenpeace activists breached security at Heathrow Airport on Monday to climb on top of a British Airways plane and protest plans to build a third runway, the environmental group and airport authorities said.
JetBlue is about to become the first US airline to offer passengers free e-mail at 35,000 feet
JetBlue Airways Corp. will start offering limited e-mail and instant messaging services for free on one of its planes next week as airlines renew efforts to offer in-flight Internet access
The National Transportation Safety Board has released dramatic animation of two runway near-collisions this year to illustrate what the agency says is the need for improvements in runway safety.
Two airliners may have missed colliding by less than 40 feet on the runway at Los Angeles International Airport, and federal officials are investigating, the National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday.
After years of preparation and planning, Virgin America finally took off Wednesday, despite delays caused by a summer storm in New York. But whether all the hype surrounding the new airline is anything more than hot air remains to be seen.
An initial probe of a Brazilian plane crash that killed nearly 200 people suggests the airliner's pilot tried to abort a landing, an official said Wednesday.
More than 12 hours after a Brazilian jet airliner crash killed at least 200 people, smoke continued to pour from a building destroyed in the disaster. CNN correspondent Harris Whitbeck offered these observations from the scene Wednesday:
Want a sure-fire way to make a cool million? Buy a Boeing 737 and flip it. There's only one problem: Good luck finding one.
A Russian plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Prague Thursday after an apparently intoxicated passenger threatened to detonate a bomb, officials said.
A Sibir Airlines passenger jet with 200 people on board veered off the runway early Sunday while landing at Irkutsk Airport in eastern Siberia, crashed into a concrete barrier and burst into flames, killing at least 124 people, according to the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations.
Stormy weather is the most likely cause of a jet crash off the coast of Russia in which 113 people died, according to airline and Russian emergency officials.
You know the old line: How do you end up with $500 million in the airline business? Start with a billion. These days the question should be, How do you end up with $250 million? Or nothing at all? ...
Police said they believe two tires may have been tampered with on a Northwest Airlines Boeing 757, an incident perhaps related to the nearly week-old mechanics strike against the nation's fourth-largest carrier.
Four years ago, an air ticket for the two-hour flight between New Delhi and the commercial capital of Mumbai cost 5110 rupees (then about $150) on Indian Airlines and Jet Airways.
South Korea is to buy four airborne surveillance aircraft to beef up its defenses against North Korea.
Federal aviation officials Tuesday announced plans to require airplane manufacturers Boeing and Airbus to retrofit 3,800 aircraft with onboard systems to prevent fuel tank explosions such as the one thought to have downed a TWA jet in 1996.
When JetBlue Airways CEO David Neeleman boards one of his 23 Airbus A320s, passengers often ask if they can invest in the company. With JetBlue's April 12 IPO (JBLU, priced at $27), they can.
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