Airline Safety And Security News
Pilot with fake licence arrested before taking off with 101 passengers
A pilot suspected of flying using a fake licence for over a decade has been arrested whilst preparing for take-off in a jet with 101 passengers on-board. The 41-year-old Swede was at the controls of a Boeing 737 at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport when he was handcuffed by police.
Terror alert forces BA jet to return to Heathrow
A British Airways jumbo jet was forced to return to Heathrow after a major terror scare, it has emerged today. The Boeing 747, which was bound for Mexico City, was more than halfway across the Atlantic last Friday when U.S. authorities barred it from entry into U.S. airspace due to “serious concerns” about one of its passengers.
Cancer risk from full body scanners “extremely low”
The potential health risks of airport full body screenings have been raised by a new report, highlighting the danger of cancer causing radiation. It also argues that women and children should not be subject to scanning, even though the radiation dose from body scanners is “extremely small”.
65,000 flights should not have flown
Over 65,000 flights have taken off from US airports in the past six years when they should have been grounded because of incomplete or improper maintenance, which led to hundred of deaths.
Concorde crash inquiry begins in Paris
Nearly ten years after the Air France Concorde crash that killed 113 people, five men and Continental Airlines are to stand trial in Paris, accused of responsibility for the disaster that spelt the end of the supersonic plane.
O’Leary reveals Ryanair once owned crashed Ethiopian jet
The Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed off the coast of Lebanon was used by Ryanair until last April, its chief executive Michael O’Leary has revealed. His airline sold the Boeing 737 last April following seven years of service on its European routes.
Pilot in Med crash ignored warnings and flew into storm
The pilot of an Ethiopian Airways jet that crashed off the coast of Lebanon yesterday ignored instructions from the controller to avoid a series of violent thunderstorms, it has emerged today.
90 feared dead in Med plane crash
All ninety passengers on board a jet that crashed into the Mediterranean are believed to have died. The Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-800, which was bound for Addis Ababa, crashed into the sea shortly after taking off from Beirut airport, with witnesses seeing a “ball of fire”.
Police storm plane at Heathrow in bomb threat
Armed police arrested three men on a plane at Heathrow at the weekend amid fears of a terror threat. They swarmed the Dubai-bound Emirates plane as it was taxiing on the tarmac before take-over, and removed the three suspects.
Ryanair jet makes emergency landing after cockpit fire scare
A Ryanair jet has been forced to make a u-turn in mid-air and make an emergency landing due to a suspected on-board fire. The pilot flew the Boeing 737 back to Liverpool and made an emergency landing after a fire indicator light was activated in the cockpit.
WestJet communicates extension of enhanced security measures
WestJet announced today that in cooperation with the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, Transport Canada and the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA), enhanced security screening measures in place at Canadian airports since December 25, 2009, will remain in effect until January 4, 2010.
Call for full body scanners after Detroit terror attack
The UK government is coming under mounting pressure to introduce full body scanners at major airports after the Dutch announced their deployment on all transatlantic flights within three weeks. The step-up in security at Schiphol comes five days after a suspected Al-Qaeda terrorist attempted to blow up a Detroit-bound plane.
Mayday Air Jamaica Advises Against the Use of Foreign Carriers into Jamaica During Inclement Weather
The organization says that lack of and/or unserviceable airport equipment combined with inclement weather could have seriously compromised the crew of American Airlines Flight 331, which crash landed in Jamaica last Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2009
FlyersRights.org Supports TSA Efforts, but Cautions That New Procedures be Implemented Carefully
Today, FlyersRights.org, the nation’s largest non-profit airline consumer advocacy group, applauded the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) efforts to improve airport security in the wake of this week’s incident aboard a Northwest flight bound for Detroit. However, the group warned that a large number of its members have expressed concerns that the new TSA procedures, including the ‘one-hour rule’, may place an undue burden on passengers.
Failed bomber ‘one of many’
The would-be terrorist who tried to blow up a US jet on Christmas Day has revealed there are more “just like him” being trained by al-Qaeda. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab told agents questioning him that he was one of many bombers being groomed by the Yemeni al-Qaeda affiliate to attack American-bound aircraft.
Global security crackdown after foiled Al-Qaeda plane bombing
Air travellers across the world are facing tougher security measures and delays after a suspect Al-Qaeda terrorist came within moments of blowing up a transatlantic jet carrying 289 people on board.
Dozens injured as AA jet crashes in Jamaica
Dozens of passengers have been injured after an American Airlines jet overshot the runway in Jamaica whilst trying to land in heavy rain. The fuselage of the Boeing 737-800 broke in two pieces on impact, however there are no initial reports of fatalities.
Snow chaos continues to gridlock UK
Temperatures lower than Alaska continue to plunge the UK into Christmas travel gridlock, with scores of flights from airports across the country cancelled, as well as mayhem on the roads and trains due to snow and ice.
Too fat to fly?
The debate over whether extra large passengers should be made to buy an extra seat has been reignited after a picture taken by an air stewardess, believed to work for American Airlines, has gone viral. She took the picture of the obese man in order to make a point to her boss that overweight passengers prove a safety risk.
New ‘Black Box’ will help save lives and solve in-flight mysteries
The tragic loss of AF447 over the South Atlantic brought new focus on determining the cause of such inexplicable events - such as when a state of the art aircraft suddenly falls from the sky and is lost, seemingly forever.
