Aviation/Space

Homeland Security seizes pilot’s helicopter for flying on revoked license

"The federal government is confiscating William Stokely's helicopter as part of a plea deal reached earlier this month. Homeland Security agents arrested the Tulsa ad man and seasonal resident of Forest Highlands, an exclusive gated community south of Flagstaff, at the Flagstaff Airport last summer. His pilot's license had been revoked by the FAA for flying too close to homes in Flagstaff, according to court documents. A longtime pilot, he also apparently needed to provide the FAA with proof that he was medically cleared to have a license." Continue reading →

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Airlines made windfall profits after EU freeze on carbon taxes

"Airlines made up to half a billion euros in windfall profits last year by passing on a carbon surcharge to travellers despite an EU decision to freeze its controversial carbon tax, environmentalists said on Tuesday. Green group Transport and Environment said airlines chalked up extra revenues estimated at 486 million euros ($650 million) even though EU climate commissioner Connie Hedegaard in November decided to 'stop the clock' on an EU carbon tax angering the global aviation industry." Continue reading →

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Airlines Merger: Competition vs. the Great Trusts

"The new American Airlines resulting from the deal would boast revenues of close to $40 billion and offer nearly 7,000 flights per day. Interested observers should ask what makes such mergers possible and whether they are the results of legitimate, free market competition, or something else entirely. Airlines epitomize a system of big business cartelization that grows up out of huge cost barriers to potential market challengers created by legal and regulatory requirements. Contrary to the rhetoric of 'unbridled' markets, airlines are among the corporations most entangled in federal regulatory structures — and that’s just the way they like it." Continue reading →

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How To Get Kicked Off Your Flight

"Have you ever given some thought to how easily you can be removed from an airline flight, told to gather your belongings and leave the plane immediately because you've been deemed a 'risk to the flight?' It's easier than you might think for it to occur. Flight attendants have the power to have you removed at will, specifically their will." Continue reading →

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Copper wire stolen from Sea-Tac runway lighting system

"Thieves stole 1,000 feet of copper wire last week from the lighting system that helps planes land in low visibility at Sea-Tac Airport. The FAA said the wiring was taken from the approach light system for Runway 34L. It’s part of the runway’s Instrument Landing System. There have been no flight delays as a result. Work is under way to replace the wiring. The system is expected to be back online early next week. There was no indication if there are any suspects in the case." Continue reading →

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Furloughed FAA employee goes on Miami shooting rampage

"A depressed Florida man shot his wife and two children before killing himself after closing his hot air balloon business and facing losing his job as a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector because of automatic budget cuts known as 'sequestration.' A source told CBS News that 45-year-old Carlos Zuniga was depressed in the weeks before he shot his wife 43-year-old wife, Michelle, his 14-year-old daughter, Lauren, and his 11-year-old son, Stefan. Carlos Zuniga then killed himself. Stefan Zuniga died at Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center on Thursday morning. Both the wife and the daughter were in critical condition." Continue reading →

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TSA Detains 3 Year Old In Wheelchair Who Suffers from Spina Bifida

"Lucy, who suffers from Spina bifida and is confined to a wheelchair was on her way to Disney World when she was stopped after going through security at her home airport. She, along with her parents and siblings made it through the security checkpoint without a problem until the TSA stopped them on their way to their gate. TSA promptly took away Lucy's favorite toy which led her to weep uncontrollably. TSA demanded that her parents stop recording. Lucy's father, a lawyer, told them that he was legally allowed to record them and her mother said repeatedly 'you're not touching my daughter' without a camera documenting their actions." Continue reading →

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Kansas Bill Filed To Ban TSA Pat-Downs

"Rep. Brett Hildabrand wants to stop what he sees as over-the-top searches at the airport gate that distress innocent passengers by acting as if even the most unlikely pose a threat to air safety. 'Air travelers are subjected to aggressive, humiliating pat-downs, many of which would land the average stranger off the street in jail,' the Shawnee Republican said. 'But because the federal government has given someone a blue uniform and a badge, we are told that person has authority over our bodies and we must endure.'" Continue reading →

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Allegheny Airlines Has the Last Laugh. “Thanks, Uncle Sam!”

"Older Americans recall the jokes made at the expense of Allegheny Airlines in the 1960s and 1970s. Then it became U.S. Airways in 1979. It went bankrupt in 2002. It was able to stiff its 6,000 pilots by canceling its pension obligations in 2003. American taxpayers became responsible through ERISA. It filed bankruptcy again in 2005. This week, it may absorb American Airlines, which is in bankruptcy. The government will probably allow the merger. What does this teach us? This: if you can get out of your corporate pension liabilities through bankruptcy, you can live long and prosper. This strategy will work for municipal governments, too." Continue reading →

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