Free Republic

A Muslim pilot working for a well-known British carrier has said he was fired because his bosses feared he might copy the September 11 terror attack.The London-based pilot — who was not named for legal reasons — was judged a security risk after the discovery of his link to two alleged extremists suspected of "planning to use an aircraft as part of a hostile or terrorist act". According to the unnamed airline, the pilot was "in a position to divert or sabotage an aircraft", the Daily Mail reported. "I felt they believed I was going to fly planes into buildings....

...four people found dead in a New Year’s Day shooting at a tony Coronado condominium on San Diego Bay. It was not immediately clear how the siblings, along with two men ages 25 and 31, died ... Homicides are extremely rare in Coronado — just one was recorded in 2010.

90 year olds marry after 40 years of friendshipUpdated: Dec 29, 2011 12:13 PM EST Charleston, SC (AP) - A 91-year-old newlywed says she expects to spend a dozen more years with her 92-year-old spouse following their wedding at a retirement home on James Island. According to media reports, Margaret McSpadden and retired Air Force Col. William Thomas married Wednesday at Bishop Gadsden. Thomas is a World War II veteran and was President Dwight Eisenhower's personal pilot. He celebrates his 92nd birthday Thursday. McSpadden owned an antique store in Charleston.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, whom some pundits had written off as the GOP's nominee, may find a second coming in Iowa, if new poll data holds up. As Mitt Romney's campaign has suffered a startling decline in recent weeks, only to see Newt Gingrich eclipse the former Massachusetts governor's front-runner status, the battle for the Iowa caucuses set for Jan. 3 has become a wide-open race. New survey data prepared for the Perry campaign and shared by a source close within the campaign shows that the Texas governor may be poised to do much better in next month’s Iowa caucuses...

Rayne Shultz 1922-2011: Canadian war ace shot down three German bombers in one night in 1943 BY ANDREW DUFFY, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN NOVEMBER 20, 2011 2 STORYPHOTOS ( 6 ) More Images » Canadian war ace Rayne ‘Joe’ Schultz shot down three German bombers in one night in 1943 and went on to serve 37 years in the Royal Canadian Air Force, retiring as a Group Captain. He died on Remembrance Day, 2011, at age 88. Flying Officer Rayne “Joe” Schultz began the night that would define his war at a poker game — winning money for a change. It...

A pilot who accidentally locked himself in the bathroom of his LaGuardia-bound plane caused a terror scare last night when a helpful passenger with an accent tried to come to his rescue by banging on the cockpit door. The embarrassing comedy of errors began when the captain of a Chatauqua Airlines flight from Asheville, N.Car., decided to take a bathroom break before landing. But when he tried to get out of the men’s room, the door jammed, trapping him in the tight quarters.

10-19-2011 19:03 Korean Air pilot under investigation for pro-N. Korean activities By Lee Hyo-sik A Korean Air pilot has been under police investigation for allegedly posting dozens of pro-North Korean messages and other material on his website in breach of the country’s National Security Law. The National Police Agency said Wednesday that a 45-year-old captain surnamed Kim started a website (www.scintoy.com) in August 2006 and had posted more than 60 articles and video clips that criticized the South Korean government and instead promoted the North’s propaganda. Some of pro-North Korean material was found to have been produced in the communist...

A source on the Rick Perry campaign tells Hot Air that the Texas governor conducted some Texas-size fundraising in the third quarter. Coming in just a little over halfway through, Perry raised $17.1 million. That number would put Perry somewhere between $4-6 million ahead of Mitt Romney’s rumored total for Q3, according to this report last week from the Boston Globe. It’s also likely to far outpace Herman Cain’s fundraising or that of the other Republicans currently in the race. The pace is even more impressive. Perry had 49 days in which to raise funds, rather than the full 92...

Here is an interview on local Reno Talk Radio with Matt Jackson who is an Unlimited pilot and vice-president of the Unlimited Division. Click on the "listen" button for 9/19 and go to about 10 minutes in to hear the discussion.

CHICAGO (AP) — Myrtle Rose was taking a short flight over suburban Chicago when the 75-year-old aviation enthusiast looked out her cockpit window to see two F-16 fighter jets. She assumed the military pilots were just slowing down to get a closer look at her antique plane. It wasn't until she landed her 1941 Piper J-3 Cub that friends and the police told her the attention was much more serious — for straying into restricted airspace during a visit by President Barack Obama. Rose, who tries to fly every day when weather permits, said she had been itching to get...

MIAMI -- Two brothers were arrested after police said they attacked a pilot at Miami International Airport on Wednesday night. American Airlines Flight 1755 was about to take off from MIA to San Francisco International Airport when a flight attendant noticed that passenger Jonathan Baez, 27, was not wearing his seat belt. She tried to wake him up, but he was unresponsive so she called the pilot. The pilot then decided to turn the plane around and head back to the gate. Once at the gate, the pilot and flight attendant both tried to wake Baez. He finally woke up...

RAF Spitfire pulled from Irish peat bog A Second World War RAF Spitfire has been excavated from an Irish peat bog almost 70 years after it crash-landed. A piece of the Wreckage of the World War Two spitire that crashed into the Bog in County Donegal A piece of the Wreckage of the World War Two spitire that crashed into the Bog in County Donegal 6:00AM BST 29 Jun 2011 Six machine guns and about 1,000 rounds of ammunition were also discovered by archaeologists searching the Inishowen Peninsula in Co Donegal. The British fighter plane was piloted by an American,...

(CNN) -- Southwest Airlines disciplined a pilot whose profanity-laced rant about flight attendants was heard by other airplane crews and controllers, officials said Wednesday. The unidentified pilot bashed flight attendants as a "continuous stream of gays and grannies and grandes," according to a transcript of the March 25 flight over central Texas. The pilot on the Austin to San Diego flight was referring to the sexual orientation, age and attractiveness of flight attendants.

A woman took over the controls of a small airplane when her pilot-husband started having trouble breathing and speaking on a flight from California to Colorado, authorities said. The Federal Aviation Administration released details and audio of the incident Thursday, which happened on a trip from San Bernardino, Calif. to Colorado Springs May 17. Ground controllers in Colorado and a Great Lakes Airlines pilot in another plane helped her guide the smaller craft. The specifics of the man's medical problem weren't available. An air traffic controller in Longmont, Colo., noticed the 70-year-old pilot appeared to have difficulty breathing during a...

pilot gets shot in head..fly's helicopter back to base

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Two Muslim religious leaders say they were removed from a commercial airliner in Memphis on Friday and were told it was because the pilot refused to fly with them aboard.

This is showing up in emails and in forums on the net. I have no idea if it's true. Not on Snopes yet.-------------------------------------"I'm currently still in one piece, writing from my room in the Narita crew hotel. It's 8am. This is my inaugural trans-pacific trip as a brand new, recently checked out, international 767 Captain and it has been interesting, to say the least, so far. I've crossed the Atlantic three times so far so the ocean crossing procedures were familiar. By the way, stunning scenery flying over the Aleutian Islands. Everything was going fine until 100 miles out from...

(CNN) -- Time was running out, and Mark Dickinson wasn't sure whether he'd get to see his dying 2-year-old grandson one last time. A long line at Los Angeles International Airport's security checkpoint had kept him from getting to his gate on time. His grandson Caden would be taken off life support in a matter of hours in Denver, Colorado, with or without his grandfather's presence, according to CNN affiliate KABC. "I was kind of panicking because I was running late, and I really thought I wasn't going to make the flight," Dickinson told KABC. That's when a pilot from...

The messages appear when the sky is clear: Trust Jesus. God Forgives. U + God = :) With the heavens as their pulpit, pilots Jerry Stevens and Keith Poeschl deliver their sermon from a bright-yellow crop duster dubbed ``Holy Smoke.'' ``These are God's love letters to his children,'' explains Stevens, 68, a retired aviator who started the sky writing mission 12 years ago when living in Boca Raton. Since then, Stevens has taken Poeschl, 33, under his wing, teaching the novice pilot the art of skywriting. There are now two versions of the Holy Smoke -- one stationed in Fort...

The California airline pilot punished by the Transportation Security Administration for posting videos critical of airport security has revealed his identity. Chris Liu, who calls himself the "Patriot Pilot," says he was just trying to improve airport security when he released a recorded and posted online footage of San Francisco International Airport in which he criticized a number of procedures. Liu had been part of a federal security program allowing him to carry a gun in the cockpit. But after he posted the video, federal agents showed up at his house Dec. 2 to confiscate his weapon and suspend his...

stewart_maximus writes "The TSA is investigating a TSA deputized pilot who posted videos to YouTube pointing out security flaws. Flaws exposed include ground crew clearing security with just a card swipe while pilots have to go through metal detectors, and a 'medieval-looking rescue ax' being available on the flight deck. Three days after posting the video, 6 government officials arrived at his door to question him and confiscated his federal firearm (and his concealed weapon permit)."

The airline pilot who was reprimanded by the TSA for posting videos showing security flaws at a major airport is speaking out exclusively for the first time, saying that it was the "fallacy of the system" that inspired him to take this action. *snip* He first posted the videos to YouTube on November 28. Three days later, he says, four federal air marshals and two local sheriff's deputies showed up at his home to question him about the footage. The pilot filmed the conversation, during which the federal marshals confiscated his federally-issued firearm. (News video runs when you click the...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Evidence found at the remote, rugged Alaska site where an F-22 Raptor crashed indicates the pilot died, an Air Force official said Friday evening. Part of the jet's ejection seat was found at the site, which means Capt. Jeffrey Haney of Clarklake, Mich., could not have survived the Tuesday night crash, Col. Jack McMullen said. Also found were pieces of the flight suit Haney had been wearing. (excerpt)

Authorities have issued an alert for a 35-year-old British man who was taking flight lessons at Gwinnett County Airport-Briscoe Field and allegedly tried to have his pilot rating upgraded despite not being qualified. In a special alert bulletin sent to law enforcement agencies and aviation facilities this week, the Atlanta Joint Terrorism Task Force said the man, Zayead Christopher Hajaig, became "aggressive" and also tried to have the flight school speed up his training schedule, which began in 2002 and continued off and on for more than two and a half years. The flight school notified the task force. The...

NOTE The following text is a quote: Travel Alert U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE Bureau of Consular Affairs Europe October 3, 2010 The State Department alerts U.S. citizens to the potential for terrorist attacks in Europe. Current information suggests that al-Qa’ida and affiliated organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks. European governments have taken action to guard against a terrorist attack and some have spoken publicly about the heightened threat conditions. Terrorists may elect to use a variety of means and weapons and target both official and private interests. U.S. citizens are reminded of the potential for terrorists to attack public transportation...

Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots will soon get to relish delicious snacks like halwa and sip fruit juice inside the cockpits of their combat aircraft during long distance sorties. IAF has asked the Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL) to develop light food products in squeezable tubes that the pilots can consume even as they are strapped in their Sukhoi 30 MKIs, Mirage 2000s and the Jaguars. Dr A S Bawa, director of the Mysorebased DFRL told Express that they have taken up new projects for the IAF and have been developing food products like halwa, pulav and fruit juices that...

SNIPPET: "U.S. counterterrorism officials have linked one of the nation's most wanted terrorists to last year's thwarted plot to bomb the New York City subway system, authorities said Wednesday. Current and former counterterrorism officials said top al-Qaida operative Adnan Shukrijumah met with one of the would-be suicide bombers in a plot that Attorney General Eric Holder called one of the most dangerous since the 9/11 terror attacks."

BULLETIN -- NEW YORK POLICE AND FBI RAID HOMES IN QUEENS IN TERRORISM INVESTIGATION.6 minutes ago from BNO Headquarters

AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq, July 6, 2010 – Two-wheel landings on snowy Afghan ridge tops are more exciting, but managing the exodus of a 4,000-strong brigade during the drawdown of U.S. forces in Iraq provides its own challenges for one deskbound helicopter pilot with 82nd Airborne Division. Army Capt. Catherine Omodt checks incoming flight schedules in her office at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, June 27, 2010, while coordinating the redeployment of her brigade to Fort Bragg, N.C. Omodt is a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter pilot on her third deployment. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Michael J. MacLeod  (Click photo...

The Terrafugia Transition, a light aircraft that can convert into a road-legal automobile, is to go into production after being given a special weight exemption by the US Federal Aviation Administration. The Transition was designed as a "light sport" aircraft, the smallest kind of private aeroplane under FAA classification, with a maximum weight of 1,320lb. But the manufacturers found it impossible to fit the safety features - airbags, crumple zones and roll cage, for instance - that are required for road vehicles into that weight. Uniquely, however, the FAA has granted the Transition an exemption - allowing it to be...

What you'd really like the hear your pilot say. Audio file.

TAMPA - Handguns used by pilots to fight terrorism can accidentally go off inside cockpits -- that's despite a government report that first warned of the danger more than two years ago. The Federal Flight Deck Officer Program was launched in the wake of the 911 attacks and provides pilots who volunteer with extensive training -- at the pilot's expense. But we've learned there have been two incidents of handguns accidentally being discharged in the cockpit and a third during training. Capt. Steve Sevier, National Security Chairman for the U.S. Airline Pilots Association, said the problem stems from a holster...

If one of your pilots gets ill, you never know who else on the plane might be able to help land the aircraft safely. On Monday, it was a flight attendant with an an inactive pilot's license who helped land an American Airlines jumbo jet after the co-pilot became incapacitated because of stomach flu. Patti DeLuna, a 61-year-old flight attendant with American Airlines, helped the captain safely land the Boeing 767 with 225 passengers on board.

ROYAL AIR FORCE MILDENHALL, England, June 9, 2010 – It is common among runners to talk of "hitting the wall" of exhaustion, whether it's a 10K race, half marathon or full marathon. Air Force Capt. Danny Franz poses for a photo at the end of his completion of the Hadrian's Wall Path running route in England on May 14, 2010. Franz, a pilot with the 67th Special Operations Squadron, ran the 84-mile route in 19 hours and 24 minutes, beating the unofficial record of more than 23 hours. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. But some runners, like...

NEW DELHI: The horrific Air India Express crash in Mangalore on May 22 that killed 158 people could have possibly been averted had the expat commander heeded his Indian co-pilot's advice. Records of the conversation between the pilots and ATC has shown that co-pilot H S Ahluwalia more than once urged Captain Zlatko Glusica not to land and instead go around. Importantly, Ahluwalia's warning had come well before the aircraft had descended below decision height - the critical level at or before which a final decision on whether to land or go around is to be taken - said highly...

Alenia Aermacchi, a Finmeccanica company, recently carried out the first flight tests of the new sophisticated Helmet Mounted Display (HMD) system That Will Be fitted to the M-346 advanced training aircraft Masters. The HMD system, a true interface between the pilot and aircraft systems, complements the Head-Up Display by offering the pilot to receive attitude, navigation, tactical and mission information directly on the helmet visor, independently of the direction in which he is looking. The HMD system, a true interface Between the pilot and aircraft systems, complements the Head-Up Display by offering the pilot to receive attitude, navigation, tactical and...

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – Walker "Bud" Mahurin, a fighter pilot who shot down two dozen planes in two wars and was regarded as one of America's top aces ever, has died, his wife said Sunday. He was 91. Joan Mahurin said Bud Mahurin died of natural causes at his home in Newport Beach on Tuesday. She said her husband kept flying small planes — and kept receiving fan mail — for most of his life. "He would get letters from teenagers to old war veterans," Joan Mahurin said. Doug Lantry, a historian at the National Museum of the United States...

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. -- Clayton County Sheriff’s Office officials arrested a Delta Air Lines pilot for allegedly carrying a concealed weapon inside Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Police arrested Matthew Lamar McDaniel on Saturday and he was charged with carrying a concealed weapon. Officials said McDaniel is currently a Delta Air Lines pilot and has been for the past 13 years. He was granted a $5,700 bond. The circumstances surrounding McDaniel’s arrest have not been released

WASHINGTON (AP) — Is the CIA's secret program of drone strikes against terrorists in Pakistan and Yemen a case of illegal assassinations or legitimate self defense? That was a central question Wednesday as the program came under fire from several legal scholars who called for greater oversight by Congress, arguing the attacks may violate international law and put intelligence officers at risk of prosecution for murder in foreign countries. The CIA strikes are "a clear violation of international law," said Mary Ellen O'Connell, law professor at the University of Notre Dame Law School, who added that going after terrorists should...

Pilot’s prayer recorded on Smolensk crash black box Apr 20, 2010 13:02 Moscow Time The flight recorders of the Polish President’s plane registered the prayer of the pilot before the Tu-154 crashed near Smolensk on April 10th killing 96 people on board. The Prosecutor General of Poland pledged to release all recordings of the pilots’ conversations. Two of the three black boxes from the presidential plane have already been deciphered and voice recordings of the third one are marred by noise and the information needs to be restored. Meanwhile, Polish experts are expected to arrive in Moscow to help identify...

WARSAW: Investigators blamed pilot error on Thursday for a crash that killed Poland's president, as harrowing details emerged of how the crew knew they were doomed after hitting trees while trying to land in Russia. As Poland's national unity fractured over plans to bury president Lech Kaczynski in a castle alongside kings and heroes, officials released the first results from analysis of the plane's black box flight recorders. "The crew was aware of the inevitability of the coming catastrophe, if only due to the plane shaking after the wings hit the trees -- which we are certain happened," Poland's chief...

4/15/2010 - TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFNS) -- With his dad squarely in his sights, a 9-year-old boy pulls the trigger in the cockpit of an F-15 Eagle simulator. "Don't worry dad, I'm just going to do a practice landing," Isaac Ezell said jokingly as he searched the simulated sky for his father's jet. Isaac participated in the Tyndall Air Force Base Pilot for a Day program April 8 with the 95th Fighter Squadron staff here. Isaac suffers from Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism. People with Asperger's demonstrate significant difficulties with social interaction and tend to show repetitive...

Joy Tiz ©2010 The pilot of the plane that crashed killing Poland’s president, Lech Kaczynkski along with Poland’s First Lady and other top government officials refused to take instructions from air traffic controllers, according to Rianovosti: “’The head of the traffic control group warned of poor weather conditions, but the crew went ahead with the landing without permission. And [they] also made their landing approach without permission.’” “The [control tower] head said three times to execute a flyby procedure. When the crew did not listen, the control tower could only continue to guide the plane and watch it. It was...

I'm considering taking up recreational flying. I've done it before - about 4 years ago, I took a couple hours' worth of training before the snow fell, but at the time, I was working a traveling job where I could only take lessons on weekends, and winter approached. I believe there are many pilots here on FR, both commercial and recreational. What experiences did you have in becoming what you are today? Was it harder than you expected? Did it take longer than you expected? Did it cost more than you wished it did, or was it affordable? What do...

MSNBC anchor David Shuster might be in hot water. He wasn't on at his normal 3 p.m. time yesterday, soon after his bosses learned that he'd shot a pilot for rival cable news network CNN.

Deployed U-2 pilot achieves rare feat of 100 combat missions by Master Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol 380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs 3/15/2010 - SOUTHWEST ASIA -- For Maj. William Gottenberg, he's been helping the Dragon Lady breathe a lot of fire lately. The 16-and-a-half-year Air Force veteran and pilot recently achieved 100 combat missions in the U-2 in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. "It's a good feeling because it's an awesome mission and the fact that I was able to have the opportunity to come out here enough to get the chance to get 100 is great,"...

RONKONOMA, N.Y., March 26, 2010 – When Chief Warrant Officer Herb Dargue joined the Army as a helicopter pilot, the Beatles’ "Penny Lane" topped the charts, the UH-1C Huey was the hottest “chopper” flying, and actor William Shatner was “Star Trek’s” Captain Kirk on prime time TV. Army Chief Warrant Officer Herbert Dargue, an Army rotary-wing aircraft pilot since 1967, will fly his last flight with the New York Army National Guard on March 26, 2010. Dargue, who has more than 21,000 hours of flight time in military and civilian helicopters, is an expert at flying in New York City's...

After months of sending cards and cookies, a group of second-graders at Lyons Elementary School received a special visit from their pen pal, Air Force Capt. Mark Uberuaga. Uberuaga, a combat search-and-rescue pilot, spent three months in Afghanistan before returning Feb. 4. He stopped by Elizabeth Wiley's classroom Thursday to thank the children for their support and to fill them in on his trip. As he told students that he piloted a HH-60G Pave Hawk aircraft, one student had to make sure he heard Captain Mark - as the kids referred to him - correctly. "Wait, did you say you...

A jumbo jet pilot has told how he repeatedly had overwhelming urges to crash the planes he was flying. Bryan Griffin said that once he even had to 'immobilise' his arm to prevent him trying to down a Qantas passenger jet. His hand had 'involuntarily moved towards the start levers' on the journey to Singapore. The compulsion to cut out the engines was so strong, he had to leave the flight deck and did not return until he had calmed down. The pilot revealed during a compensation hearing how he was also afflicted by urges to scream and cry, ignored...

SNIPPET: “SOME of the seven Muslims arrested as part of an international probe into an alleged plot to murder Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks had planned to set up an extremist prayer group in Waterford to radicalise other Muslims, gardaí believe.” SNIPPET: “The seven – four men and three women – were arrested by armed gardaí on Tuesday in Waterford and Cork following a lengthy Garda investigation based on information provided by US intelligence agencies. Five of the seven suspects – three Algerians, one Libyan and one Palestinian – had their periods of custody extended on Wednesday night on application to...