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Yesterday, in the heat of the protests, Mr "I am Gods agent on earth!" Khamemei, fled! He jumped in his helicopter, and flew to a nearby air base where he has 4 planes and air crews waiting on standby to fly him out of the country, on a moments notice! Leaving all of his supporters behind. He may not have left the country,...yet...But he's more than willing to leave the IRGC and his Secret Police to their fates, while he flys off to his billions stashed away in foriegn banks. He's ready to run like Robert!

COPS fear that 25 British-born Muslims are plotting to bomb Western airliners. The fanatics, in five groups, are now training at secret terror camps in Yemen. It was there London-educated Umar Abdulmutallab, 23, prepared for his Christmas Day bid to blow up a US jet. The British extremists in Yemen are in their early 20s and from Bradford, Luton and Leytonstone, East London. They are due to return to the UK early in 2010 and will then await internet instructions from al-Qaeda on when to strike. A Scotland Yard source said: "The great fear is Abdulmutallab is the first of...

A new report out Thursday report warns of an air travel system in trouble. Ten percent of all flights now arrive at least two hours late, that's double the rate from 1990. Researchers say it's likely to get worse as the economy gets better. Adie Tomer, a Transportation Research Analyst, from the Brookings Institution sais, "We do expect that once the economy recovers, that air traffic will pick back up again and congestion will return to where it was before, if not be worse." Congestion, the report says, is not surprisingly a city problem. The six worst cities for delays...

SNIPPET: "(CNSNews.com) – President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are both traveling to Copenhagen this week to promote Chicago's bid to host to the 2016 Olympic Games--and they will be making the 3,979-mile trip on separate airplanes." SNIPPET: "As reported earlier by CNSNews.com, a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report cited two cost estimates for an hour of air travel by the president, vice president and first lady. One estimate comes from the White House Military Office, the other from the U.S. Air Force. Using the CRS cost estimates and the inflation adjuster from the Bureau of Labor Statisitcs,...

SNIPPET: "SPOKANE -- Authorities in North Idaho are reporting that sometime early Tuesday morning a small airplane was stolen from the Boundary County Airport. The Boundary County Sheriff confirms they received a report regarding the theft of a 2005 Cessna T182T aircraft around 7 AM Tuesday morning. The aircraft, with tail number N2183P, is a white and blue fixed wing single engine aircraft. It is believed the aircraft was taken from the airport around 5:45 Tuesday. They're not sure in what direction the plane was flown from the airport." SNIPPET: "Authorities are working to confirm if the theft is related...

(CAMANO ISLAND)— SNIPPET: "Experts say if 18-year-old Harris-Moore really did fly two stolen airplanes, he probably had some informal training. San Juan County sheriff believes Harris-Moore took a Cessna 182 and flew to Yakima last year, and stole a plane this month from Friday Harbor and flew to Orcas Island. The proof to link Harris-Moore with the latest flight may be found in DNA evidence recovered from the stolen plane."

September 7, 2009 Mass murder at 30,000 feet: Islamic extremists guilty of airline bomb plot Philippe Naughton Three British Muslims were found guilty today of conspiracy to murder thousands of passengers and crew in an unprecedented airline bomb plot that could have proved as deadly as the 9/11 attacks. After a retrial at Woolwich Crown Court, jurors found the ringleader, Abdulla Ahmed, and two other men, Assad Sarwar and Tanvir Hussain, guilty of plotting to use liquid bombs to blow up airliners en route from Heathrow to the United States. Another defendant, Umar Islam, was found guilty of a more...

(IsraelNN.com) Minister of Transportation Yisrael Katz (Likud) noted that the Saudis rejected that Israel be given air rights.

More than a year ago, the U.N. dropped the Russian air transport company Vertikal-T from its approved list of vendors after a fatal helicopter crash in Nepal. Yet NATO continued to use helicopters owned by Vertikal-T in Afghanistan. And on July 19, one of those choppers crashed at southern Afghanistan's largest NATO base, killing 16 civilians on board. The crash reflects a little-known reality behind NATO's military push in Afghanistan: It is relying on Russian aviators flying Soviet-design aircraft, who are clocking up lucrative contracts in a country Russian troops left two decades ago. Aviation industry analysts say many of...

WASHINGTON – Aircraft design standards aren't tough enough for planes to withstand collisions with growing numbers of large birds, safety investigators examining an Oklahoma crash that killed five men said Tuesday. The Federal Aviation Administration requires the bodies of commercial aircraft to withstand a collision with a bird weighing 4 pounds or 8 pounds depending upon the section of the plane — standards that haven't been updated since the 1970s, investigators told the National Transportation Safety Board. An FAA advisory committee spent 10 years examining whether the standards should be updated and then disbanded without reaching a conclusion, investigators said....

Calls to investigate the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are growing after media outlets revealed that immigrants with inadequate certifications may be working on American airplanes. In many cases, according to reports, mechanics who don’t even speak English are replacing qualified American workers. "We just have to bring them before Congress and ask them what they're doing,” said Texas Rep. Ted Poe of Houston. “I will ask Congressman Oberstar of the Aviation Committee to hold hearings with the FAA regarding this whole situation." WFAA-TV in Dallas and Fort Worth exposed the problems with an investigation in early July. “Reporters found that...

10. F-14A TomcatSpeed: Mach 2.34 Altitude: 58,000+ feet Primary Function: Carrier-based multi-role strike fighter Contractor: Grumman Crew: Two (pilot and radar intercept officer) Unit Cost: $38 million Powerplant: F-14A: Twin Pratt & Whitney TF30-P-41A turbofan engines (20,900 pounds of thrust w/ afterburner)F-14B/D: Twin General Electric F110-GE-400 turbofan engines (29,080-high/27,948 average pounds each w/ maximum afterburner) Length: 61 feet 9 inches (18.6 meters) Wingspan: 64 feet (19 meters) unswept, 38 feet (11.4 meters) swept Height: 16 feet (4.8 meters) Empty: 41,780 lb (18951 kg) -- F-14D Maximum Takeoff: 72,900 pounds (32,805 kg) Range: Deck launched intercept F-14A - 915 nautical miles...

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- United Airlines operator UAL Corp. said Thursday that it has sent a proposal request to Boeing Co. and Airbus, as the carrier plans to begin replacing its wide-body fleet. In a letter to employees, Chairman and Chief Executive Glenn Tilton said the request could result in a "significant" number of new planes. At the end of 2008, UAL owned 80 wide-body jets and leased an additional 34.

Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday that he would not recommend taking any commercial flight or riding in a subway car “at this point” because swine flu virus can spread “in confined places.” A little more than one hour later, Biden rushed out a statement backing off. “I would tell members of my family — and I have — I wouldn’t go anywhere in confined places now,” Biden said on NBC’s “Today” show.. “It’s not that it’s going to Mexico. It’s [that] you’re in a confined aircraft. When one person sneezes, it goes all the way through the aircraft. That’s...

SNIPPET: "Fourteen years ago today Aum Shinrikyo released sarin gas on the Tokyo subway." SNIPPET: "A final note - Aum Shinrikyo operatives, on the order of the cult's leader, underwent flight training in Florida. There is no evidence that they made any attempts to use this training. It is just an odd, disturbing coincidence."

The Ministry of Defence has showcased current and next-generation unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). The event was held as part of National Science and Engineering Week - an annual event celebrating science, engineering and technology - and to give manufacturers the chance to show off some of their creations. Military use of UAVs has been growing fast. Twenty years ago, they were a bonus item for the armed forces, now they are seen as an essential part of the modern warrior's arsenal.

New Rules Target Private AviationFebruary 24, 2009 BEGIN TRANSCRIPT There are new rules that are proposed by the transportation safety administration, part of homeland security, that would treat private business aviation identically to commercial aviation. One of the results of this could be that if the rules are adopted treating private aviation the same as commercial aviation, Tiger Woods, nor any other professional golfer, nor any or golfer could carry their golf clubs on their airplane because the baggage compartment in the private jet is accessible from the passenger cabin and the clubs could theoretically be used as weapons even...

Senator Sherrod Brown took a private, taxpayer-funded plane from Cleveland to Washington and back so he could vote on the stimulus bill and get back to his mother's funeral the next day. Will he have to appear before Congress and be excoriated for flying on a private jet?

If Russia and Sweden once again will find themselves in a military conflict (last time was 1809, when Sweden lost Finland), a wild stab in the dark of a guess would be that Gripens will play a role in fending off the bear. The SAAB Gripen suffered from some initial problems, but has turned out a very interesting and competent plane. This is, to a large extent, thanks to British BAE Systems. God save the Queen. In order to watch the recent "show off" at Linköping, Sweden, just click the link below.

FBI Warns of Potential Terror Attacks The FBI and Department of Homeland Security today issued an analytical "note" to U.S. law-enforcement officials cautioning that al-Qaida terrorists have in the past expressed interest in attacking public buildings using a dozen suicide bombers each carrying 20 kilograms of explosives. Authors with the U.S. Office of Intelligence and Analysis added that they have "no credible or specific information that terrorists are planning operations against public buildings in the United States." The FBI and DHS analysts said they were releasing the note because "it is important for local authorities and building owners and...

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Armed men stole five small planes from a private airstrip in the northwestern Mexican state of Sinaloa on Tuesday by overpowering a police officer and flying away, security forces said. The group of around 20 men stormed the small airstrip at dawn, seized the officer's gun, tied him up, filled the planes with fuel and flew off, said Emma Quiroz, spokeswoman for the government's anti-organized crime operations in Sinaloa. It was not clear if there was a link to drug gangs who use small aircraft to spirit cocaine through northern Mexico toward the United States. Quiroz's...

“I hope you guys are game,” he said, “because I haven’t been putting up with 19 months of airplanes and hotel food and missing my babies and my wife –- I didn’t put up for that stuff just to come in second. I don’t believe in coming in second. The American people can’t afford for us to come in second. We’ve got to win this thing and we’re going to win it with your help.”

ran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday called on the newly-appointed Iranian air force chief to further enhance the fleet's equipment, the English-language Press TV satellite channel reported. Khamenei on Sunday appointed Brigadier General Hassan Shah-Safias the new chief commander of Iran's Air Force, replacing Brigadier General Ahmad Miqani. hamenei recommended the new commander to boost combat preparedness of the air force and proceed with programs in line with self-sufficiency and updating hardware of the air force, in response to Western threats of a military air strike on Iranian nuclear facilities. The United States and its allies have accused...

British 9/11 fears over private planes, Government terror adviser warns By Christopher Hope, Home Affairs Editor Last Updated: 9:41PM BST 23/06/2008 Private jets and light aircraft could be used by terrorists to launch attacks on crowds and buildings in Britain, the Government's anti-terror expert has warned. There are an estimated 8,500 private aircraft and up to 500 "landing sites" in Britain, ranging from farmers' fields to regional airports Senior police officers have "real anxiety" about the possibility of terror missions being launched from small airports amid fears over lax security. Jets could be hijacked and used as "vehicle bombs" to...

My father travels for work every now and again. He’s always complaining about the airlines and getting stuck sitting next to a big guy, that smells and loves to talk. I think he just likes to exaggerate. Then this morning I get up and read this story as I’m downing my cup a joe. Maybe air travel really does suck. (MIAMI - An uninvited passenger created a smelly situation on a plane in Miami. American Airlines Flight 915 from Miami to Bogota, Colombia, was delayed Wednesday night after a skunk was found in the back of the cargo hold, discharging...

Attacks on nuclear power stations, oil and gas terminals, Canary Wharf and Heathrow’s control tower were being considered by leaders of the plot to blow up seven transatlantic airliners in mid-flight, a court was told yesterday. Documents found on computer memory sticks at the home of an alleged terrorist ringleader contained a list of targets across Britain – including the gas pipeline between Britain and Belgium. The man, Assad Sarwar, was said to be in contact with terrorist leaders overseas and visited Pakistan a month before his arrest as preparations for the airline attacks were being finalised. Peter Wright, QC,...

The security measures on aircraft belonging to Israeli airlines and around them during takeoffs and arrivals abroad have been significantly boosted over the past few days for fear that Hizbullah would act on its promise to avenge the February assassination of its top commander Imad Mugniyah. The number of armed security guards on some of the flights to several destinations has been increased, as was the number of guards surrounding the plane after the landing and before the takeoff. "The threat is extremely concrete, and there is no choice but to do everything possible," a source involved in aviation security...

WARSAW, Poland - Two passenger jets made unrelated emergency landings in Poland Monday to remove rowdy passengers, one of whom claimed to be a terrorist. In the first incident, a Lufthansa-operated flight from Germany to the Ukraine was diverted to Pyrzowice airport, near the southern city of Katowice, after a Russian citizen on the plane claimed to be a terrorist. Polish border guards at the airport examined his luggage but found no evidence that he was a terrorist, said Maj. Cezary Zaborski, spokesman for local border guards. Zaborski said the man appeared to be inebriated. The plane, an Airbus 320...

The U.S. has built nine navigation systems for Mexico and Canada under the controversial Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America in an apparent first step toward establishing the satellite infrastructure needed to create a North American air traffic control system. The defining vision for North American air traffic control was articulated by then-Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta in a Sept. 27, 2004, statement announcing, "We must make flying throughout North America as seamless as possible if we are to truly reap the rewards of the expanding global economy."

The Air Force snubbed longtime partner Boeing and awarded a lucrative contract to Northrop and EADS, the European maker of the Airbus, to build a fleet of refueling aircraft. The decision stunned Boeing and elected officials in the Northwest, who immediately objected to the decision to reject the all-American option. However, officials claim that Boeing’s submission simply didn’t measure up — literally: Air Force officials offered few details about why they choose the Northrop-EADS team over Boeing since they have yet to debrief the two companies. But Air Force Gen. Arthur Lichte said the larger size was key. “More passengers,...

Air marshals could be on all US planes to UK By David Millward and Bruno Waterfield in Brussels Last Updated: 2:36am GMT 12/02/2008 Armed air marshals could be deployed on all transatlantic flights operated by US airlines, it has emerged. Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, said the Government is willing to consider a request from Washington to step up security. The undercover armed guards, who are put on aircraft to stop hijackers and terrorists, are thought to have been operating on some US planes that fly to Britain for a number of years. Although this has never been confirmed, the...

4th, 5th generations of Sa'eqe jet fighters to be produced Tehran, Jan 5, 2008 IRNA Commander of the Air Force of the Islamic Republic Army Brigadier General Ahmad Mighani said here Saturday that the Iranian army is to produce the fourth and fifth generations of Saeqe jet fighters which cannot be discovered by radar. The new stealth fighter planes is to produced in the near future, he said. The new generations will be fully manufactured by Iranian experts, he said. Two fighter planes from the Azarakhsh (Thunder) generation were successfully test flown in Tehran on September 20. The fighter planes,...

SHANGHAI, China (AP) — China's first fully homegrown commercial aircraft rolled off the production line Friday, marking a potential milestone for the country's aviation program. In a nationally televised ceremony, the Xiangfeng, or "Flying Phoenix," was towed into a hangar at the Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Factory amid flashing laser lights and rousing music. The rollout ceremony was closed to most media, apart from state-run CCTV and the official Xinhua News Agency. "Today, China's aviation industry has turned over a new leaf," Lin Zuoming, general manager of China Aviation Industry Corp. I, or AVIC I, said in comments carried on the...

Spy planes to recharge by clinging to power lines 11:08 18 December 2007 NewScientist.com news service Paul Marks The next time you see something flapping in the breeze on an overhead power line, squint a little harder. It may not be a plastic bag or the remnants of a party balloon, but a tiny spy plane stealing power from the line to recharge its batteries. The idea comes from the US Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) in Dayton, Ohio, US, which wants to operate extended surveillance missions using remote-controlled planes with a wingspan of about a metre, but has been...

Calculating the Risks in Pakistan A small group of U.S. military experts and intelligence officials convened in Washington for a classified war game last year, exploring strategies for securing Pakistan's nuclear arsenal if the country's political institutions and military safeguards began to fall apart. The secret exercise — conducted without official sponsorship from any government agency, apparently due to the sensitivity of its subject — was one of several such games the U.S. government has conducted in recent years examining various options and scenarios for Pakistan's nuclear weapons: How many troops might be required for a military intervention in...

Excerpt - Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi arrives in Paris Monday for a high-profile visit set to usher in multi-billion-euro nuclear and aviation contracts, even as critics lashed President Nicolas Sarkozy for welcoming the former pariah. Staying in a heated Bedouin tent pitched near the Elysee presidential palace, Kadhafi is expected during the five-day visit to approve the purchase of three billion euros (4.4 billion dollars) of Airbus planes, a nuclear reactor and possibly Rafale fighter jets. ~ snip ~

This is not a scientific comparison, but when I saw one scene I remembered another. This is the recent scene: yesterday afternoon, Naha airport, Okinawa, Japan. Line crew gassing up a Cirrus SR22: Details to notice below: crew identically dressed in company uniform; complete safety gear -- hardhats, reflective chest straps with procedural checklist clipped on, puffy protective cuff to shield the plane's wing from damage. It's hard to see in the picture, but even the boots are part of the uniform: black, with red laces, and company logos on the back. Impossible to see in the picture: the coordinated...

Textron Inc.'s Cessna Aircraft Co. will become the first U.S. manufacturer to turn over complete production of an airplane to a Chinese partner, a move intended to cut production costs and foster a nascent private-aviation market in China. Cessna officials said China's state-owned Shenyang Aircraft Corp. will build the new Cessna 162 SkyCatcher at its factory in Shenyang, China. The planned single-engine, two-seat airplane will be the smallest in Cessna's product line. It is designed for training and what is known as the light-sport market, for recreational fliers. Cessna hopes manufacturing in China will help keep the price of the...

With the search for missing adventurer Steve Fossett revealing missing planes dating back to the World War Two, it has stirred hopes for one family that they might actually find out what happened to their missing aviator father. For 43 years, Dr. William Olge, has questioned what happend to his father. Charles Olge, an experienced pilot who trained as an aviator in the U.S Marine's, took off from Oakland, bound for Reno in the summer of 1964, in his Cessna 210. He was never heard from again. The massive hunt for Fossett now may help resolve the enduring mystery surrounding...

Mobile phone calls on planes within months By David Millward, Transport Editor Last Updated: 12:01am BST 08/09/2007  Airline passengers could be able to use mobile phones on aircraft within months. Join our campaign for mobile-free flightsIndustry safety regulators have always banned their use on board because of fears the signal would interfere with the plane's electronic and communications equipment.But new technology has been developed which means that passengers will be able to make phone calls on mobile handsets safely while in flight.This week Ryanair started trials intended to prove phones can be used on the Boeing 737, which is used for millions...

(IsraelNN.com) Ongoing military tension between Syria and Israel took the form of Syrian attacks against one or more Israeli planes over northern Syria last night. So reports Syria, confirming an event that was earlier recorded by international satellites. Syria says the Israeli aircraft were attacking Syrian targets, and that the planes retreated in face of the Syrian defenses. Syria warns that it reserves the right to retaliate at its discretion. Israel says it knows nothing of any such incident, but is looking into the matter. Fight Against Terrorism PA sources reported that three Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists were killed...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- All outbound flights were grounded at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport this morning because of a security breach, the Transportation Security Administration confirms. At 7:55 a.m. a Hispanic male circumvented the security screening process and proceeded to concourse C, the TSA reports. The concourse was immediately closed as airport officials searched for the man. He was not located inside the concourse and they believe he may have boarded a plane in the C concourse. Six planes were grounded in the C concourse while all other outbound flights were allowed to continue. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police, TSA and airport security...

Today Norway and Saab, through Gripen International, have signed a Letter of Agreement regarding the future development of the Gripen fighter. The total value of this agreement is some 150 million Norwegian Kronor (approx. $25 million). This agreement strengthens Gripen´s chances of being selected as the future fighter aircraft for the Norwegian Air Force. The Norwegian Defence Minister Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen and the Swedish Defence Minister Mikael Odenberg, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on co-operation in development work on the future versions of Gripen. This agreement is an important step for Gripen as a candidate to be selected as Norway´s future...

Safety officials remain mystified why windshields cracked on at least 14 planes at Denver International Airport on Friday. "We are not discounting anything," said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer, whose agency is among those investigating the incidents. "We believe it is very remarkable to have this number of events in the same area at the same time." The National Transportation Safety Board will have a glass specialist from its structures division examine 22 damaged front and side windshields that were removed from the affected planes, said NTSB air-safety investigator Jennifer Kaiser. The cracking occurred over a 1 1/2 hour...

The hubbub raised over six Islamic imams being removed from a US Airways flight in Minneapolis for suspicious behavior is the latest in a string of incidents underlining one consistent thread in the war on terror: Muslim terrorists have never given up on the tried and true idea of hijacking airplanes and blowing them up to kill and demoralize the infidels. Police and witness reports suggest a list of suspicious activities and remarks. Some of the imams were discussing in Arabic about “bin Laden” and condemning America for “killing Saddam.” Imams asked for seat belt extenders for the extremely obese,...

DUBAI - Saudi Arabia’s National Air Services said on Tuesday it will order aircraft from Airbus, Gulfstream Inc. and Raytheon Inc. as part of a $2 billion purchasing programme for 75 planes. National Air Services, which started operations in 1999 offering ownership stakes in business jets, will buy the aircraft before 2010 as part of a plan to create a 100-strong fleet, it said in a statement. It did not give more details about the purchasing programme. “The overall growth of Middle East aviation and travel market has served as the catalyst for our significant expansion plans,” Ayed Al Jeaid,...

Al-Qaeda to explode 30 jetliners and trains in Europe on Christmas eve 13.11.2006 Source: URL: http://english.pravda.ru/hotspots/terror/85491-Christmas-0 Al-Qaeda may apparently be working on another grand terrorist act, this time for Europe. According to reports received from Western intelligence services, al-Qaeda’s terrorists prepare to explode 30 planes and trains across Europe on Christmas time. The terrorist act is said to be conducted at the end of December, when many people book Christmas tours or simply travel to celebrate holidays with their relatives or friends. Al-Qaeda reportedly recruits most experienced Arab gunmen who participate in the guerilla warfare in Afghanistan. Acts of terror...

LOS ALAMOS, N. M. -- According to Los Alamos officials, a single-engine aircraft landed on top of another plane which was also in landing mode shortly after 3 p.m. on Monday. A witness told Action 7 News that a Bonanza landed on top of a Cessna. Both the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are on the way to the Los Alamos Airport to investigate the incident. Officials said two people suffered minor injuries but refused treatment. Luckily there was no fire or gas spilled. The airport was temporarily closed and may remain so until Tuesday.

Stealth jets? Hypersonic bombers? What's really being developed at the military's most famous classified base? On a trip to las vegas in 2004, observing from my east-facing hotel room in the pyramidal Luxor Hotel at daybreak, I watched a fleet of six unmarked 737s make commuter flights to nowhere. These aircraft depart every weekday morning from a tidy, anonymous terminal on the western side of McCarran International Airport. A long line of cars pours into a 1,600-spot parking lot as the jets pull away from the terminal, taxi to the runways, and head out into the desert sky. At the...

BACKGROUNDER: Compiled by Bill Gertz -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Security incidents on U.S. flights worry officials U.S. officials said there were at least six security-related incidents aboard American commercial aircraft days after the discovery of plot to blow up as many as 10 commercial jetliners from London to the United States. The suspicious incidents have raised concerns that Al Qaida terrorists have been conducting tests of U.S. and allied security measures through the incidents. Most of the incidents on the aircraft were not reported. The most visible incident took place Aug. 16 when a female passenger was subdued by flight attendants and a...