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Delays at SFO expected this month due to runway closures

Weekend travelers using San Francisco International Airport can expect flight delays this month. As part of a federally mandated improvement project, the hub will shut down a runway for three weekends this month. The first closure will start at 10 p.m. Jan. 11 and last until 8 a.m. Jan. 14. Similar shutdowns are scheduled for the following two weekends. Read More

Pilot makes emergency landing near Palo Alto airport

A single-engine plane was damaged after a student pilot was forced to make an emergency landing on a dirt road in East Palo Alto this morning, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said the student and an instructor were on the Beechcraft Musketeer, practicing “touch-and-goes” at the airport when the engine failed. Read More

Four killed in Watsonville plane crash were family including two children

Watsonville Community Hospital
The four people killed in a Watsonville plane crash Thursday appear to have been a family traveling to meet other family members, according to Watsonville police officials.Two children were among those killed when the 1974 single-engine Mooney M20F crashed into a medical office building on the Watsonville Community Hospital campus around 7:30 p.m., according to Watsonville police Deputy Chief Rudy Escalante. Read More

Passengers survive small plane crash near Palo Alto Airport

Cessna 172
Passengers walked away from a plane crash near the Palo Alto Airport on Thursday night with only minor injuries, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said today.The single-engine Cessna 172 lost engine power while approaching the airport’s runway around 8:25 p.m. Thursday, FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said.The plane was forced to land in a marsh southwest of the runway and came to rest upside down. Read More

Regaining the public’s trust

Anyone boarding a plane these days has to be a little concerned about what is happening on the ground while they are in the sky — whether their pilot’s request for instructions on landing or routing or traffic around them are being met by the sound of a snore. Read More

Kept Awake at Night

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Enough is enough: Time to investigate the FAA

So now we learn that first lady Michelle Obama’s plane had to abort a landing Monday at Andrews Air Force Base because of a mistake by a Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controller. The controller’s error could have resulted in a collision involving the aircraft carrying Mrs. Obama and a military jet. Read More

FAA boss slips up about second sleeping scenario

When asked about the lone air traffic controller covering Washington’s National Airport who fell asleep during an overnight shift, Federal Aviation Administration boss Randy Babbitt admitted to a congressional hearing that a second controller was caught snoozing on the job this year. A controller at the Knoxville, Tenn., airport is being fired for deliberately taking a five-hour nap and leaving a controller in a different room to handle two radar screens and land seven planes safely. Read More

FAA delays pile up on air safety recommendations

After investigating more than 140,000 aviation accidents, the National Transportation Safety Board has fact-based authority for its recommendations on how to make the skies safer. Unfortunately, the Federal Aviation Administration  doesn’t always pay heed. Read More

FAA loses track of 119,000 aircraft, worries terrorists, crooks could buy planes

WHO: The Federal Aviation Administration WHAT: The FAA is missing key information on who owns one-third of the 357,000 private and commercial aircraft in the U.S. — a gap the agency fears could be exploited by terrorists and drug traffickers. Read More
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