They got lucky. 138 passengers continued on with their day even after an engine caught fire shortly after American Airlines Flight 1400 departed Lambert-St. Louis International Airport back in 2007. The pilots, while thankfully bringing the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 jet safely back to the airport without injury, were found to have prolonged the fire and danger by failing to follow a checklist that walks them through the procedures to deal with such emergencies.

It would have been as simple as shutting off the supply of fuel to the burning engine. But for all the confusion they didn't. In this case it didn't cost anything more than money. It could have turned out much worse.

The pilots aren't the only one's to blame, though. There were also records from the National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB) indicating that the jet's left engine failed to start. More than once. By forcing the engine to start by circumventing normal starting procedures, the mechanics doing maintenance on the engine allowed it to fly even though they started it using unapproved methods. By using a screwdriver to open a valve, they damaged a pin which triggered a spark inside the engine cover that caused the fire.

The safety board determined that American mechanics replaced the start valve six times but missed the cause of the failed engine starts: a worn-out, stainless steel air filter. American's audit team also failed to identify the cause of the problem, the NTSB said.

"Where they have found deficiencies in how our personnel performed, we are going to strengthen our training," said Tim Wagner, an American Airlines spokesman.

© flickrsven



Tuesday the Senate approved the omnibus Bill that will provide funding for DOT, FAA and a few other federal departments and agencies. The bill provides the funding through fiscal year 2009.

The highly controversial measure, which includes a total of $3.515 billion in AIP funding and addresses other airport priorities , contains some 9,000+ earmarks, which President Obama said would not be there.

AviationNews.net:

The $3.515 billion in AIP funding provided by the omnibus comes in addition to the $1.1 billion for AIP grants included in the stimulus package, bringing total AIP funding for the fiscal year to a record $4.615 billion.

© Matt Finley



The Red Bull Air Race World Series left over 100,000 San Diegans with a crick in their neck and plenty to talk about for weeks to come. Paul Bonhomme from England took his second San Diego win in as many years. Defending champion Mike Mangold from the United States gave Paul a run for his money up until the very end, when he beat Mangold by nearly 2 seconds.

Bonhomme was ecstatic. "I'm very pleased to take the win" said Bonhomme, "you have to be consistent in every session all the time" he added later. Another American, kirby Chambliss.

Next up is Detroit in a few weeks. Should be a great time for those who have never been.

The Red Bull Air Race World Series is coming to San Diego this weekend. These guys got big brass ones, but they better not take them to Florida. If you've never seen them fly, you will be in awe. The planes they fly are the fastest, lightest and most agile planes made, and the pilots run them upwards of 250 miles per hour as the pull close to 10 Gs as they navigate them around a course of air-filled pylons.

It promises to be a lot of fun, if you have the opportunity, you should take it.

© Tim Pritlove



It's getting more expensive to fly. With the cost of oil well over $100.00 a barrel with no sign of going down, you can expect to (continue to) pay out the back-side to keep your bird in the air. While prices of aviation fuel around (or just over) $5.00 a gallon already, we can expect a pricey increase over the next couple of years as predictions are being made of $200.00 a barrel for oil. That will effectively double the price of aviation fuel.

I wonder of anyone is developing a hybrid airplane. Wouldn't that be scary. At least I can be thankful I don't have to run aviation fuel in my ATV! It's already hard enough to get out for a weekend!

I'm Batman

A new form of air-based combat support is about to hit the ground running, so to speak. The Gryphon Attack Glider, at only 30 pounds, can carry up to 100 pounds of munitions, and can zoom out of the sky into battle fields at a blistering 135 MPH. That's pretty fast considering YOU are the fuselage. Its helmet has a heads-up display and provides on-board oxygen for jumps as high as 35,000 feet.

Currently, planes and pilots are put at risk because soldiers need to jump close to combat areas. Typical high altitude, high-opening, or HAHO, jumps from around 27,000 feet allow soldiers to travel only about 30 miles after exiting the aircraft.

The Gryphon could increase that range fourfold, creating an attack corridor of nearly 125 miles. Unaffected by headwinds or crosswinds because of its favorable lift-to-drag ratio, the glider would allow elite units to reach targets with increased speed, precision and stealth.

Who knows, there might be a commercial application some time in the near future.

Que Twilight Zone theme...

There was a huge sighting of "mysterious" lights over Phoenix, Arizona Monday night. It was largely publicized with no real explanation as to what it really was. The FAA was never called to investigate because nothing ever showed up on radar. That could mean one of two things... a) either they weren't big objects, or they had some real good stealth technology.

As it turns out, a guy lit flares that were tied to Helium balloons and let them sail from his back porch.

© Bludgeoner86



Michael Lamar Holland, 46 years old from Montooursville couldn't keep his hands to himself on an air plane last year, and faces up to a $250,000.00 fine and up to 2 years in prison. He apparently grabbed someone's fanny. Seems the grabbee wasn't as appreciative as the grabber seemed to think they would be.

Who'd have thought the FBI AND the US Air Marshals would have to be called in to investigate this incident. Must be some pretty serious stuff.

People are getting sick and tired of the ever-increasing issues they're having at airports

If you've flown in the last couple of years, you probably already know that I'm about to tell you people are NOT happy. Over one quarter of all flights in the US are late. The number of people bumped due to overbooked flights is up. Lost baggage is up, as is stolen or damaged luggage.

ATA, Aloha Airlines and Skybus stopped flights last week because of money issues. Jobs have been slashed, passenger amenities have been reduced or eliminated. Fees for things like a second bag, pets or even booking by phone are being added, as well as overall ticket prices going up.

And it's not getting any better! Experts warn that this list of complaints will get bigger before it gets smaller.

Travelers' dissatisfaction grows
Rate of consumer complaints per 100,000 passengers. The study is based on Transportation Department statistics covering complaints in 11 areas, including fares, ticketing, customer service, flight problems and animals.

Airline	2006	2007
air tran	0.62	0.83
Alaska	0.52	0.76
American	1.09	1.65
American Eagle	1.03	1.17
Atlantic Southeast	0.74	1.21
Comair	0.63	1.44
Continental	0.88	1.09
Delta	1.03	1.81
Frontier	0.49	0.66
JetBlue	0.40	0.78
Mesa	1.26	0.83
Northwest	0.88	1.43
SkyWest	0.68	0.71
Southwest	0.18	0.26
United	1.36	2.25
US Airways	1.36	3.16

Source: Airline Quality Rating survey

On Monday, a 14-year old girl delivered a stillborn fetus in the bathroom of an airplane. The stillborn baby was discovered by the cleaning crew of the airplane shortly after the it landed at Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport. According to an article on MSNBC, the unidentified girl did not know she was pregnant.

"We're dealing with a scared child at this point," investigator Keith Lovelace said.

Police were called to Bush Intercontinental Airport after a cleaning crew found the fetus in a wastebasket in the bathroom about 15 minutes after the Continental Airlines plane landed Sunday afternoon.

The Boeing 737 had come from New York's laguardia airport. The plane, which was about 30 minutes late, carried 144 passengers and six crew members.

Police Sgt. Ryan Chandler said results of the investigation would be turned over to prosecutors "to decide whether or not they're going to file any criminal charges."

Houston police are involved because the fetus was discovered within the city limits. A report from the medical examiner's office was not expected before Tuesday.

Julie King, a spokeswoman for Houston-based Continental Airlines, declined to comment Monday.