Northern German airports reopen after closure due to ash cloud

  The ash cloud from Iceland's erupting Grimsvotn volcano has reached northern Germany. The Hamburg, Bremen and Berlin airports were shut down for several hours in the morning, canceling or delaying hundreds of flights.Due to ash from an Icelandic volcano entering German airspace, no planes were permitted to take off...

By: Progress On 04:11

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Brazil Convicts U.S. Pilots of Negligence in 2006 Crash

May 17, 2011 — A Brazilian court has convicted two American pilots of negligence for their roles in the crash of Gol Airlines flight 1907 in 2006. The judge suspended their sentence.The Americans were piloting an Embraer Legacy 600 business jet when it collided with the Gol Boeing 737-800 over the...

By: Progress On 12:28

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Cathay Pacific Jet Makes Emergency Landing for Engine Fire

May 16, 2011 — Early this morning local time, a Cathay Pacific Airbus 330 flying from Singapore to Jakarta had to return to Changi Airport shortly after takeoff because of an engine fire. The jet landed safely and no one is reported to be injured.Source: Planet Data...

By: Progress On 12:26

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Air France Flight 447 Data Recovered from Recorders

May 16, 2011 — French aviation authorities said Monday that all the flight data from doomed Air France Flight 447 is preserved in the aircraft's two "black boxes," recently recovered after nearly two years at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.Source: Planet Data...

By: Progress On 12:25

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UAE Man Busted Smuggling Rare Animals out of Thailand

May 13, 2011 — Authorities in Thailand have arrested a UAE citizen who allegedly attempted to smuggle seven endangered animals in his luggage on a commercial flight from Bangkok to Dubai. The young animals included 2 leopards, 2 panthers, an Asiatic black bear and 2 macaque monkeys.Source: Planet Data...

By: Progress On 12:23

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Disruptive Passenger Tries to Open Door Mid-Flight

May 11, 2011 — A passenger aboard a Delta flight from Orlando to Boston allegedly attempted to open the plane's outside door in mid-flight last night (5/10). Other passengers interviewed by the Boston Globe described the suspect, who is from a Boston suburb, as "very intoxicated."Source: Planet Data...

By: Progress On 12:21

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Sydney Airport Security Failure — Apology Issued

Sydney Airport has apologised unreservedly to the thousands of travellers left unable to fly on time following a security failure linked to a power drop.The loss of power meant that Australia’s busiest airport - which over 35 million passengers passed through in 2010 - let 16 passengers through one...

By: Progress On 05:47

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Second Flight Data Recovered from Air France Wreckage

May 3, 2011 — The voice cockpit recorder was recovered from the wreckage of Air France 447 at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday. France's Bureau of Investigation and Analysis (BEA) said this second recorder is intact and "in good condition," unlike the other flight data recorder...

By: Progress On 05:26

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Air France Flight 447's "Black Box" Data Unit Recovered

May 2, 2011 — Search teams recovered a flight data recorder's memory unit from the wreckage of Air France Flight 447 at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday. Last month the robotic submarine scouring the ocean floor for crash evidence turned up the recorder's casing. Accident investigators...

By: Progress On 05:24

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SETI Suspends Hunt for Extraterrestrial Life

Apr 29, 2011 — By way of an Information Week article, we learn that earlier this week, the SETI Institute turned off its extraterrestrial life-hunting Allen Telescope Array (ATA) due to cuts in federal and California state funding. This is an unfortunate development because the ATA is not only used to hunt...

By: Progress On 05:23

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FAA Shakes-Up Air Traffic Control Management

Apr 29, 2011 — Following the recent wave of high-profile incidents of air traffic controller sleeping and watching movies while on the job, the FAA today (4/29) announced a number of management changes and other actions as part of its "comprehensive review" of the nation's air traffic control system. Earlier this...

By: Progress On 05:21

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TSA Makes it Easier for Public to Follow-up on Suspicious Activity Reports

Apr 27, 2011 — If you call or email the TSA Contact Center (TCC) to report a transportation-related security problem, deficiency, or suspected vulnerability you will now be issued a "tracking number" as a confirmation of your report. This new procedure was announced on April 21. TSA says the tracking numbers...

By: Progress On 05:19

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Plymouth airport to shut

Plymouth City Airport is set to close by the end of this year, its owner the Sutton Harbour Group has announced.The news comes as a blow for the airport’s main passenger airline Air Southwest.A spokesman for the carrier said the announcement was “disappointing for Air Southwest and for Plymouth”.However,...

By: Progress On 07:45

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