New Air Force Drones Refuel Without Pilots

(AP) - A passenger landed a twin-engine plane in Florida yesterday after the pilot died during flight. FAA officials say he died after takeoff from a Naples airport while the plane, which had six people on board, was on autopilot and climbing toward 10,000 feet. The passenger who took over is licensed for single-engine planes but isn't certified to fly the larger King Air craft. More»

(NEWSER) - Hero pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger told Congress today that cost-cutting by carriers is forcing experienced colleagues out of jobs, to the detriment of safety in the skies, the Chicago Tribune reports. “We will see negative consequences to the flying public,” the US Airways captain said. Sullenberger himself has seen his pay cut 40% recently, and his pension has been terminated. More»

Investigators looking at Flight 3407 crew's records

(NEWSER) - The captain and first officer on the Buffalo plane that crashed were typical of regional airline pilots, the Buffalo News reports: They had far less experience than their counterparts on major airlines. No one interviewed blames either pilot for the accident, but Capt. Marvin Renslow, 47, and Rebecca Lynne Shaw, 24, had 5,623 hours between them. Contrast that with the 20,000 hours by Hudson hero Chesley Sullenberger. More»

'Sully' from age when pilots were trained to be mavericks

(NEWSER) - In an era when pilots are trained to minimize risk and stick to standard procedures, Chesley Sullenberger of Flight 1549 may be one of the last of his kind, New York magazine reports. He was trained in an earlier era, one in which pilots were treated as gods, and a military mentality was embraced. Many had fought in Vietnam, and thus were trained to take risks. More»

After losing another big military contract, giant's defense role shrinking to bit parts

(NEWSER) - As Boeing makes fewer military aircraft and more hardware systems, its commercial and defense arms look increasingly like separate companies, the Seattle Times reports. "These are two legs walking in opposite directions," one analyst says. While airplanes continue to dominate its commercial side, the company, once a military-aircraft mainstay, now lacks a single prime contract for future warplanes. More»