Safety Worries Mount as Regional Airlines Soar

With skies safe, officials turn their attention to 'surface threats' on runways

(NEWSER) - "America's skies are the safest they have ever been," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told reporters this week, and the stats back him up: Deaths from accidents in US commercial aviation have plummeted over the last 15 years, with none registered at all in 2011. Aviation officials say they are now turning their attention toward somewhere potentially much deadlier than the skies for commercial aircraft: the ground, and specifically, the runway. More»

Airbus to seek compensation from Rolls-Royce

(NEWSER) - The chief of Qantas Airways has chilled the hearts of nervous fliers—and Rolls-Royce shareholders—by saying up to half of the world's fleet of Airbus A380 jumbos using Rolls-Royce engines need to have their engines replaced. The CEO says the engines need to be replaced because of a faulty component that caused an engine in a Qantas jet to catch fire and disintegrate earlier this month, Bloomberg reports. More»

From the smug first-class traveler to loud babies

(NEWSER) - There are lots of reasons to dislike getting on an airplane; herewith, Guyism points out the most annoying types of people you’ll run into as you fly the friendly skies:

• The first-class flier: Sorry, Jeff Wysaski writes to “this smug assembly of businessmen, trust fund kids and trophy wives … a little extra legroom and a warm chocolate chip cookie does not make you more important than me.”

Fisticuffs erupt over sex harassment complaint by flight attendant

(NEWSER) - Pilots and crew members on an Air India jet came to blows mid-flight in an argument about sex harassment. Stunned passengers watched grappling staffers spill out of the cockpit into a galley. The fight erupted when a flight attendant complained about harassment by the pilots en route from Pakistan to New Delhi, reports BBC. Pilots claim the complaint was an attempt to derail a misconduct report about a male staffer. No one was seriously injured and the plane landed safely. Police are investigating. More»

Hero pilot will also become part of US Airways' safety management team

(NEWSER) - Chesley Sullenberger, who saved the passengers and crew of US Airways Flight 1549 when he executed daring water landing on the Hudson River in January, will soon return to flying. The hero pilot's return to the cockpit is imminent, the NBC affiliate in Los Angeles reports. In addition to flying, Sullenberger will have some new responsibilities as a "management pilot" on US Airways' safety team. More»