Pilot Killed in Crash of F-22 Fighter Jet

He orders Air Force to take steps to protect fliers

(NEWSER) - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has ordered the Air Force to take extra steps to protect F-22 pilots while officials investigate reports of dizziness and fainting spells in the cockpit. Panetta has ordered the service to keep all F-22 flights close enough to landing strips so that pilots will be able to land if they begin experiencing hypoxia-like symptoms, and to speed up the installation of an automatic backup oxygen system in the fighter jet. More»

Deranged airline pilots blamed for 345 deaths since 1982

(NEWSER) - We may never know exactly what made JetBlue pilot Clayton Osbon come unhinged, but the New York Daily News has uncovered tragedy in his past. The pilot's father, who Osbon began flying with as a teenager, died in a plane crash in 1995. The elder Osbon and a friend were en route to the Bahamas from Wisconsin when their twin-engine plane lost power near Daytona Beach in Florida. Both men were killed when the plane crashed in a wooded area. More»

(NEWSER) - The Brazilian Air Force has recovered the first two bodies from the Air France crash, the BBC reports. They also found a suitcase and a backback with a laptop inside. “We confirm the recovery from the water debris and bodies from the Air France plane," an air force spokesman said. “We can't give more information without confirming what we have.” The remains were recovered this morning, and experts are on their way to investigate. More»

Crewman injured after jet crashes during training mission

(NEWSER) - A military pilot was killed when his jet crashed in the Mojave Desert north of California's Edwards Air Force Base yesterday, the AP reports. Military officials said the T-38 Talon was on a training flight. The navigator ejected and is in stable condition in hospital. The crash, still under investigation, is the second deadly one involving a plane from Edwards AFB in the last two months. More»

Flight 3407 transcript released ahead of public hearing

(AP) - Just seconds before the worst US air crash in more than 7 years, the pilot exclaimed "Jesus Christ" and moments later his first officer screamed as Flight 3407 plunged to the ground. A cockpit voice-recorder transcript released today shows that only minutes before the Feb. 12 crash outside Buffalo, Captain Marvin Renslow and First Officer Rebecca Shaw chatted about her career and shared their fear of flying in icy weather. More»