Stories related to: airplane

Browsing airplane catalogs already hints at a certain crazed desperation. But just in case that yapping businessman on your flight pushes you into a homicidal rage, Jezebel points out that SkyMall merch can also facilitate murder (first, allow 4-6 weeks for delivery): Lawn Aerator Sandals: 1.5-inch spikes covering the soles easily dig holes in your lawn. Happily, they also turn a swift kick deadly. More »

Bad news on the climate-change front: Airplanes are emitting 20% more carbon dioxide than anyone thought. According to a newly disclosed report, they could release 1.5 billion tons a year by 2025—compared to 3.1 billion tons a year now released by all the citizens of the EU, reports Wired. The study also predicted growing airplane noise pollution. More »

With customer complaints up 60% and operational performance at an all-time low, it's not a good time for the airline industry—or its passengers. CNN offers these tips to fractious fliers: Research, research, research: Check out airline performance at FlightStats.com or FlightAware.com before buying your ticket, book a flight during an airport’s least congested times (midday or late night). More »

Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner has been delayed for a third time—now it won't be delivered until the third quarter of 2009 due to parts shortages and manufacturing partners who've fallen behind schedule. The innovative, fuel-efficient plane was originally scheduled to be available next month, reports Bloomberg. More »

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 »

In London yesterday, prosecutors introduced “martyrdom videos” as evidence against eight British Muslims accused of plotting to destroy US-bound airliners in 2006, the Times   reports. One video, found in a man’s garage, envisioned “your people’s body parts responsible for these wars and oppression decorating the streets.” The prosecutor also said some of the men discussed, in wiretapped conversations, bringing their wives and children with them on their suicide missions, AP reports. More »

An Islamic terrorist cell plotted a suicide mission to blow up seven transatlantic airliners in midflight, killing more than 1,500 passengers, a prosecutor charged yesterday as a trial began for eight men in London. The explosives were to be hidden in soft drink bottles and set off by detonators improvised from disposable cameras, reports the Guardian . More »

Seeking to stem mounting delays in the production of its breakthrough 787 jetliner, Boeing is getting more involved in the early steps of the assembly process, the Chicago Tribune reports. Boeing said yesterday it will buy out a partner's share of a South Carolina plant that assembles two rear sections of the Dreamliner's fuselage, allowing them to get the company's assembly line and 300 workers back on track. More »

A trigger-happy US Airways pilot whose gun accidentally discharged in the cockpit has been suspended from the federal program that permits pilots to pack heat, reports CNN. He's also been yanked from flight duty pending the results of an investigation by the FAA, the TSA, and US Air. The shocking weekend discharge was the first time a gun has been fired on board since the feds enacted the gun program to discourage would-be hijackers. More »

A pilot’s gun went off in the cockpit of a US Airways plane just as it was landing in North Carolina this weekend, the AP reports. It was the first time a gun was discharged inside a plane since pilots were armed in the wake of 9/11. Though no one was hurt in the incident, the plane has been taken out of service. More »

Travelers who want to stay connected while they're on the move get an assist from PC World , which finds that some airlines and airports are soaring ahead in the technology stakes while others are stuck on the runway. Virgin America leads the way, with a power port in every seat, in-flight WiFi rolling out this year, high-tech entertainment, and an on-board system that lets you IM other passengers—or order a meal. More »

A quick nosedive by a Delta pilot narrowly averted a mid-air collision of two passenger planes over Pittsburgh this morning, after an air traffic control trainee told a Delta pilot to turn into another jet’s path. The planes, carrying 120 passengers between them, missed each other by a scant 400 feet. The second pilot, flying for PSA, also took evasive action. More »

Years of careful strategy and an alliance between executives was the key to Airbus nailing a $40 billion deal to build Air Force planes, reports the Wall Street Journal . The Pentagon’s decision last week is “a transformational shift in the way weapons systems are acquired. It’s an acknowledgment that globalization is real," said Ralph Crosby Jr., the top US executive for Airbus parent EADS. More »

Rice husks might be the key to lowering electricity use, bomb-proofing buildings and making products—from airplanes to tennis rackets—lighter. A Malaysian scientist says she’s found a cheap way to create aerogel, the world’s lightest solid, from discarded rice husks. The material combines incredible insulating power and strength with near weightlessness, reports AP, but has so far been prohibitively expensive to make. More »

Japan Airlines may abandon its plan to stock up on Boeing Dreamliners because of tie-ups in production of the new 787, Reuters reports. The carrier, a loyal Boeing customer, planned to buy 55 Dreamliners, but the delivery date has slipped again, to early 2009. Now JAL is checking out the Airbus A350 XWB, which would allow it to offset fuel costs by flying more midsize planes. More »

Searchers in Panama tonight found the bodies of a California businessman and his 13-year-old daughter two days after their plane disappeared in the mountains, the AP reports. Another girl, a 12-year-old friend of the family, survived the crash and was hospitalized, but the extent of her injuries was not known. The Panamanian pilot was killed. More »

Airlines getting ready to offer Internet access are grappling with how to enforce netiquette at 33K feet. "We think decency and good sense and normal behavior will prevail," said the CEO of one service. If it's not porn or violent images, its annoying ringtones and loud conversations that can get in the way of a polite flying experience. More »

China unveiled its first passenger jet today, the first step in its goal to become a major player in the global aviation industry, Bloomberg reports. The ARJ21, which seats up to 90, will make its maiden voyage in March, and the first planes will be ready for customers in 2009. Beijing hopes to meet soaring domestic demand and someday compete with the likes of Airbus and Boeing. More »

Boeing said today that it remains committed to delivering 109 Dreamliners by the end of 2009 despite persistent supply-chain problems, the Chicago Tribune reports. Although the aviation giant expects to eventually be able to produce one plane in 3 days, the first six—which will be used for test flights—won’t be finished until the second quarter of 2008. More »

Lax federal oversight and overworked air-traffic controllers contribute to a "high risk" of a major runway collision at US airports, a new report warns. The GAO report cited 370 incidents on runways this year, near a dismal FAA record six years ago that set stricter oversight in motion, the AP reports. The GAO also criticized shoddy equipment used by controllers. More »