Russians Not Amused

A 29 year-old Australian man has been arrested after trying to break into the cockpit of an Aeroflot-Russian Airlines flight. The man threatened to blow up the plane "if it did not fly to Chechnya," according to media reports.

Ratification Of New Employee Agreements Crucial

Continental predicts a loss for the first quarter and a "significant" loss for the year according to its filing with the SEC. A bulletin warned employees the company will have to take several serious steps if the tentative agreements are not ratified by March 30th.

Pilot Punches Out, Safe

Preliminary details are sketchy but an Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon crashed short of the runway at Nellis AFB at about 8:30 a.m. on Friday, March 18.

Former Exchange Chairman Denies Spitzer's "Air Grasso" Charges

The charge that the New York Stock Exchange's embattled former Chairman Dick Grasso used the exchange's jet improperly has been raised by the headline-hungry New York state Attorney General, Elliot Spitzer. 

Sport Pilot Movement Encourages 'Historic Repeat'

American Legend Aircraft Company tells ANN that it flew its all-new Legend Cub aircraft for the first time, just a few hours ago.

New Recruits For C-23 Maintenance

When you're waiting on supplies, the last thing you want to hear is that the flight's been canceled for maintenance. M7 Aerospace will soon be working with L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace to prevent those problems. The company announced Thursday that it will be providing support to the US Army National Guard's fleet of C-23 Sherpa Aircraft.

Renewable Fuel Powers Crop Duster

Depressed about the high price of aviation fuel? Don't turn to drinking to drown your sorrows, you may need that ethanol to power your aircraft in the future.

Klyde Is Right On Target With This One...

Retirement Takes Toll In Both Cockpit And Control Tower

If aviation consultants like Stuart Klaskin are to be believed, aviation will stumble right out of the economic bad times and right into a shortage of both pilots and controllers.

Passenger Volume Back to Pre-2001 Levels

The number of people flying in the United States will return to pre-2001 levels this year, with an average annual growth rate of 3.4 percent expected over the next 12 years, according to the annual 12-year aviation forecast report released today by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Electrical Failure Blamed For Left Main Failure

Authorities at Page Field in Fort Myers, FL, said an Adam Aircraft A500 was "slightly damaged" when the left main landing gear collapsed shortly after the aircraft landed Wednesday night. Two people were on board the aircraft -- neither was hurt, according to a spokeswoman for the Lee County Port Authority.

But Where?

Bombardier's board of directors has decided to go ahead with development of the new C-Series regional jets, capable of carrying 110-135 passengers. The question now is... where? In a release to ANN, Bombardier said, before it makes that decision, it would "seek firm commitments from potential customers, suppliers and government partners."

The Latest Find: Enceladus

The Cassini spacecraft's two close flybys of Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus have revealed that the moon has a significant atmosphere.  Scientists, using Cassini's magnetometer instrument for their studies, say the source may be volcanism, geysers, or gases escaping from the surface or the interior.

Airline: 800 More Cuts Could Follow

Northwest Airlines says it's grounded two dozen of its aircraft and laid off 130 mechanics. The airline said it's now looking at further downsizing its technical workforce and could soon lay off another 700-800 mechanics.

National Training Aircraft Symposium Next Week

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will convene a National Training Aircraft Symposium March 21-24 in the College of Aviation on its Daytona Beach campus. The event will bring together the customers and suppliers of training airplanes, avionics, simulators, and support equipment to review the new training tools and define modifications that suit each education and training provider.

NOTAM:  5/2032  Issued:  03/17/2005 21:30  Effective:  03/21/2005 14:20 - 03/21/2005 16:25  State:  TX  Facility:  ZFW - FORT WORTH (ARTCC),TX.  Type:  VIP  Description:  WACO, TEXAS MARCH 21 2005 LOCAL.  

NOTAM:  5/2033  Issued:  03/17/2005 21:30  Effective:  03/18/2005 22:25 - 03/19/2005 00:30  State:  TX  Facility:  ZFW - FORT WORTH (ARTCC),TX.  Type:  VIP  Description:  WACO, TEXAS MARCH 18 2005 LOCAL.  

NOTAM:  5/2037  Issued:  03/17/2005 21:40  Effective:  03/18/2005 16:30 - 03/18/2005 17:45  State:  MN  Facility:  ZMP - MINNEAPOLIS (ARTCC),MN.  Type:  HAZARDS  Description:  ELY MN.  

NOTAM:  5/2035  Issued:  03/17/2005 21:40  Effective:  03/18/2005 22:50 - 03/21/2005 16:00  State:  TX  Facility:  ZFW - FORT WORTH (ARTCC),TX.  Type:  VIP  Description:  CRAWFORD, TEXAS, MARCH 18-21 2005.  

NOTAM:  5/2041  Issued:  03/17/2005 22:40  Effective:  03/17/2005 15:00 - 03/20/2005 22:00  State:  FL  Facility:  ZMA - MIAMI (ARTCC), FL.  Type:  AIR SHOWS/SPORTS  Description:  PUNTA GORDA FL.  

"The only confusion, the critical confusion, in an instrument approach, is whether the navigation aids are set to the right frequency, or in the right mode, whether they're getting the proper indication in the cockpit on where they are in reference to the runway." Source: Retired General Charles Bolden, in an interview with Houston's KTRK-TV after he read the transcripts of voice recordings on board a Gulfstream G-III that went down near Hobby Airport in November. The transcripts seemed to indicate the cockpit crew -- led by a captain with 19,000 hours of experience, was following the wrong navaid on approach. Bolden said that, although the cockpit crew "went by the book" after learning of their mistake, their actions came too late to save the plane -- and their l

by ANN Editor-In-Chief Jim Campbell and Correspondent John Ballantyne The Annual FAA Forecast Conference is underway, right now, in Washington, D.C. All aspects of aviation are stating their case, making complaints, trying out a few predictions, and proffering potential solutions... and (in most cases) preaching to the choir.