The Kit-Built Grand Champion winner at this year's EAA AirVenture at Oshkosh crashed on Thursday morning, killing the owner and pilot, Steven Caldwell.

First, the software was programmed in meters instead of feet on the Mars Climate Orbiter. Now, the same contractor appears to have installed a gravity switch backwards, causing a quarter billion dollar spacecraft to make one heck of a hole in the sand.

Three Oregon teenagers were killed when the Piper PA-28 (file photo below) they were flying crashed on the return leg of a pleasure flight.

The most recent spacecraft telemetry from Cassini was acquired from the Goldstone tracking station on Wednesday, October 13. The Cassini spacecraft is in an excellent state of health and is operating normally.

Foresight Institute has appointed Dr. Peter Diamandis, Chairman of the X PRIZE Foundation, to lead the think tank's Nanotechnology Prize Steering Committee.

A recent news story reported that some 190,000 illegal aliens from countries other than Mexico crossed our borders this year. Of these, many are from Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq.

The sixth annual “fly-in/camp-out” community open house and pilot's block party took flight as scheduled October 8 and 9 at Holley Mountain Airpark, near Clinton (AK). There was one hitch, however. There were no planes.

TBM owners from all over the world met September 22-26 at the Bishops Lodge Resort & Spa in Santa Fe (NM).

"The board is working to confirm this proximate cause to determine why this error happened, why it was not caught by the test program and an extensive system of in-process and after-the-fact reviews of the Genesis system." Source: Michael G. Ryschkewitsch, chairman of the Genesis Mishap Investigation Board, commenting on the fact that his investigation had turned up an improperly installed gravity switch, responsible for deploying the two chutes on the Genesis spacecraft, and for which contractor Lockheed Martin appears to be responsible. The last time something like this happened at Lockheed, Mars Climate Orbiter is believed to have made a similar hole in Martian soil due to a programming error.

NOTAM: 4/1139 Issued: 10/16/2004 01:10 Effective: Immediately - Until Further Notice State: CA Facility: ZOA - OAKLAND (ARTCC),CA. Type: HAZARDS Description: KYBURZ CA.

NOTAM:  4/1096  Issued:  10/15/2004 14:00  Effective:  10/21/2004 16:00 - 10/24/2004 21:15  State:  LA  Facility:  ZHU - HOUSTON (ARTCC),TX.  Type:  AIR SHOWS/SPORTS  Description:  NEW ORLEANS NAS JRB, NEW ORLEANS/BELLE CHASSE LA.

NOTAM:  4/1149  Issued:  10/16/2004 19:00  Effective:  Immediately - Until Further Notice  State:  CA  Facility:  ZOA - OAKLAND (ARTCC),CA.  Type:  HAZARDS  Description:  MATHER CA.

NOTAM:  4/1102  Issued:  10/15/2004 14:00  Effective:  10/22/2004 18:00 - 10/23/2004 20:30  State:  NC  Facility:  ZTL - ATLANTA (ARTCC),HAMPTON,GA.  Type:  AIR SHOWS/SPORTS  Description:  ANDREWS NC.