Fog from early this morning lifted from California's Vandenburg Air Force Base this afternoon, allowing the successful launch of an interceptor missile as a test of the proposed US missile defense system.

 NOTAM Number: FDC 6/8566 Issue Date: August 31, 2006 at 18:06 UTC Location: 43 Southeast, Burley, Idaho near LUCIN VORTAC (LCU) Beginning Date and Time: Effective Immediately Ending Date and Time: Until further notice Reason for NOTAM: To provide a safe environment for fire fighters Type: Hazards Replaced NOTAM(s): N/A Pilots May Contact: Salt Lake (ZLC) Center, 801-320-2560

 NOTAM Number: FDC 6/8574 Issue Date: August 31, 2006 at 18:19 UTC Location: Tooele, Utah near FAIRFIELD VORTAC (FFU) Beginning Date and Time: Effective Immediately Ending Date and Time: Until further notice Reason for NOTAM: To provide a safe environment for fire fighting aircraft operations Type: Hazards Replaced NOTAM(s): N/A Pilots May Contact: Salt Lake (ZLC) Center, 801-320-2560

 NOTAM Number: FDC 6/8610 Issue Date: August 31, 2006 at 23:47 UTC Type: Hazards

 NOTAM Number: FDC 6/8615 Issue Date: September 01, 2006 at 1:04 UTC Type: Hazards

 NOTAM Number: FDC 6/8618 Issue Date: September 01, 2006 at 1:06 UTC Type: Hazards

 NOTAM Number: FDC 6/8621 Issue Date: September 01, 2006 at 4:49 UTC Type: Hazards

Reports: Tire Burst Causes Fire

ANN REALTIME UPDATE 09.01.06 1400 EDT: We're learning more of the circumstances that led an Iran Air Tour Tupolev Tu-154 to catch fire after landing earlier today in the northeastern Iran city of Mashhad.

Finds Cracking In Rear Wing Spars of D-Model Regional Aircraft

Acting on reports of cracks found in the wings of two Raytheon (Beechcraft) 1900D regional turboprops, the FAA has issued an emergency airworthiness directive calling for the immediate visual inspection of the left and right wing rear spar lower caps for cracking, and other damage.

FTSI Flies With Cirrus

Cirrus Design Corporation announced Thursday the CAPT (Commercial Airline Pilot Training) program, run by FTSI (Flight Training Services International), will begin training pilots on Cirrus airplanes.

Announcement Tempers Optimism

Just the other day... Aero-News reported on Boeing's decision to build a maintenance facility in central India. At that time, Boeing said it foresees the need for more than 850 new commercial aircraft in India over the next 20 years. So why, then, is Boeing suddenly worried about the financial well-being of the commercial aviation industry in India?

Much Accomplished... But Issues Remain

In just two years, the sport pilot/light-sport aircraft community has grown to be a significant and promising part of the general aviation picture. So says representatives with the Experimental Aircraft Association... who tell ANN that the past year, in particular, showed the potential within this new area of recreational flight.

We May Be Able To See It, Too!

If you have a decent telescope -- or maybe even a powerful pair of binoclears -- watch the moon this weekend. That's when the ESA's SMART-1 probe will intentionally crash on the lunar surface and, if the impact is bright enough, you might be able to see it from your own back yard.

Company Must Halt Construction If Remains, Artifacts Found On Site

Could the first privately-owned spaceport in the United States be located in southwest Texas? Could be... as Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos' proposed suborbital space launch center near the town of Van Horn moved one step closer to opening this week, after receiving a passing grade on an FAA environmental impact study.

Lockheed Martin Wins Orion Contract

ANN Daily Touch N Go: 09.01.06 (ANN's Short-Form Daily News Program) ANN Daily Aero-Briefing: 09.01.06 (ANN's Long-Form Daily News Program) ANN Special Feature -- Lockheed Martin Wins Orion Contract: 09.01.06 (ANN Special Feature, with NASA's press conference announcing Lockheed Martin as the builder of Orion)

Officials Believe Accident, Not Shootdown, To Blame

A Dutch pilot is dead after his F-16 crashed in southern Afghanistan Thursday.

Woke Up Where She Started

No one thought anything about it when a 17-year-old girl flying from Malta to Sofia, Bulgaria, fell asleep on the plane. I mean, who among us hasn't fallen asleep on a long flight? But this young woman must've been VERY tired.

Says Comair Crash "Must Be A Wakeup Call"

New York Senator Chuck Schumer says Sunday's crash of a Comair regional jet in Kentucky should serve as a warning nationwide.

August Ends On High Note For Troubled Company

A bit of good news for beleagured bizjet maker Sino-Swearingen... as the company announced Thursday the first SJ30 customer type rating has been issued by the FAA.

Over Half Of Membership Approve New Deal

Freight-hauler UPS and its pilots have a new contract, after the pilots union approved the deal... but only just barely.

Four-Day Delay Gives NASA A Little More Time

NASA just got a little help from its Russian counterpart... four extra days before the next Soyuz mission to the International Space Station, now scheduled for September 18. That gives NASA more time to launch the shuttle Atlantis.

Also Introduces SkyRaider Optionally Piloted Aircraft

Proxy Aviation Systems, Inc. -- a developer of fully autonomous, optionally piloted unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) based on Velocity airframes -- used this week's Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International’s (AUVSI) Unmanned Systems North America 2006 in Orlando, FL to unveil its SkyForce UAV management system... and a new aircraft, the SkyRaider.

Who Woulda Thought A Crawler Could Lay Rubber?

Claimed Girlfriend's Seatbelt Jammed... And Went Missing

 It's one of the more bizarre aviation cases we've seen yet. A man whose Cessna 150 crashed into a Montana lake 24 years ago, killing his fiancee, has been arrested in Texas on a murder warrant.

 Dallas-based LCC Southwest Airlines announced this week that Greg Wells will become the Senior Vice President of Operations at the popular airline, effective September 1, 2006. The new leadership position will report to Mike Van de Ven, Southwest's newly named Executive Vice President and Chief of Operations.

Aero-Tips!

I hate feeling like I'm behind schedule. But sometimes it just happens. A little tardiness is okay sometimes, but when an airplane goes from being "tardy" to being overdue, it's time for Search And Rescue (SAR) to kick in.

Aero-Linx!

The Harrier happens to be one of my favorite aircraft; I can’t resist an airplane that can bow to an audience.

Aero-Terms!

Pilot Report -- Direct observations of various weather conditions during flight, coded according to established formats and distributed via various channels.

"Air traffic controllers exist for a reason: to ensure that the planes taking off and landing are doing so safely. Sadly, the FAA continues to short-staff control towers in an effort to control costs while they eschew safety. This tragedy must be a wakeup call for the FAA to reexamine its policy and make sure that airports have the controllers they need."

Source: Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) in a letter to FAA Adminstrator Marion Blakey following revelations in the wake of Sunday's crash of a Comair CRJ in Lexington, KY.