general

The midair collision on Wednesday night over the Potomac River near Washington DC is the latest in a string of global incidents that have many air travelers on edge. There are believed to be no survivors of the American Airlines crash, which comes on the heels of deadly Jeju Air and Azerbaijan Airlines accidents in December and about a year after an alarming Boeing door panel blowout and a separate fiery runway collision in Japan. And in 2023, a string of near-collisions at US airports spurred the creation of a new independent safety review team. Understandably, anxiety around flying has spiked. So should passengers be concerned? “I don’t know that passengers should be worried, but I think it’s important for the flying public to be vocal and demand that the government and the different entities do everything possible to make air travel as safe as possible,” said Anthony Brickhouse, a US-based aviation safety expert. But even accounting for serious accidents, “statistically speaking, you’re safer in your flight than you were driving in your car to the airport,” said Brickhouse, who has decades of experience in aerospace engineering, aviation safety and accident investigation. “Air travel remains the safest mode of transportation,” he said.<br/>

The Federal Aviation Administration said on Sunday morning that its primary system for sending real-time safety alerts to pilots was operational again after being down for several hours. “The NOTAM system is online and operational,” the F.A.A. said in a statement, referring to the notification system. “There were no operational impacts in the National Airspace System.” According to the F.A.A., the system was back online by 11 a.m. Eastern time on Sunday. Despite warnings that the outage could lead to flight delays, there did not appear to be any major disruptions to U.S. air travel. NOTAM, shorthand for “Notice to Air Missions,” refers to the alert system that the F.A.A. uses to share information about hazards in the air or on the ground with airlines, such as closed runways, airspace restrictions and navigational signal disruptions. The F.A.A. and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said late on Saturday that the alert system was experiencing a “temporary outage.” At the time, the agency said it was using a contingency program to send safety alerts. The agency said it was investigating the cause of the outage. The F.A.A. has been in the process of modernizing the NOTAM system, which has gone down before. In January 2023, a similar failure led to thousands of flight delays, stymying travel across American airspace. The outage would later be traced to human error, after thousands of files were mistakenly deleted from the system by contractors. The national airspace system of the United States covers an area of more than 29m square miles, and the F.A.A. provides air traffic service to more than 45,000 flights a day across that area, according to the agency.<br/>

Air traffic control staffing was "not normal" at the time of a mid-air collision between a military helicopter and passenger plane in Washington, DC that killed 67 people, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has acknowledged. US media reported that Reagan National Airport tower was understaffed during Wednesday's crash, according to a government report. "I'll take the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) at their word that it wasn't normal," Duffy said when asked about reports during the FOX News Sunday programme. So far, 55 victims have been recovered from the Potomac River, with divers continuing to search for 12 more. There were 64 passengers aboard the American Airlines flight when it collided mid-air with an army Black Hawk helicopter carrying three soldiers as crew. There were no survivors. At the time of the crash, one air traffic control worker was managing helicopters and some planes from the airport, a job normally done by two people, two sources told CBS News, the BBC's US news partner. Duffy said "that was part of the review process that we have to do". He explained there was a "consolidation of air traffic controllers an hour before it was supposed to happen during the time of this crash. And so was, what was the appropriateness of that?" Duffy raised questions about whether controllers did "appropriately direct traffic, consistent with procedures at the FAA", as well as the elevation of the helicopter.<br/>

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said late on Thursday he will soon announce a plan to reform the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after a devastating collision between an American Airlines regional plane and an Army helicopter killed 67 people. "I am in the process of developing an initial plan to fix the @FAANews. I hope to put it out very shortly," Duffy said on X. President Donald Trump who has harshly criticized diversity efforts at the FAA, directed an immediate assessment of aviation safety on Thursday. Earlier, Trump said he had appointed a former senior aviation official as the acting head of the FAA - just one day after the deadliest U.S. air disaster in more than 20 years. The announcement came after an American Airlines regional passenger jet collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and crashed into the Potomac River near Reagan Washington National Airport. Chris Rocheleau, a U.S. Air Force veteran who worked at the FAA for more than 20 years, was previously COO of the National Business Aviation Association. Sources said Liam McKenna, who was the counsel to the Senate Commerce Committee, has also been named chief counsel at the FAA. Rocheleau has been at the FAA since last week, the sources added.<br/>

The Trump administration said on Sunday that federal employees involved in public safety positions, such as air traffic controllers, are exempt from a financial incentive to quit government jobs. On Tuesday, the White House offered 2m civilian full-time federal workers a "deferred resignation program" to remain on the payroll through Sept. 30 but without having to work. The Office of Personnel Management said in an updated fact sheet that the offer did not apply to "positions related to public safety and those in other positions specifically excluded by your employing agency." A White House spokesperson did not immediately comment on how many public safety positions are exempted. OPM previously said the offer was unavailable to military personnel, U.S. Postal Service workers and positions related to immigration enforcement and national security. President Donald Trump has imposed a hiring freeze on most federal jobs but exempted some positions. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told CNN air traffic controllers and inspectors were exempt from the freeze and the FAA is actively hiring controllers. "The critical positions in regard to safety are not offered that early retirement. We're going to keep all our safety positions in place, no early retirement," Duffy said. "We're all going to stay and work and make sure our skies are safe." Air traffic controllers received early retirement offers last week, sparking concerns among airlines about the impact a wave of departures could have on flights.<br/>

As the role of air traffic controllers comes under scrutiny in the deadly mid-air collision between a U.S. Army helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet, payouts by the federal government for past crashes show both the scope and limits of government liability. The federal government has paid 75 claims totaling $88.7m in the last decade to settle litigation alleging negligence on the part of air traffic controllers, the military and other government actors in air crashes. The settlement figures, which are buried in a government database that tracks payments by the Treasury Department’s Judgment Fund to resolve lawsuits against the United States, all involved small crashes, typically with one or two fatalities or serious injuries. One reason the payment amounts aren’t higher: Under the Federal Tort Claims Act, the government is only liable for compensating victims or their families for their losses. Punitive damages, which can provide plaintiffs with much bigger monetary awards, are not allowed. It's far too soon to assign liability for the Jan. 29 crash near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, which killed 67 people. Reuters reported one controller rather than two was handling local plane and helicopter traffic on Wednesday at the airport, a situation deemed "not normal" but considered adequate when flights are fewer. The helicopter may also have been flying above its assigned altitude.<br/>

American Airlines Flight 5342, a regional jet en route from Wichita, Kan., was zooming down and about to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington on Wednesday night, when it made a last-minute turn upward. Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board appeared unsure if that meant that the pilots were alerted to something wrong in the plane’s final descent. But the sudden change in trajectory was not enough to avoid colliding with a military helicopter that was flying higher than it was supposed to be. “I can tell you at one point very close to the impact, there was a slight change in pitch, an increase in pitch,” said Todd Inman, a member of the safety board. In a briefing Saturday, members of the board provided new information and more detail than previously revealed of the moments leading up to the midair crash that proved to be the deadliest aviation accident in the United States in nearly a quarter of a century. The regional jet and the Army Black Hawk helicopter collided between 300 feet and 350 feet above the ground over the Potomac River, according to the investigators who recovered information from the flight data recorders. That places the helicopter more than 100 feet above the height that it was authorized to fly in its particular route near Reagan. Helicopters must fly at designated heights and remain in specific paths to avoid commercial airplanes coming in and out of the busy airport. On the route that the helicopter was approved to fly Wednesday, called Route 4, it was not authorized to fly higher than 200 feet above ground. The New York Times earlier reported that the helicopter was flying higher than authorized, putting it within the path of the American Airlines regional jet, killing all passengers aboard both aircraft.<br/>

Families of victims of the deadliest US air disaster in nearly 25 years visited the crash site on Sunday amid a swirl of ongoing questions on what caused the mid-air collision between a passenger jet and a military helicopter at an airport just outside Washington DC. Dozens of people walked along the banks of the Potomac River near Reagan National airport, close to where an American Airlines jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed into each other on Wednesday, killing all 67 aboard. Although federal investigators are still working to piece together the events that led to the crash, Washington DC fire chief John Donnelly said on Sunday evening that officials have positively identified 55 of the people who were killed. The Army Corps of Engineers is surveying and preparing to begin significant salvage operations on Monday to remove the wreckage from the river. The transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, toured the morning TV shows and said federal aviation investigators needed space to conduct their inquiry. “What was happening inside the towers? Were they understaffed? … The position of the Black Hawk, the elevation of the Black Hawk, were the pilots of the Black Hawk wearing night vision goggles?” Duffy asked on CNN. The American Airlines flight, with 64 people on board was preparing to land from Wichita, Kansas. The Army Black Hawk helicopter was on a training mission and had three soldiers on board. Both aircraft plunged to the Potomac River after colliding.<br/>

The U.S. Army on Saturday released the name of the third soldier who died on a Black Hawk helicopter that collided with an American Airlines passenger jet near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport this week, killing 67 people in all. The soldier was identified as Captain Rebecca Lobach, of Durham, North Carolina. She was an aviation officer in the regular Army since 2019 and assigned to the 12th Aviation Battalion, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. The Army had initially declined to identify Lobach, an unusual decision that the agency said was made at the request of the family. But on Saturday the Army said in a statement that Lobach’s family had agreed to release her name to the public. Meanwhile, investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board have determined the CRJ700 airplane was at 325 feet (91 meters), plus or minus 25 feet, at the time of impact, officials said at a Saturday evening news briefing. The information was based on data recovered from the jet’s flight data recorder - the “black box” that tracks the aircraft’s movements, speed and other parameters. The new detail suggests the Army helicopter was flying above 200 feet (61 meters), the maximum altitude for the route it was using. Preliminary data indicates the control tower’s radar showed the helicopter at 200 feet at the time of the accident, though officials said the information has not been confirmed. “That’s what our job is, to figure that out,” NTSB board member Todd Inman told reporters when asked what could explain the discrepancy. Inman also said at Saturday’s briefing that the helicopter’s training flight would typically include the use of night-vision goggles. “We do not know at this time if the night-vision goggles were actually being worn, nor what the setting may be,” he said. “Further investigation should be able to let us know if that occurred and what factor it may play in the overall accident.”<br/>

One person in a car was among several killed when an air ambulance carrying six crashed Friday night near a mall in northeast Philadelphia. Jet Rescue Air Ambulance said it was unlikely anyone on board survived. The travelers were the pilot, a copilot, the patient, the patient’s mother, a paramedic and a physician. Details about the victims were not immediately released. Mayor Cherelle Parker said the number of injured victims on the ground, where several “dwellings and vehicles” were impacted, climbed to 19. “We can confirm that there are also a number of other victims who were injured in this incident, and they are being treated in area hospitals,” Parker said at a news conference Saturday morning. The air ambulance was traveling from Northeast Philadelphia Airport to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri when it crashed around 6:30 p.m. near the Roosevelt Mall.<br/>

A worker at Chicago O’Hare International Airport was critically injured on Saturday after a vehicle that tows aircraft and a plane collided, causing the vehicle to flip over, officials said. The collision took place about 7:35 p.m. local time, when an Air Wisconsin jet that was approaching a gate struck the vehicle, which is also known as a tug, the Federal Aviation Administration said. “The tug flipped over, pinning the driver underneath it,” the Chicago Police Department said. The tug was driven by a 64-year-old man who sustained head and lower-body injuries, the police said on Sunday. He was taken in critical condition to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, where he was stabilized, the police said. The man was operating the tug for United Airlines, according to the airline. “We are ensuring he receives any necessary support and care,” the airline said in a statement. Air Wisconsin is a regional airline that operates under American Eagle in the Midwest and the East Coast for American Airlines, its parent company. American Airlines said in a statement on Sunday that after the plane landed, passengers safely exited and were taken to a terminal. The plane, a Bombardier CRJ-200 that can carry up to 50 passengers, had arrived in Chicago from Kalamazoo-Battle Creek International Airport in Michigan, according to American Airlines. No passengers were injured on the plane. The Chicago Department of Aviation, which runs the airport, said on Sunday there were no significant impacts on operations at O’Hare because of the collision. The F.A.A. and the Chicago Police Department said they were investigating. <br/>

Residents and activists have blocked access to an airport in protest over expansion plans. Farnborough Airport, in Hampshire, has submitted plans to up its annual flight limit from 50,000 to 70,000 planes. Campaigners from Extinction Rebellion, Farnborough Noise, Blackwater Valley Friends of the Earth and Alton Climate Action Network, as well as local residents, blockaded the main entrance on Sunday, holding banners and releasing coloured smoke flares. Rushmoor Borough Council has yet to make a decision on the proposed increase in flights. The protest followed a consultation period on Farnborough Airport's expansion plans, which ended on 18 October. The proposals have seen opposition from local residents and environmental campaigners. The plans include increasing the airport's annual weekend flight limit from 8,900 to 18,900 flights and upping its annual flight limit from 50,000 to 70,000. In a statement, Extinction Rebellion said the 33,120 private jet flights to and from the airport in 2024 carried an average of 2.5 passengers, with each passenger responsible for the emission of nine times as much carbon as an economy flight to the US and 20 times that to Spain.<br/>

From afar Doncaster Sheffield Airport appears clear for take-off. The grass verges are well trimmed, the modern, glass-fronted terminal glimmers in the muted winter sun. But there are no holidaymakers, no families jetting off for a week in the sun, no rattle of suitcase wheels and no roar of jet engines. Opened in April 2005, the airport once served a host of destinations, including Berlin, Dubrovnik, Paris, Alicante and Mallorca. Come November 2022 all flights were grounded when owners Peel Group said it was no longer financially viable and mothballed the site. Today, the 800-acre site, a former RAF base, lies empty except for a small maintenance crew and security presence. Since closing, City of Doncaster Council and the South Yorkshire Mayor have worked to reopen the airport and, earlier this week, their efforts were given the backing of Chancellor Rachel Reeves. Speaking on Wednesday, Reeves said she would support the work to "recreate South Yorkshire Airport City as a thriving regional airport".<br/>

The number of planes owned and operated by Korean airlines reached over 400 last year, data showed Sunday, marking the highest figure since record-keeping began. Domestic airlines operated a total of 416 airplanes, including 42 cargo planes, as of late last year, up 23 from a year before, according to the data submitted to Rep. Lee Yeon-hee of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). This marks the highest number of planes since a private airplane was first registered in the country in 1977. The number is expected to climb further this year as domestic airlines have plans to introduce 54 new planes while disposing of 38 outdated aircraft. The number of plane registrations had been on a steady rise to surpass the 300 mark in 2015 and reach the previous record of 414 in 2019 before dropping the following year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. By airline, local industry leader Korean Air had the largest share of 39.7% of the total, or 165 planes, followed by Asiana Airlines at 83 planes and Jeju Air at 41, including the plane lost in the deadly crash that claimed 179 lives on Dec. 29.<br/>