A week after a government report identified security weaknesses within the airline industry including the possibility that newer airplanes with interconnected WiFi systems could be hacked, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Transportation Security Administration issued an alert warning airlines to be vigilant about monitoring for such threats. [More]
airplanes
GAO Report Finds Airplanes With WiFi Connections May Be Vulnerable To Cyber Attacks
By 4.15.15
Just as a report found in early February that the newest models of connected cars aren’t adequately guarded from security and privacy hacks, a new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office found the same issue currently plagues another transportation segment: flying. [More]
Man Accused Of Pointing Laser Beam Into Cockpits Of Several Planes At LaGuardia Airport, Injuring Pilots
By 3.10.15
Because there isn’t already enough to worry about when piloting a giant piece of metal flying in the sky, law enforcement in New York say they busted a man accused of shining a powerful laser beam into the cockpits of several aircraft at LaGuardia Airport, injuring the eyes of three pilots. [More]
Court Sentences Former Korean Air Executive To One Year In Prison For “Nut Rage” Incident
By 2.12.15
Showing that the country does not take it lightly when the upper-class behaves badly, a South Korean court just handed down a prison sentence of one year for the former Korean Air executive who went into an infamous “nut rage” over improperly served macadamias on a flight in December last year. [More]
American Airlines Flight Makes An Emergency Landing After Cabin Wall Panels Pop Loose
By 10.14.14
No one wants to hear a sound on an airplane that they’ve never heard before, on the chance that it’s actually something bad. Those fears were likely present yesterday on an American Airlines flying to Dallas from San Francisco when an odd popping noise was followed by panels in the cabin falling off the walls, prompting an emergency landing. [More]
Airplane Cabin Cleaners Strike In New York Over Health And Safety Issues
By 10.9.14
For many consumers the time between a plane landing and boarding for the next flight may seem like an eternity. But for the men and women tasked with cleaning the cabin of said plane, the short time you are left waiting might not actually be enough to adequately and safely get the job done. It’s health and safety concerns such as those that led to more than 200 cabin cleaners to go on a 24-hour strike at New York’s LaGuardia Airport Wednesday night. [More]
Lawmakers: Phone Calls On Planes Are Unsafe Because People Will Have Fights
By 9.26.14
Flying is painful enough as it is. Between arduous lines at security and ever-shrinking legroom, passengers are already plenty on-edge. Adding cell phone chatter to an already-tense high-altitude situation could be a recipe for disaster, and 77 members of Congress agree. [More]
Woman Climbs Airport Fence To Try To Stop Her Cheating Husband From Flying Away
By 8.12.14
A word to those hurting hearts out there: We feel your pain, but if you think your husband is flying off to see another woman, there are other ways to go about mending that broken heart other than climbing a 10-foot high barbed wire fence at an airport to try and stop his plane from taking off. [More]
Airbus Seeking Patent For Bicycle Seats In Plane Cabins Because Flying Isn’t Uncomfortable Enough Already
By 7.14.14
While you’re fighting for territory on the arm rest and suffering the kicks, nudges and otherwise annoying seat disturbances that come with flying commercial airlines, just think… it could be worse. How much worse? Like perching on a bicycle seat worse. [More]
Reminder For Travelers: Knives Belong In Checked Baggage, Not Concealed Inside Your Shoe
By 7.7.14
Using consumer products for purposes other than their intended function is usually just inconvenient — have you ever tried eating soup with a fork? It’s the worst! — but when you get weapons and the Transportation Security Administration involved, it’ll likely lead to some hefty consequences. Case in point: a knife hidden in a shoe. [More]
Teen Who Survived 5-Hour Flight In Airplane’s Wheel Well Speaks Up: It Wasn’t Scary
By 6.18.14
The first thing that comes to mind when imagining soaring 40,000 feet in the air with nothing between you and death by super long fall/asphyxiation/hypothermia, is total and complete fear. But heck, the teenager who hitched a ride on a five-hour flight from San Jose to Maui inside a Hawaiian Airlines plane’s wheel well says he wasn’t even scared, even if his body did probably shut down into an almost cryogenic state. [More]
FBI Offering $10,000 Rewards To Help Catch People Pointing Lasers At Airplanes
By 6.4.14
The government meant it before when the Federal Aviation Authority said it: Pointing lasers at planes flying overhead is a really bad idea and could hurt the pilot or otherwise muck up that aircraft’s flight. To drive that point home, a new FBI campaign is offering a hefty reward to anyone with information leading to the arrest of just such a laser user. [More]
Air India Flight Forced To Turn Around After All Four Toilets Become Clogged
By 6.3.14
You know those signs in airplane lavatories that ask you to kindly not flush anything down the drain except toilet paper? Passengers on Air India planes may or may not be adhering to those polite instructions, after a plane was forced to turn around when all four of its toilets clogged. [More]
Even Business Travelers Don’t Want Anyone Yakking Away On The Phone In Mid-Air
By 3.31.14
Who do you think of when you imagine the chatty kind of person who might want to make phone calls in the middle of a crowded airplane, mid-flight? While your mental picture might land on a businessperson in a suit yelling something about mergers and Hong Kong markets and getting that deal done before they close, a trade group representing business travelers has come out against the idea. [More]
Old Man Winter’s Latest Storm Effort Has Canceled 4,500 Flights… So Far
By 3.3.14
Yes, winter happens ever year. But goshdarnit if people aren’t completely fed up with Old Man Winter’s blustery temper this season, which has already seen thousands of flights canceled. Including those canceled over the weekend in preparation for this latest bit of blizzarding, at least 4,500 flights have been ditched and thousands others delayed. [More]
The DOT Wants To Know: Should Cell Phone Calls Be Allowed On Planes?
By 2.21.14
Back in December when the Federal Communications Commission announced it would start investigating whether or not it’s a good idea to lift the ban on cell phone calls on planes — from a technological point of view — the Department of Transportation was all, “Hold on, we’re going to look into this too.” The DOT is now turning to the public to hear your thoughts. [More]
Bill To Ban In-Flight Wireless Voice Calls Moves Forward
By 2.11.14
The battle for a maintaining relative amount peace and quiet on commercial airlines moved on to the next stage this afternoon after a Congressional committee voted to advance a piece of legislation that would ban the in-flight use of the “phone” part of your cellphones. [More]
TSA Temporarily Bans All Liquids, Gels In Carry-On Bags On Flights To And From Russia
By 2.7.14
Those little plastic bags can’t save you now, folks. At least not if you’re going to Russia from the U.S. or flying here from Russia: After warning earlier this week that toothpaste tubes would get an extra long look, the Transportation Security Administration has placed a temporary ban on all liquids, gels and aerosols in carry-on bags on any flights involving Russia. [More]
