Back in June, we learned that a small wasp’s nest had the power to divert a plane full of passengers. Today, we discovered that a swarm of bees outside the aircraft has the ability to delay a flight. [More]
planes
Chicago Residents Want City To Buy Their Homes, Claiming Living Near O’Hare Airport Is A Noisy Nightmare
By 10.2.15
A group of residents living near O’Hare International Airport are suing the city of Chicago, seeking to make the city buy their homes. They claim their houses have become unlivable after a spike in jet noise from O’Hare, after a new runway opened two years ago. [More]
Awesome Or Terrifying?: “Highway To The Danger Zone” Playing On The Plane PA During Takeoff
By 8.5.15
For some folks, taking off in an airplane can be a bit scary. After all, you’re in a metal tube hurtling along the ground that somehow launches itself into the air like a huge, manmade bird. That same experience can be a rush for other travelers, who some may envy for their ability to enjoy facing their mortality with a blast of turbojets. Either way, your emotions may be heightened if the plane’s crew plays the theme to Top Gun over the PA system during takeoff. [More]
Proposed Hypersonic Plane From Airbus: Paris To Tokyo In 3 Hours (Instead Of 12)
By 8.4.15
Because we can not yet bend time and space to our will, time is valuable. Which is why travelers might like to save that important resource and spend much less time on the plane than they do now. Airbus may make that a reality with its idea for a hypersonic plane. [More]
Police: “Serial Stowaway” Known For Trying To Sneak Onto Planes Arrested At Two Chicago Airports
By 5.6.15
A woman who’s been caught multiple times — with varying instances of success — trying to sneak aboard planes without a ticket has been arrested at two Chicago airports within a month trying to pull her signature stowaway move, police say. [More]
Delta Air Lines Regional Jet Collides With Terminal Wall At Detroit Airport, Delay Ensues
By 4.8.15
Backing up a plane is a lot more complicated that reversing out of your driveway, but pilots generally do it without too much trouble (and with the help of an airplane tug). But this everyday occurrence went awry today for a Delta-operated regional jet in Detroit.
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Video Captures Lightning Striking Two Planes Approaching Seattle Airport During Storm
By 4.3.15
They say lightning never strikes twice — but one observant onlooker did catch two separate lightning strikes hitting planes approaching Seattle’s Sea-Tac Airport as they were landing. Both flights landed without incident, though those onboard say the moment the lightning hit the planes was a rough, albeit very brief experience. [More]
Flight’s Inaugural Journey Delayed After Firefighters Accidentally Spray Plane With Foam
By 3.31.15
Picture this: You’re all hyped up and ready to fly across the ocean as part of an airline’s inaugural journey to a destination across the ocean, everyone is cheering, the excitement is building and then suddenly foam is spraying everywhere. Celebration over, and you’re forced to wait a night to get off the ground. Delays are annoying, yes, but rarely are they caused by celebrating firefighters pressing the wrong button. [More]
Alaska Airlines Flight Delayed After Passenger Is Stung By A Scorpion
By 2.16.15
Now that we’ve all finally gotten over the nightmarish scenario of snakes taking over a plane (well, we’re almost over it) there’s a new terror in the skies to occupy that spot in our fears: An Alaska Airlines passenger was stung by a scorpion aboard a flight to Portland, OR from Los Angeles just before the plane was set to take off. [More]
Chinese Budget Carrier Wants To Sell Passengers Cheaper Tickets — If They’re Willing To Stand During Flights
By 2.3.15
Seatbelt? Who needs a seatbelt? We all chuckled back when Ryanair sought to get permission to sell standing tickets on the cheap, saying “seatbelts don’t matter.” It seems cockamamie ideas are contagious, as a budget carrier in China is now trying to get permission to do pretty much the same thing as an option for frugal travelers. [More]
Survey Confirms What Your Nose Already Knows: Bringing Smelly Food On Airplanes Is Annoying
By 1.29.15
There it is, that rumble, low and deep in your stomach that tells you you’re not gonna make it through this flight with just a paltry bag of peanuts to stay the beast of hunger. But unless you’re Sir Patrick Stewart, bringing a smelly tuna sub or other fragrant food onboard is going to tick off your fellow passengers. A new survey confirms just that, showing how widespread our abhorrence of stinky plane food really is. [More]
FAA: More Than 1,300 Boeing Jets Must Replace Pilot Displays To Prevent WiFi Interference
By 10.1.14
While travelers can now use a slew of mobile devices during flight, it’s not just the gadgets in the cabin that fall under the auspices of the Federal Aviation Administration. The agency issued an order yesterday saying more than 1,300 Boeing jets must have their pilot displays replaced, to make sure they’re resistant to any possible interference coming from WiFi devices used in the cockpit. [More]
Plane Diverted After Drunk Woman Allegedly Demands A Parachute, Attacks Crew With Prosthetic Leg
By 8.1.14
It doesn’t matter what weapon you use — threatening anyone with bodily harm is never okay. That’s why a flight from Tunisia to Edinburgh, Scotland was diverted to London after a woman who was reportedly drunk allegedly attacked cabin crew with her prosthetic leg, after demanding “cigarettes and a parachute.” [More]
Water Floods Plane Cabin After The Australia-Bound Airbus A380 Springs A Leak
By 7.3.14
I once learned from Eliza Doolittle that the rain in Spain stays mostly on the plain, but she didn’t say a darn thing about the rain on a plane heading for Australia. She’d probably be as surprised as the passengers on a recent Qantas flight when the double-decker Airbus A380 sprung a leak, sending water coursing through the cabin. [More]
It Only Costs $21K To Get A One-Way Flight In A VIP Three-Room Suite With A Butler
By 5.5.14
Calling all bargain hunters — haha, just kidding, this thing is so extravagant that likely none of us will ever experience such a luxurious set-up, and in the air, no less. Etihad Airways just announced a new set of A380 planes, equipped with digs fancy enough to include a trained butler and a private bathroom. [More]
Three Cocktails Hacks You Can Prepare On The Fly In Mid-Air
By 5.2.14
Not willing to settle for a lackluster Bloody Mary from the airline drink cart? You don’t have to. We’re not all expert mixologists and there’s a distinct lack of fancy shmancy cocktails options when you’re flying, but luckily there are smarter people out there with all the right answers. Check out three cocktail hacks anyone can use to spice things up in mid-air. [Bon Appetit] [More]
Southwest CEO Vows To Work On Getting Planes Where They Should Be On-time
By 4.30.14
Because no one likes to be told they’ll be arriving somewhere at one time only to find you’re stranded at an airport late at night, staring at the closed Cinnabon and wondering if you’ll ever get home. Late planes are a problem, one that Southwest Airlines says it’s trying hard to fix after lagging behind other carriers in the race to be on-time. [More]
Police: Too Many Drinks Led To Man Trying To Force His Way Into Plane’s Cockpit
By 4.25.14
Because the cockpit of an airplane is where all the action of keeping the craft in the air happens, the door to that area is always locked now to prevent hijacking attempts. So when you’ve had a few too many drinks and go banging on the door to that secure space, well, it’s not going to end well for you. Yes, you, allegedly drunken tourist on a Virgin Australia flight.
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