Agents intercept military flare in mail

Federal agents at Chicago's O'Hare Airport averted "a potential catastrophic event" when they stopped a package containing a live military flare from being loaded onto a flight to Japan, says a federal agency.

The Customs and Border Protection said the Vietnam War-era device, identified as an M49A1 phosphorous trip flare, was found in the mail as it was passing through the busy facility on Thursday.

Brian Bell, a customs supervisor, said he did not know whether the package that contained the device would have been routed onto a passenger or cargo plane.



The device, which burns at a temperature of 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit, had been listed on the shipping manifest as a "military training dummie", the agency said.

When agents looking for contraband in the mail contacted the sender for more details, they learned he had acquired the device online from an estate sale and was sending it to a buyer in Japan.

Bomb experts from the Chicago Police Department determined the package contained an incendiary device and rendered it safe. The case is under investigation. The Customs and Border Protection agency said agents did not believe there was any intent to harm. — Reuters

Jumbo jet forced to make screeching halt at JFK to avoid Egypt Air plane which had taken wrong turn on runway

Controllers screamed: 'Cancel take-off, cancel take-off plan' as 747 accelerated down runway

A Jumbo jet, with 286 passengers on board, had a terrifying near miss when it was forced to screech to a halt to avoid colliding with another plane that had turned into its path.

The Lufthansa Boeing 747 was accelerating along a runway as it prepared to take off at Kennedy Airport, New York, when it narrowly avoided slamming into an EgyptAir Boeing 777.

An air traffic controller screamed: 'Cancel take-off, Cancel take off plans' when he noticed the Munich-bound Jumbo on a collision course.

Close call: The Jumbo jet was racing down the runway when it had to brake to avoid hitting an EgyptAir Boeing 777.A Lufthansa Boeing 747 screeched to a halt to avoid slamming into an EgyptAir plane which had turned into its path.Panic: Controllers at New York's JFK airport screamed into their radios when they saw the two planes about to collide

The Jumbo's pilot slammed on the brakes before radioing back: 'Lufthansa 411 heavy is rejecting take-off.'

A pilot aboard another flight arriving from Los Angeles radioed the tower to say: 'That was quite a show.'

Airport controllers believe the EgyptAir jet made a wrong turn, ending up in the path of the German Lufthansa plane

A source said: 'It was close.'

The Lufthansa plane later arrived safely in Munich and no one is believed to have been injured.

A Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said the incident would be investigated but that it would take several days to sort out the details.

In April this year an Air France A380, Superjumbo collided with a Delta regional jet which was parked outside a terminal building.

The smaller Delta jet was sent spinning around wildly although no one was hurt in the incident, which is still under investigation by the National Transportation Safety

44 killed in Russian highway plane crash - Russian plane crash blamed on "pilot error"

A 9-year-old boy died of his injuries Wednesday, bringing the death toll in the crash of a Russian passenger plane that slammed into a highway in heavy fog to 45, officials said. The RusAir Tu-134 on a flight from Moscow crashed just ...

Trump force one: Inside Donald Trump's $100 million 'presidential' 757 jet

He has already declared himself out of the 2012 presidential race.

But new photos show Donald Trump's latest $100 million acquisition is essentially a presidential suite flying the skies - complete with suede ceilings and gold-leaf seatbelts.

Trump's Boeing 757 - decked out in his trademark black and gold livery - took off for from New York to Washington, D.C. on Friday.

 Campaigner: Trump has previously hinted at running for president, but finally put the idea to bed last month. His new presidential jet however hints at loftier ambitions than hosting TV reality shows and running his property empire

 Up in the air: Trump, seen here in 1987, also uses his fleet of branded helicopters to travel around in

 Trump air: The Donald showed off his new jet on Friday. The $100 million 757 will replace his older 727

 Monster: The 757 dwarfs other private jets at LaGuardia

 The former Trump Force One sits on the tarmac in Palm Beach

 Ultimate comfort: The jet, which features wood panelling and large oval windows, can accommodate up to 230 passengers

Luxury in the sky: Its bathroom features a circular shower and gold faucets

What jetlag? A bedroom dressed in cream with gold accents features a flat-screen television, wooden desk and electric shades for a peaceful slumber

Europe on alert for Icelandic volcano ash cloud

Smoke rise from the Grimsvotn volcano, under the Vatnajokull glacier in southeast Iceland May 21, 2011.

An eruption by Iceland’s most active volcano was set to keep the island’s main airport shut today, while other European nations watched for any impact on their air routes from a towering plume of smoke and ash.

Experts said they saw little chance of a repeat of last year’s six-day closure of airspace, which also hit transatlantic flights, when another Icelandic volcano erupted, although airlines have been warned the new ash cloud will drift.

So far Iceland, particularly the towns and villages to the south and east of the Grimsvotn volcano, have suffered most. Day turned into night when a thick cloud of ash descended on the area, smothering cars and buildings.







The cloud had also begun to drift over the capital Reykjavik by late last evening and the civil aviation authority said the prospects for re-opening the main international airport on Monday were not good.

Europe’s air traffic control organization warned on its website that ash could spread southwards.

“Ash cloud is expected to reach North Scotland on Tuesday 24th May. If volcanic emissions continue with same intensity, cloud might reach west French airspace and north Spain on Thursday 26th May,” it said in a traffic bulletin.

Iceland’s meteorological office said the plume from Grimsvotn, which last exploded in 2004, had fallen to 10 to 15km in height from a peak of 25km.

But the eruption was much stronger than the one at a volcano further south last year which closed European airspace and halted transatlantic flights, due to worries that particles could get into aircraft engines and cause accidents. The airline industry said it lost US$1.7 billion (RM5.12 billion) in revenues.

“It could lead to some disruption, but only for a very limited time and only over a very limited area,” said University of Iceland Professor of Geophysics Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson.

“We see some signs that the (eruption’s) power is declining a bit, but it is still quite powerful,” he said, adding that the eruption was the most violent at the volcano since 1873.

LAYERS OF ASH

Gudmundsson and other vulcanologists said the impact on air travel this time would be more limited as winds were more favourable, the plume’s content was heavier and less likely to spread, and authorities had a higher tolerance for ash levels.

Some airlines complained that authorities had been excessively cautious in imposing blanket closures of airspace during last year’s eruption.

Icelandair, the main airline on the island, stopped flights on Sunday and said on its website the halt could continue on Monday. It said 6,000 passengers had been affected by cancellations so far.

Dave Mcgarvie, vulcanologist at Britain’s Open University, said any ash which reached Britain would be less than last year and added that experience gained since the 2010 eruption would lead to less disruption.

In emailed comments, he said “minor re-routing” should enable aircraft to avoid zones where ash is concentrated.

Grimsvotn lies under the Vatnajokull glacier in southeast Iceland, the largest glacier in Europe.

Areas to the south of glacier have been covered in thick layers of ash and the sun was blocked out for several hours.

“It was like night is during the winter,” said Benedikt Larusson, speaking in the town of Kirkjubaejarklaustur. “Now it is a little bit better. Now I can see about 100m, but before it was about one meter.”

Iceland volcanic ash threatens half-term getaway dozens of europe flights cancelled.

* BA, Easyjet, Loganair, KLM and Eastern Airways all cancel flights after Civil Aviation Authority warning
* President Obama cuts short his stay in Ireland to avoid effects of ash cloud
* Aviation sector says it is better prepared than last year
* Transport Secretary warns of further disruption in the week ahead
* Click here to see live video of volcano eruption viewed from space

Tens of thousands of families are facing air travel chaos from today – and into the half-term holidays – as a thick cloud of volcanic ash descends over the UK.

The towering plume of Icelandic ash, smoke and steam hit Scotland and Ireland last night, bringing disruption to airlines.

British Airways last night cancelled all flights between London and Scotland until 2pm today.

Between 30 and 40 BA flights will be affected from airports including Heathrow, Gatwick and London City to and from Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. The airline runs 80 flights a day between these airports.

This latest shot shows the ash cloud (the reddish colour) swirling into the atmosphere after spewing from the Grimsvotn volcano

Covered from head to toe with ski goggles and face mask this farmer's son - preparing to herd his sheep to shelter - looks like he is on the set of a science fiction film set

Looking up to the darkened sky because of the ash cloud, Sunna Agustdottir, seven, carries a new-born lamb to shelter at the family farm in Longumyri, Iceland

The ash billows into the sky from the Grimsvotn volcano, under the Vatnajokull glacier in south east Iceland

The huge puffs of ash from the active volcano could ruin many people's plans to jet off as it starts to drift into Europe

Sample: Ash is collected awaiting examination at the command centre in Kirkjubaejarklaustur as authorities prepare to deal with the effects of the eruption

Huge eruption: Smoke plumes from the Grimsvotn volcano create a stunning scene about 120 miles east of Rejkjavik

Chaos in the sky: Aerial view of the eruption of the volcano Grimsvotn in the south-east of Iceland which has forced shut its main international airport

Wearing a face mask, Anna Hardadottir, a farmer of Horgsland, leads a horse through the ash pouring out of the erupting volcano. It has spewed an ash cloud about 15 miles into the sky

An infra-red image showing the plume of smoke spreading out from south-east Iceland. The pinkish-red part shows the fallout from the eruption, the brown is normal cloud cover. Britain is braced in case it begins to drift east.

Stunning: As the volcano erupts, huge dark ash and storm clouds gather across the Icelandic skyline

Ash from the Grimsvotn volcano hanging in the sky over Iceland. The cloud has spewed 12 miles into the atmosphere

How are we going to get home? Tourists leave the Islandia Hotel yesterday in Nupur as ash continue to pour out of the erupting volcano

Electrical storm: Ash is hurled miles into the air by the eruption, creating thunderstorms around the volcano

Awesome power: Keflavik airport has been closed to air passengers as of 8.30am this morning following the eruption

Iceland Volcano May Disrupt European Air Traffic as Ash Cloud Reaches UK

An Icelandic volcanic eruption pushed an ash cloud toward the UK, curtailing US President Barack Obama's visit to Ireland and threatening to snarl air traffic across Europe.

Recordings Recovered From Crashed Air France Jet - Rio-Paris crash probe raises no urgent A330 safety concerns

Pilot error is emerging as the most likely cause of the crash of the Air France Rio-Paris airbus which plunged into the South Atlantic in June 2009, killing all 228 people on board.

Brazil convicts US pilots for 2006 plane crash

A Brazilian court convicted two US pilots of negligence for their role in the 2006 crash of a Brazilian airliner over the Amazon rain forest that killed 154 people, but the judge suspended their sentence.

Joseph Lepore and Jan Paul Paladino were flying a small business jet that clipped wings with a Boeing 737 operated by Brazilian airline Gol, causing the airliner to plunge into the jungle in one of Brazil's worst air disasters.

Federal Judge Murilo Mendes of the state of Mato Grosso said late yesterday the two pilots had failed to adequately check plane equipment that would have alerted them to the presence of other aircraft nearby.

Lepore and Paladino, who were unharmed in the incident and managed to land their jet safely, have consistently denied responsibility for the crash.

Mendes suspended a four-year sentence, instead requiring that the pilots do community service in the United States. The judge also temporarily suspended their pilot’s licenses.



Brazilian officials harshly criticised the US pilots in the first few weeks after the crash, but a preliminary report in 2006 by the Brazilian Air Force said both aircraft had been cleared to fly at 11,000 meters.

Attention later shifted toward complaints of air traffic controllers over excessive workload, low pay and blind spots in radar coverage.

Searchers find second Air France crash black box

A BEA air accident inquiry official (R), seen in this image published on the web site of France’s BEA air accident inquiry office May 2, 2011, surveys the handling of a flight data recorder aboard a ship.The Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) seen in this image published today on the website of France’s BEA air accident inquiry office


Search parties scouring the sea bed off Brazil’s northeast coast have recovered the second of two flight recorders from the Air France aircraft that crashed into the Atlantic in 2009, investigators said today.

The discovery of the audio recorder, two days after the flight data recorder was fished up, brings investigators even closer to the reason for the crash as it should hold recordings of cockpit conversations during the flight’s final moments.

“The investigation team localised and identified the Cockpit Voice Recorder at (2150 GMT) on Monday 2 May, 2011,” France’s BEA air accident inquiry office said. The device was hauled up to the team’s ship at 0240 GMT (0940 Malaysian time) today.







A BEA spokeswoman said the black box would be shipped back to France, probably by the end of next week.

“The outside appears to be in relatively good shape,” she said, adding that it would only be possible to see if the recorder was “usable” once it was opened, which would not happen until it was back in France.

A photograph of the recorder on BEA’s website shows a bright orange cylindrical device that looks scuffed and battered but otherwise intact. So-called black boxes are painted orange so that they can be spotted more easily in wreckage.

The Airbus 330-203 airliner plunged into the sea off Brazil en route to Paris from Rio de Janeiro in June 2009 after hitting stormy weather, killing all 228 passengers and crew.

The discovery of the two flight recorders follows nearly two years of on-off search efforts over a 10,000 square kilometre area of seabed.

Crash theories have focused on the possible icing up of the aircraft’s speed sensors, which seemed to give inconsistent readings before communication was lost.

Depending on how much data can be retrieved and how clearly it pinpoints the cause of the crash, lawyers say information from the black boxes could lead to a flood of liability claims.

Any fresh conclusions on the cause will also be fed into a judicial probe already under way in which Airbus and Air France have both been placed under formal investigation.

Second Air France black box recovered

French investigators said on Tuesday that they had recovered the cockpit voice recorder from the Air France jet that crashed in the Atlantic almost two years ago en route to Paris from Rio de Janeiro.

Air Bangkok use Transsexual flight attendants.

Transsexual flight attendants at PC Air in Bangkok. The charter airline has four “ladyboys” among its flight crew of 30 when it starts to fly in April.

4 dead after fire spreads on Russian passenger plane

Stranded Travelers Get Some Relief as European Weather Improves

Heathrow boss is shamed into giving up his bonus as it is revealed airport 'failed' to order enough de-icer to cope with heavy snow

BAA chief Colin Matthews faced calls to relinquish his bonus amid continued chaos and delays

Heathrow's chief executive relinquished his bonus today amid claims bosses 'failed' to buy enough de-icer, ruining Christmas getaway plans for more than a million people.

The world's busiest airport has drawn widespread criticism after holidaymakers were left to sleep on cold terminal floors during the festive period as thousands of flights were cancelled or delayed.

Furious airlines have now hit out at Heathrow's owners BAA, insisting the company did not stock up on enough de-icing fluid to keep its two runways open.

Boss Colin Matthews later bowed to calls to relinquish his six-figure bonus.

Snow is cleared from the southern runway. The airport has turned down an offer of help from the Army

Snow ploughs clear the southern runway at Heathrow, as travel chaos continues at the London airport

Passengers sleep on the hard floor of Terminal 3 as flights are cancelled or delayed by bad weather

The world's busiest airport has drawn widespread criticism after Christmas getaway plans were ruined for millions of passengers as flights were cancelled and chaos was predicted to go on 'beyond Christmas Day'

Lord Jones of Birmingham said Mr Matthews, the owner of a ski lodge in the French Alps and a £1.9million west London home, should 'not be getting a bonus when he has diminished Britain's global brand'.

He branded the airport the 'laughing stock' of Europe.

Mick Rix, the GMB union's national officer for the aviation industry, echoed his remarks, saying 'a huge bonus' would be 'an absolute slap in the face to the thousands of people who have been stranded at Heathrow for the past three days'.

BAA's accounts revealed its chief executive was paid a total of £1.6million last year, including a £994,000 salary and benefits with a further £174,000 in pension contributions.

He was expected to receive an additional - and undisclosed - cash bonus this year, linked to BAA's profits during a three-year period. BAA predicts its pre-tax profits will be more than £972 million for 2010.

Mr Matthews said: 'I have decided to give up my bonus for the current year.

'My focus is on keeping people moving and rebuilding confidence in Heathrow.'

Welcoming Mr Matthews' decision, Mr Rix said: 'For once, a British senior director has done the right thing.

'Anything else would have been an outrage and an insult to the thousands of people who have been badly disrupted.'

However, at the airport, passengers relied on the Salvation Army who handed out free tea and coffee from a van more usually brought out during civil disasters.

Heavy snow and ice meant two thirds of flights were grounded at the airport yesterday, while passengers were advised to stay away from Terminals One and Three which were unable to cope with the volume of travellers.

Prime Minister David Cameron expressed his 'frustration' at the continued disruption.

Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, chief executive of airline BMI, said: 'What is really incredible is that 10cm (4in) of snow closed the airport down for two days and then it operated at one-third capacity. It is completely unacceptable.

'BAA was not prepared. It did not have enough de-icing fluid.

'The Prime Minister has stepped in and de-icing fluid has been released from other sources.

'This should have been possible without this kind of intervention.'

Heathrow's second runway finally reopened at 5pm yesterday but Mr Matthews warned not to expect normal services immediately and urged people to check before going to the airport.

Bosses were hopeful that more flights would be able to take off today but many holidaymakers were still facing the prospect of being separated from their families over Christmas.

Flight cancellations were predicted to go on 'beyond Christmas Day'.

Mr Cameron said: 'If it's understandable that Heathrow had to close briefly, I'm frustrated on behalf of all those affected that it's taking so long for the situation to improve.'

Some 180,000 people were scheduled to fly in or out of the airport every day this week, with up to 200,000 expected to pass through Heathrow on its busiest day.

Mr Matthews has pledged to investigate how the situation was dealt with and why it took so long to clear snow from aircraft but only after the 'short-term' aim of getting passengers to where they needed to be had been achieved.

Asked about the plight of the thousands of passengers affected by the shutdown, he said: 'It is heartbreaking - the stories which we hear of people who are missing holidays, weddings, important family events and looking at whether or not they can get home for Christmas.

'That's why we are focused as hard as we can be on building up the rate at which aircraft come and go to get passengers where they want to be.'

But sources from leading airlines claimed the airport lacked the necessary de-icing resources.

BAA rejected the accusations.

We have comfortable stocks of de-icer planned all week and they have been robust and in place throughout,' a spokesman said.

The airport has turned down an offer of help from the Army to remove snow from the southern runway, stands and taxiways.

Europe travel chaos eases but pain remains

A British Airways aircraft lands as another taxis for take off at Heathrow Airport in west London December 21, 2010. Airline and international train services were limping back towards normal in parts of Europe today.

Airline and international train services were limping back towards normal in parts of Europe today, but the lingering effects of ice and snow that caused widespread chaos still weighed on schedules.

The disruptions to airlines and high-speed trains in continental Europe, and linking Britain to the continent, created travel chaos for tens of thousands of travellers in the busy Christmas period following heavy weekend snowfalls.

They also brought calls for legislation to force airports to deal more effectively with snow and other bad weather.



European Union transport chief Siim Kallas said he was considering forcing airports to provide a minimum level of infrastructure support during severe weather.

London’s Heathrow, the world’s busiest international airport, and Frankfurt Airport, the biggest on the continent, said on their websites that operations were returning to normal after severe disruptions.

Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, chief executive of airline BMI, owned by Lufthansa, accused BAA of being unprepared for the heavy snow at Heathrow.

“What is really incredible is that 10cm of snow closed the airport down for two days and then it operated at one-third capacity,” he told the Times newspaper.

“BAA was not prepared. It did not have enough de-icing fluid.”

A spokesman for BAA, which is owned by Spain’s Ferrovial, denied there had been a de-icer issue at Heathrow and said lessons would be learnt.

But he added: “This was unprecedented weather which closed most of northern Europe’s airports.”

Heathrow was scheduled to operate 70 per cent of a normal day’s service, about 800 flights, but it was still advising passengers not to come to Heathrow unless they had confirmed flights, the spokesman said.

“We’re hoping by the end of the day we’ll be up to full operation,” he said.

Heathrow reopened its second runway yesterday, offering a ray of hope for thousands of passengers stranded in departure halls, some for days in scenes that British newspapers said resembled refugee camps.

“Airlines are currently operating a significantly reduced schedule while they move diverted aircraft and crew back into position,” BAA said on its website.

British Airways said that, in line with a directive from BAA, it would operate only a third of its normal flight schedule at Heathrow until 6am tomorrow.

“It will take some time to rebuild an operation of our size and complexity at our hub airport, Heathrow,” the airline said on its website.

“We ask you not to travel to the airport unless you have a confirmed booking on one of the flights that is operating.”

Frankfurt international airport was open and running at full capacity today after heavy snow shut it down on Monday for several hours and 400 flights were cancelled.

An airport spokesman said there was a backlog of about 3,500 stranded passengers, including some 600 who spent the night on emergency cots at the airport.

“The airport operation is getting back to normal,” airport spokesman Thomas Uber said . “But it will take a while to catch up.”

German rail operator Deutsche Bahn said it would add extra train services from today to cope with a surge in demand due to air travel disruptions. Deutsche Bahn board member Berthold Huber said the added service would stay in place until December 31.

Eurostar, operator of the high-speed train between London and Brussels and Paris, said it would resume normal check-in service, but asked passengers not to show up until an hour before departure “to avoid congestion and an unnecessary wait”.

Yesterday, thousands of people were forced to queue in frigid temperatures for hours around St Pancras station in north London as every available Eurostar seat was snapped up by travellers bounced from airlines.

Eurostar said nine of its 52 trains would be cancelled today but that passengers for those services would be “reallocated onto one of the next available trains”.

Although the logjam of travellers was starting to ease, many passengers were irate.

“This was our holiday of a lifetime,” a man at Heathrow who’d been planning to travel with his wife told Sky News. “And it’s a nightmare.”