Aviation

A medical helicopter crashed between a retirement center and a nursing home in Oklahoma City Friday morning, killing two people and critically injuring a third, according to media reports. The EagleMed helicopter, an AS 350, reportedly was leaving Baptist Hospital and was on its way to its home base in Watonga, Oklahoma, when it crashed about 5:45 a.m. Friday. Neighbors told the press they heard a loud explosion and immediately called 911. Smoke and flames…

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) sent a go-to team to investigate the crash of a Beech Premier IA jet that occurred Wednesday (Feb. 20, 2013) night as the pilot reportedly was attempting to land. Five people reportedly died and two others were injured as the pilot attempted a go-around at the Thomson-McDuffie Regional Airport near Augusta, Georgia. Media sources reported that the pilot of the business jet was on approach to Runway 10 when…

It has been four years since the crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407 on its way to Buffalo, New York, killing all 49 aboard and a person on the ground. The families have had to endure much pain and sorrow dealing with the tragedy and the process of getting answers. Of course, those events cannot be changed, but in an effort to do things more safely going forward, the families have been pushing for legislation…

All 787 aircraft in operation around the world, 50 of them total, have been grounded in the wake of the multiple problems with its lithium ion battery. A series of overheating batteries that run the plane’s electrical system led to a comprehensive inspection of the major systems of the high tech aircraft, a grounding of the jets in Japan, then in the U.S. and now across the world. Ray LaHood, the U.S. transportation secretary, said…

In the wake of all the problems that Chicago-based 787 Dreamliners have experienced in the past few weeks, aircraft maker Boeing announced Friday (1/18/13) that it will halt the delivery of the troubled new, high-tech jet until the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) provides guidance on how to make its batteries compliant. In a statement, a Boeing spokesman said, “We will not deliver 787s until the FAA approves a means of compliance with their recent Airworthiness…

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has proposed a rule for pilots that would ban use of electronics while working. The proposed rule would prohibit flight crew members from using a personal wireless communications device or laptop computer for personal use “while at their duty station on the flight deck while the aircraft is being operated.” As reported in the Federal Register, the rule “is intended to ensure that certain non-essential activities do not contribute to…

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has ordered all Dreamliner flights in this country be grounded. The action comes on the heels of two Japanese airlines voluntarily grounding all 787 flights Wednesday (1/16/13). An All Nippon Airways flight had to land in an emergency in western Japan following a battery fire that led to smoke in the cockpit and cabin. In a press release issued Wednesday, the FAA stated, it was issuing “an emergency airworthiness directive…

Communities surrounding Mason City, Iowa, continue to grieve after a medevac helicopter carrying three crew members crashed Jan. 3, 2013, in a field, burst into flames and killed the paramedic, nurse and pilot aboard. According to media reports, no patients were aboard the aircraft as it headed from Mercy Medical Center – North Iowa just north of Ventura in Cerro Gordo County about 9 p.m. that night. The dedicated emergency medical team that was killed…

A horrific helicopter crash occurred during the Wednesday morning rush hour in central London when the aircraft slammed into a construction crane on top of a 50-story residential building (1/16/13). The pilot and one person on the ground reportedly were killed; 13 others were injured on the ground. It was reported to be misty weather and the pilot had asked to divert and land in nearby London Heliport. The helicopter reportedly was on a commercial…