Up to 800 flights were affected when the radio system went down at California’s main enroute air traffic control center on Tuesday. The radios went silent at the Air Route Traffic Control Center in Palmdale, just north of Los Angeles about 4:40 p.m. causing numerous delays, cancellations and diversions. Controllers were back at their mics after a few hours but traffic didn’t return to normal until early Wednesday…
The NTSB is examining a light bulb from the top of a 500-foot television tower in Florida to see if it played a role in the crash of an insect-spraying aircraft last Saturday. Witnesses to the crash of the Vector Disease Control Piper Aztec told the NTSB the light wasn’t on when the plane clipped the top of the tower near Lakeland, killing both men on board…
John Salamone has had his first day in court. Salamone, you may remember, faces a string of charges relating to a wild flight over Pennsylvania and New Jersey last Jan. 15. The prosecution has accused Salamone of being drunk and high on valium in the four-hour flight in which the aircraft he is alleged to have been flying almost collided with several airplanes and flew close to a nuclear power plant…
A Long Island charter company owner has his pilot and mechanic certificates back after an NTSB law judge overturned an FAA Emergency Revocation Order. The agency accused Air East owner Michael Tarascio of falsifying aircraft records and pulled his tickets Aug. 10. Judge William R. Mullins said there was no evidence Tarascio violated any regulations…
An “unusually large” number of Delta Air Lines pilots are considering retiring in October rather than ride out the airline’s current financial crisis. The Air Line Pilots Association says many pilots are worried about the future of the airline, which is looking for $1 billion in wage and benefit concessions.
On The Fly…
Key Takeaways:
- An air traffic control radio system outage in Palmdale, California, affected up to 800 flights, causing widespread delays and cancellations.
- The NTSB is investigating a plane crash in Florida, examining a light bulb from a 500-foot television tower that witnesses claim was off when an aircraft clipped it.
- A pilot, John Salamone, had his first day in court facing charges related to a wild flight under the influence, nearly colliding with other aircraft and flying near a nuclear plant.
- An NTSB law judge overturned an FAA Emergency Revocation Order, restoring pilot and mechanic certificates to a Long Island charter company owner previously accused of falsifying aircraft records.
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