Travel

Three of Four People Killed in Mid-Air Plane Crash Were Flight Instructors, NTSB Says

By Matthew Hendley Tue., Jun. 11 2013 at 1:29 PM
Categories: Travel
cessna-172.JPG
Wikimedia
Three of the four people killed in a mid-air plane collision north of Phoenix late last month were certified flight instructors, according to a preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report.

The NTSB report says the planes were on a similar path the morning of May 31, before they both made turns toward one another and collided.

See also:
-Flight Instructors Were in One of the Planes in the Deadly Midair Collision
-Planes Collide in Midair Outside of Phoenix, Four People Killed

 More »

Tags:

airplane, arizona, faa, federal aviation administration, new river, plane crash
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Travel

Southwest Flight From LAX to Austin Lands at Sky Harbor Due to Bomb Threat

By Matthew Hendley Mon., Jun. 10 2013 at 6:17 PM
Categories: Travel
southwest-two.jpg
businessweek.com
A Southwest flight that took off from LAX and was headed for Austin, Texas, landed at Sky Harbor after someone phoned in a bomb threat.

Statements released by airport officials indicate that the plane is isolated on one of the runways, as the 143 passengers were evacuated. Police were blocking access to the airport from Interstate 10, although the airport is still operating.

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Tags:

arizona, bomb threat, fbi, lax, sky harbor
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Travel

Flight Instructors Were in One of the Planes in the Deadly Midair Collision Outside of Phoenix

By Matthew Hendley Tue., Jun. 4 2013 at 2:22 PM
Categories: Travel
airplane2.jpg
do2learn.com
Both occupants of one of the planes involved in the midair collision last week north of Phoenix were flight instructors.

Paul Brownell and Basil Onuferko, both employees of TransPac Aviation Academy, were killed in Friday's crash, as were two occupants of another small plane, whose names haven't been released.

See also:
Planes Collide in Midair Outside of Phoenix, Four People Killed
More »

Tags:

airplane, faa, federal aviation administration, new river, plane crash
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Travel

Planes Collide in Midair Outside of Phoenix, Four People Killed

By Matthew Hendley Fri., May 31 2013 at 1:24 PM
Categories: Travel
airplane2.jpg
do2learn.com
Two small planes collided in midair this morning near New River in the north Valley.

Four people, two in each plane, were killed in the crash, Phoenix Fire Department Captain Larry Nunez tells New Times.

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airplane, faa, federal aviation administration, new river, plane crash
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Travel

No One Bothers to Bid on Air Force One

By Matthew Hendley Wed., May 22 2013 at 3:19 PM
Categories: Travel
air-force-not-one.JPG
No one's currently willing to blow a minimum of $50,000 on a plane that acted as Air Force One at at least one occasion, and has been sitting at the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport for a while.

The General Services Administration auction was supposed to last for two weeks, but the auction was terminated today, after just one week.

See also:
-Airplane Up for Auction in Mesa Did Act as Air Force One, Historian Says
-Airplane That May Have Been Air Force One Is Sitting at the Mesa Airport

More »

Tags:

air force one, air force two, airport, arizona, dc-9, phoenix-mesa gateway airport
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Travel

Airplane Up for Auction in Mesa Did Act as Air Force One, Historian Says; Still No Bids Yet

By Matthew Hendley Fri., May 17 2013 at 11:56 AM
Categories: Travel
air-force-not-one.JPG
gsaauctions.gov
The airplane in question.
The supposed Air Force One airplane up for auction at the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport definitely did act as Air Force One, according to an Air Force historian.

The General Services Administration is a couple of days into the two-week online auction, which had zero bids at the time of this post, but the agency has provided a letter stating that President Clinton rode in this particular DC-9 aircraft.

See also:
-Airplane That May Have Been Air Force One Is Sitting at the Mesa Airport


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Tags:

air force one, air force two, airport, arizona, dc-9, phoenix-mesa gateway airport
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Travel

An Airplane That May Have Been Air Force One Is Sitting at the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport

By Matthew Hendley Fri., May 10 2013 at 3:59 PM
Categories: Travel
air-force-not-one.JPG
gsaauctions.gov
Air Force Maybe One
An airplane that may or may not have been Air Force One at one point in history is currently sitting at the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport.

The General Services Administration is auctioning off this plane next week (with a starting bid of $50,000) and our federal government is apparently unsure if any former President of the United States set foot on this airplane, which would have earned it the Air Force One call sign.

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air force one, air force two, airport, arizona, dc-9, phoenix-mesa gateway airport
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Boom

African Refugees Apparently Didn't Try to Sneak a Fake Bomb Through Sky Harbor Airport

By Matthew Hendley Thu., Mar. 29 2012 at 12:47 PM
Categories: Boom, Travel
airport suspects 1.JPG
MCSO
Asa Shani, Shullu Gorado, and Luwiza Daman did not bring a fake bomb to the airport.
​Charges have been dropped against three African refugees who were arrested in August after one of them was accused of trying tried to pass through security at Sky Harbor International Airport with a fake bomb.

Court documents suggested they were attempting to test the "effectiveness of screening procedures at the security checkpoint," after a Transportation Security Administration employee discovered the device -- a cellphone attached to a container holding "organic material."

That material turned out to be some sort of food, and the federal prosecutor's explanation is simply that "[n]ew information has come to light since the last hearing in the case."

"Based on the new information, further proeseuction is not in the interests of justice," U.S. Attorney Ann Birmingham Scheel writes in a March 12 filing seeking to dismiss the case.

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Tags:

airport, asi shani, ethopia, fake bomb, fbi, improvised explosive, luwiza daman, shullu gorado, sky harbor, suspects, terrorism, tsa
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Nanny-State of Mind

Arizona House Protects Freedom (to Send and Read Text Messages While Driving)

By Matthew Hendley Mon., Mar. 5 2012 at 3:31 PM
Categories: Nanny-State of Mind, Travel
damn-right-im-free-this-is-america.jpg
weknowmemes.com
​If you're not a fan of looking out of the windshield while driving, we've got some good news -- the Arizona House voted down a bill that would outlaw texting and driving.

Municipal ordinances still apply -- like Phoenix's rarely used ordinance against texting and driving -- but Arizona's representatives have defended your freedom to shoot off a quick "LOL" with one hand, while you're controlling 4,000 pounds on the highway with the other.

Still, the ban that would have been enacted under the passage of House Bill 2125 called for a citation of just $50, but that went up to $200 if you were using a "handheld wireless communication device to manually write, send or read a written message while operating motor vehicle."

The bill's language came with some other caveats, too -- reading or entering a phone number to actually call someone would have been perfectly fine, as would texting while stopped at a stop sign or light.

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Tags:

arizona, freedom, hb 2125, texting, texting and driving
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Travel

Total Ban on Cell Phones While Driving: Safety Precaution or Nanny-State-ism

By James King Wed., Dec. 14 2011 at 7:00 AM
Categories: Morning Poll, Nanny-State of Mind, Travel

cellphonedriving.jpg
​The National Transportation Safety Board announced yesterday that it's now urging all states to impose total bans on people using cell phones while driving.

The board determined texting, sexting, emailing, chatting -- whatever -- is too dangerous to do while driving a vehicle.

The recommendation includes exceptions for emergencies and devices that aid in driver safety, like GPS devices.

Several states already have banned texting while driving, and a complete ban on cell phone use, NTSB chairman Deborah Hersman acknowledges, is not expected to be a popular move in a society that's become accustomed to chatting on the phone as they speed down the road.

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Tags:

arizona, cell phones, national transportation safety board
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