Salem-News.com Aviation articles Page 3

Is This a Chem-Bomb Being Dropped Near San Diego?

We look forward to hearing from witnesses in the San Diego area who also observed this.

(SAN DIEGO) - A video report shows what appears to be a “Chem bomb” dropped on San Diego San Diego on 17 January 2014. At one point, the white sphere explodes, emptying its contents over housing in San Diego.

The video reporter said, "What is this that exploded near San Diego? I filmed this while filming chem planes spraying very low and the object appeared after the second, higher, trail was laid."

Indian Air Force: Is it an Expeditionary Force?

After its experience with four recent Expeditionary Air Missions, considerable debate exists in US military circles on the viability of an expeditionary force in today’s context.

(NEW DELHI) - Reporting on the recent assumption of office by the new Chief of the Indian Air Force, The Times of India on 31 December 2013 carried a piece by Rajat Pandit stating  that  the new Chief would have to focus on faster induction of planned air assets if his force has to eventually become a truly ‘expeditionary aerospace power’ (sic).

Whilst this may just be   misplaced reportage and not an official policy declaration by the IAF or the government, it needs gainsaying that as per the IAP 2000 IAF Air Power Manual, the IAF does not have an expeditionary role.

Overture

How Suite It Is: The Little Airplane That could

(DAYTONA BEACH) - It was January, 1989. I was sitting at a table in Vancouver's Hot Jazz Society, nursing a pint of Finian's Red, listening to Jimmy Armstrong render "Si Tu Vois Ma Mere," while Gerry Green supplied the clarinet wall paper.

Minding my own business, you might say. And I was approached by a dishy femme du monde with a request for a light. Rather pushy, I thought, since I was sitting under a No Smoking sign. She was wearing a skunk-dyed sable and she had a sable-dyed skunk on a leash.

Drones over Tijuana

“It’s a strategy against delinquency. The public complains about home burglaries and robberies on mass transportation,” - Tijuana Mayor Jorge Astiazaran Orci

(LAS CRUCES , NM) - If Tijuana’s new municipal government has its way, drones will fly over the northern Mexican border city in 2014.

Tijuana Mayor Jorge Astiazaran Orci, a member of President Pena Nieto’s Institutional Revolutionary Party, said his administration is working with a California firm to deploy small drones as a means of fighting crime and carrying out other public safety tasks like detecting fires.

Dead BA Pilots `Victims of Toxic Cabin Fumes`

TWO of British Airways’ most talented pilots have died after complaining of years of exposure to toxic oil fumes on board passenger planes.

(LONDON) - Karen Lysakowska, 43, was buried last Tuesday, while Richard Westgate, also 43, was laid to rest four days before.

Both believed they had been poisoned by the toxic oil fumes that can contaminate cabin air and which regularly forces pilots to don oxygen masks in order to breathe.

Evergreen Aviation Confirms Financial Troubles

Evergreen International Aviation, Inc. CEO Del Smith confirms in a press release, that Evergreen's business, "has been adversely impacted over the past several years by decreased demand in military spending and weakness in global economic markets."

(MCMINNVILLE) - Oregon's longtime aviation pioneer, Delford M. Smith, confirms rumors that his facility, Evergreen International Aviation, Inc., headquartered in McMinnville, is financially impacted by a rollback in federal defense spending.

With reported ties to groups like the Central Intelligence Agency, Smith built a fortune supplying civilian aircraft and crews for military roles in what many describe as the clandestine air force, "Air America."

Two Injured After Drone Hits US warship Off Southern California

The drone, a 13-foot-long aircraft with a wingspan of nearly 6 feet, was being controlled from Point Mugu.

(POINT MUGU) - The US Navy says that two American sailors have been injured after a drone malfunctioned and struck a guided missile cruiser off the coast of Southern California.

The incident happened during a military exercise off the coast of Point Mugu on Saturday afternoon.

Logging Helicopter Crash Claims Life of Pilot

Logging is a dangerous occupation, whether above or on the ground.

(DETROIT, OR.) - A log-transporter helicopter crashed in Linn County near Blowout Road, two miles from Highway 22 east of Salem, claiming the life of the pilot Monday morning.

The helicopter had picked up a load when witnesses reported hearing a loud snapping sound which was followed by logs hitting the ground and it appeared the pilot had released the logs electronically, indicating the pilot knew of a problem prior to the crash.

Is the Line Between a Boda Boda Ride & Airliner Blurred?

My old man, (RIP), who trained many military and commercial pilots, not only in Ethiopia but throughout Africa and in the Middle East used to throw his favorite quote; “Accidents don’t just happen. They are caused.”

(UGANDA) - As an aviation enthusiast sired and brought up by an aviator, I happen to know that a qualified pilot certified to fly commercial jetliners will always be introduced to a new aircraft that he hasn’t flown before by a certified flight instructor.

The induction in most cases takes place in grueling simulator training.

Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 Crashes at San Francisco Airport

The plane, reportedly a Boeing 777, was coming from South Korea, according to flight tracking information.

(SAN FRANCISCO) - A plane crashed while landing at San Francisco International Airport Saturday morning after its tail came off while it was touching down on the runway.

According to a witness, around 11:20 a.m. the plane was just about to land -- its landing gear had come down -- when the tail of the plane came off. After wobbling for a minute, the aircraft flipped upside down, coming to a stop on runway on it's back.