Photo of the (Veterans) Day: The US Navy Blue Angels flyby in tight formation. (Photo by John Musolino)
• As Virgin America enters the third week of its disastrous website and scheduling software upgrade with no end in sight, will the normally tech-forward airline be able to recover not only from the technical gaffes, but its awful customer service and PR response? [CBS News]
• A new airliner missile defense technology on display at the Dubai Airshow would spray fuel out the back of the plane and then ignite it with a laser, attracting the heat-seeking missile away from the plane. What could go wrong? [Aviation Week]
• A Missouri war memorabilia collector sold a Vietnam-era incendiary flare to a buyer in Japan, thinking it was a training dummy. US Customs and Border Protection x-ray screeners at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, however, discovered it was a live, phosphorous-based device capable of burning at up to 5,000 degrees before it was loaded onto a plane for shipment. [AvStop]
• The wing of an American Airlines MD-80 smacked a fire truck at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport today. No one was injured, but the fire truck was responding to a medical emergency that had occurred during the flight. [NBC DFW]
• Five US Army Apache helicopters enroute to Fort Drum were forced to land in a western NY field last night when their blades got covered with ice. [News Channel 9, Syracuse]
