In an effort to make security more fun, passengers are urged to dance during body scanning while singing “Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto”.
• The TSA has gone after two journalists who posted in their blogs about the new security directive after the recent attempted terror attack on Christmas Day. Christopher Elliot from Elliott.org and Steven Frischling from BoardingArea.com blog FlyingWithFish were both visited by federal agents demanding to know the source of the documents. Our good friend Mary Kirby’s Runway Girl blog has good coverage of the events.
• Two days ago, an El Al Airlines flight almost collided with an Air France aircraft over Belgrade in what may have been due to an ATC error. The Israeli 777-200 and French Airbus A318 were about 1,000 feet apart when TCAS (traffic collision avoidance system) alerted both aircraft to avoid one another. There were no injuries and the incident is still being investigated.
• David Riggs, a man who privately owns a Russian Czechoslovakian L-39 Albatros trainer jet, lost his pilot’s license after he repeatedly buzzed a pier in Santa Monica, reaching speeds in excess of 350 knots, well over beyond the FAA speed limit of 250. His acrobatic maneuvers also brought him just tens of feet off of the water near the beach, frightening dozens of people into calling 911. The VIDEO show just how much cowboying Mr. Riggs was doing. [LA Times]
• Officials in both the Netherlands and Nigeria say that they will begin installing X-ray body image scanners for flights, especially of those to the United States following the Christmas Day attempted terror attack. Dutch officials say it will be operational within three weeks, and there is no word yet on a Nigerian installation timeframe.
• The NTSB has released a report on the Delta Airlines 767-300 (N185DN) that landed on a taxiway in Atlanta on October 19th. The report indicates that the crew had declared a medical emergency, and instead of landing on the active runway 27L, ATC gave them a sidestep approach to runway 27R, which did not have operational approach lights. Official blame for the incident, however, has yet to be placed.
• China Airlines has placed an order for 16 Airbus A330 aircraft for approximately $2.6 billion. The widebody jets will be delivered between 2011 and 2014. [Shanghai Daily]
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