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Airplane Safety

Airplane Safety : Instant Guide
The average American male weighs 194 pounds, but the typical airplane seat is only required to accommodate a 170-pounder, as per safety standards developed 60 years ago.

Are airplane seats dangerously small for fat Americans?

Researchers worry that antiquated seating standards no longer match up with our expanding waistlines

 
Airplane Safety : Opinion Brief
Soon there may be no need to power down your iPad during takeoff and landing, as the government is considering a reversal on its widely-loathed rule.

Will airlines finally stop forcing fliers to turn off their iPads?

Travelers rejoice as the government reconsiders much-hated rules requiring passengers to turn off their gadgets during taxi, takeoff, and landing

 
Airplane Safety : Fact Sheet
Vanessa Gibbs displays a favorite purse embellished with a western-style gun design: Overzealous TSA officials flagged the purse as a security risk.

The girl barred from flying because her purse was considered a lethal weapon

A pregnant 17-year-old is grounded because of a decorative pistol design on her handbag. Another epic TSA misfire?

 
Airplane Safety : Opinion Brief
The rule that passengers must shut down their electronics during takeoff and landing may appear pointless to many fliers, but some say it's better to be safe than sorry.

Do gadgets really need to be turned off during flights?

With holiday travel season upon us, many fliers are questioning whether they must truly shut down their iPads before takeoff

 
Airplane Safety : The List
People rush to help injured spectators following the deadly crash Friday of a vintage World War II-era fighter jet at the annual Reno, Nev., air race.

The deadly Reno air-race crash: 4 lessons

A souped-up 1940s plane crashes into the grandstands at a Nevada air show, killing the pilot and eight others. What can we learn from this tragedy?

 
Airplane Safety : Opinion Brief
A passenger removes his shoes at the Sacramento international airport: Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says travelers might soon be able to keep their kicks on during security screenings.

TSA airport screening: Are we safe enough to keep our shoes on?

The days of walking through security checkpoints in your socks might be ending. Too soon or long overdue?

 
Airplane Safety : Burning Question
Have pilots become dangerously inexperienced at "manual flying"?

Is autopilot making airline pilots too 'dumb' to fly?

Pilots' "automation addiction" has apparently increased the risks of flying, reports the AP — but the problem is flummoxing authorities

 
Airplane Safety : Opinion Brief
The TSA's controversial airport scanners are getting an upgrade that will render passengers' bodies as cartoon images to better preserve privacy.

The end of 'naked scanners'?

Thanks to new less intrusive software, TSA security agents will no longer see revealing images of travelers. Will that silence the "invasion of privacy" outcry?

 
Airplane Safety : The Bullpen
Tish Durkin

Tish Durkin: Quit picking on the TSA

Security pat-downs of our unthreatening daughters and grandmothers may seem excessive — but it sure beats another terrorist attack

 
Airplane Safety : Opinion Brief
TSA workers in Texas can now be charged with a misdemeanor - punishable with up to a year in jail - for invasive pat-downs.

Will Texas' 'anti-groping' bill stymie the TSA?

The Lone Star State wants to make it a crime for federal workers to inappropriately touch travelers in security pat-downs

 
Airplane Safety : Opinion Brief
The Transportation Security Administration is a favorite punching bag of frustrated travelers, but a recent incident involving a dying cancer patient has many TSA haters even more outraged than normal.

TSA pat-down: Was a dying woman forced to remove her adult diaper?

Jean Weber says her 95-year-old mother was subjected to an embarrassing airport security ordeal — though the TSA denies wrongdoing

 
Airplane Safety : Opinion Brief
TSA agents are once again the focus of a privacy debate, this time for a thorough search of an 8-month-old at the Kansas City International Airport.

The TSA 'poop bomb' scandal

A photo of an 8-month-old getting a thorough patdown goes viral, and enrages America's frustrated air travelers

 
Airplane Safety : Opinion Brief
The Ronald Reagan National Airport control tower in Washington, DC, where an air traffic controller fell asleep in March, one of seven similar recent episodes.

Can the FAA keep air traffic controllers from napping?

After a series of air traffic controllers are caught sleeping on the job, the feds jolt them awake with new regulations

 
Airplane Safety : Opinion Brief
A TSA worker frisks a 6-year-old at New Orleans' international airport earlier this month.

The 6-year-old girl who got a TSA patdown

A new viral video clip rekindles outrage over airport security procedures

 
Airplane Safety : Opinion Brief
A smaller plane passes under a jumbo jet on a JFK runway, a "fender bender" that left the little plane spun around.

The 'damned scary' Airbus collision video

A super-jumbo jet clips a tiny commuter plane on the tarmac at JFK airport in New York — injuring none, but rattling many

 
Airplane Safety : Opinion Brief
Southwest is suffering the worst kind of PR for a discount airline: Grounded, damaged planes. One jet was forced into an emergency landing and three others had surface cracks.

Will passengers still fly Southwest?

The discount airline is checking dozens of planes for cracks like the one that ripped open a jet's roof in midair recently. Can it win back nervous passengers?

 

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