US transport officials have roasted a passenger online after they were caught trying to smuggle a gun on to a plane by hiding it inside a raw chicken. The fowl plot was cracked by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at Florida’s Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport. The traveller’s weapon was spotted before boarding stuffed inside the bird and wrapped in paper packaging. TSA officers joked on Instagram that the scheme “wasn’t even half-baked”. Officials didn’t reveal who had hatched the plan, but photos posted to Instagram by the TSA showed officers examining the bird inside an airport screening area, before removing the … Continue reading US airport finds gun stuffed in chicken by traveller

A Tanzanian passenger plane has crashed into Lake Victoria as it attempted to land in the lakeside town of Bukoba, killing at least 19 people. Of the 43 people on board there were 24 survivors, according to operator Precision Air. The two pilots initially survived and managed to speak to local officials from the cockpit but the prime minister says they may have since died. The plane crashed near the shore at the end of the Bukoba airport runway. Rescuers were able to wade through the water to bring some of those still inside the plane to safety. Abdul Nuri … Continue reading Tanzanian Precision Air plane crashes into Lake Victoria

Three people have been arrested over a security alert on board an EasyJet flight at Stansted airport. Police were called to reports of a security concern on board a plane bound for Amsterdam at 7.40pm on Wednesday. The airport’s runway was closed and flights were grounded while officers investigated and the plane was moved to a secure area. Specialist officers boarded and arrested three men on suspicion of making a bomb hoax. They remain in custody. A spokesman for Essex Police said: “Following a search of the plane we are satisfied there is nothing of concern on board. “We want to thank the … Continue reading Three arrested after security alert on EasyJet plane at Stansted

The bosses of Airbus and Air France have been greeted with cries of “shame” at the opening of a long-awaited trial in Paris connected with a deadly 2009 plane crash off Brazil. The firms deny involuntary manslaughter in the loss of the Airbus A330 flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. Investigators found the pilots had lost control when air-speed sensors froze, and all 228 people on board died. Families of the deceased have campaigned for years for a trial. Relatives shouted protests as Air France Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Anne Rigail and Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury expressed their condolences … Continue reading Air France bosses heckled as trial begins over 2009 crash

A private Cessna plane has crashed into the Baltic Sea off Latvia’s coast in mysterious circumstances. Nato jets were scrambled to follow the plane on its erratic flight which began in southern Spain. Officials say the plane – believed to have had four people on board – had been due to land in Cologne, Germany, but instead headed out into the Baltic. Nato pilots and Swedish officials tracking the plane could see no-one in the cockpit. “The aircraft was flying from Spain to Cologne, but during the flight the aircraft changed its flight route,” the Latvian Civil Aviation Authority said … Continue reading Mystery as private plane crashes into Baltic Sea

Five passengers had to be taken to hospital after a Turkish Airlines plane was hit by severe turbulence over west Africa. The incident happened aboard a plane that departed from Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, and was bound for Guinea’s capital Conakry. A total of 134 passengers were on board when the turbulence hit the Airbus A330-200 as it was approaching Ahmed Sékou Touré International Airport in Conakry. The airport deployed a crisis team of medics, firefighters and security staff after the cabin crew alerted the control tower staff to the turbulence. Upon landing, medics took five people to hospital after they assessed the … Continue reading Passengers injured after Turkish Airlines plane hits severe turbulence

Two Air France pilots have been suspended after coming to blows in the cockpit while mid-air, an airline official has revealed as investigators called for tougher safety protocols on flights. Switzerland’s La Tribune reported that the pilot and co-pilot had a row shortly after takeoff and grabbed each other by their collars after one apparently hit the other. Cabin crew intervened and one crew member spent the flight from Geneva to Paris in the cockpit with the pilots, the report said. A spokesperson for France’s flag carrier said the fight was “totally inappropriate behaviour”. The flight continued and landed safely, the official said, stressing the airline’s … Continue reading Two Air France pilots suspended after fighting in cockpit during flight

Passengers had to flee a British Airways plane after it caught fire soon after landing. Dramatic photos show emergency workers hosing down the plane’s engine where the blaze broke out at Copenhagen Airport. Gabe Gudgel, from Oklahoma City, was due to board the flight to London when the drama unfolded on Wednesday. As the plane landed at 7.25pm, Gabe saw the wheel burst into flames and they would not stop smoking. He said: ‘That’s when fire trucks and ambulances all surrounded the plane and started hosing it down. They were spraying water on the wheel for about 20 minutes and it was … Continue reading British Airways flight evacuated after fire breaks out in engine

An easyJet flight was intercepted by a Spanish fighter plane after a bomb threat was allegedly made by a British teenager onboard. Video footage taken by a passenger on the commercial flight appears to show an F18 fighter warplane flying closely beside the easyJet flight from London Gatwick to Menorca on Sunday. The Civil Guard confirmed that Menorca Airport’s control tower was alerted to a bomb threat made on social media by an 18-year-old British man, prompting a special operation to be organised. Once the plane landed in Mahon, the island’s capital, the flight was taken to a separate area … Continue reading Spanish fighter plane grounds easyJet flight after false bomb threat

Passengers leaving an Emirates flight on Friday spotted a large hole gouged into the side of the plane after it landed in Brisbane, Australia. The Airbus A380 had flown for nearly 14 hours from Emirates’ main hub, Dubai, with some passengers reporting that the incident may have happened during or shortly after take-off. Though the “superjumbo” has remained on the ground at Brisbane Airport since Friday, Emirates said in a statement that the incident did not have “any impact on the fuselage, frame or structure of the aircraft”. The incident occurred on flight EK430 on 1 July, with the Aviation Herald reporting that pilots … Continue reading OMG: Emirates plane flies for 14 hours with hole by its side

An EasyJet flight from Crete was forced to make an emergency landing in Edinburgh after the captain fell ill and had to receive urgent medical treatment. The captain was reportedly seen entering the aircraft’s toilet on flight EZY6938 as the first officer landed the plane in Scotland’s capital in the early hours of Sunday morning. Five fire engines and two ambulances arrived at the scene and the captain was treated by paramedics, a witness said. They told the Daily Record, “The captain had been seen going into the toilet and not coming out. The plane was met on the runway by five fire engines … Continue reading EasyJet flight forced to make emergency landing after pilot falls ill

A jet was forced into an emergency landing after the window of its cockpit was shattered in a dramatic mid-air incident. The Aer Lingus jet bound for Manchester Airport declared an emergency as it was flying over the Irish Sea. Flight tracking service Radar Box said the Aer Lingus flight EI3326 broadcast the urgent 7700 squawk message, which indicates a “general emergency” and usually highlights an engineering issue with the aircraft. It was later reported the message referred to a “badly shattered, right-hand windscreen”. The flight took off from Dublin Airport at 3.15pm on Tuesday bound for Manchester Airport, but … Continue reading Aer Lingus jet bound for Manchester declares mid-air emergency over Irish Sea