Body found in 777 wheel well.

Tokyo, Japan (CNN) -- A body was found in the landing gear bay of an airplane that arrived at Tokyo's Narita Airport Sunday, the airport announced.
The dead man was not carrying a passport or personal belongings, airport police said.
The man was of dark complexion and dressed in blue jeans and a red and dark blue long-sleeved shirt, police told CNN.

Police said he possibly froze to death and suffered a shortage of oxygen at high altitude, but did not provide a definite cause of death pending an autopsy.

A mechanic found the body in the landing gear bay, which was impossible to enter from the cabin, the airport said.

The Boeing 777, Delta Flight 59, which departed New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport at 12:53 p.m. ET Saturday arrived at Narita at 4:46 p.m. local time Sunday, the airport said.

"Delta is fully co-operating with the Japanese authorities, and there is (an) on-going investigation which is being led by the Japanese authorities. The airline has not issued an official statement at this time," a Delta representative told CNN.

US military prepares to support Super Bowl XLIV

By Donna Miles, American Forces Press Service

As the excitement builds in the minutes before the Super Bowl
kick-off, four Air National Guard F-15 Eagle fighter jets will scream over Miami's
Sun Life Stadium in a dramatic show of military support for the big game.

The F-15s - from the Florida Air National Guard's 125th Fighter Wing -
will time their fly-over to begin just as country music superstar Carrie
Underwood belts out the last note of the National Anthem, reported USAF Lt
Col Richard Bittner, the 125FW's public affairs officer.

USAF Lt Col John Black, who goes by the callsign "Homer," will lead
the formation, followed by Wing Commander Col Bob "Squirt" Branyon Lt Col
Mike "Speedo" Rouse, the 159FS's commander, will be in position three, with
Col Bill Bair, commander of the 125FW's operations group, holding up the rear.

After the pilots land at nearby Homestead Air Reserve Base, a
Miami-Dade Police helo will whisk them back to the stadium, where they'll be
introduced to the crowd, Bittner said.

The Super Bowl fly-over is a first for the Air National Guard. The wing
has done fly-overs for other National Football League events, most frequently
over Jaguars games near its Jacksonville IAP. But Bittner said there's a
special panache that comes with flying over the big daddy of football games.
"It's a huge honor," he said, calling it a recognition of the wing's
impressive operational readiness posture, and its 24/7 mission of being ready to
scramble at a moment's notice to protect US air space.

The fly-over is just part of the military support being provided as
the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts do battle during Super Bowl
XLIV. The Armed Forces Color Guard from the Military District of Washington
will kick off that support, marching onto the field before the game to
present the colors, accompanied by two drummers from US Air Force Band.

Meanwhile, as more than 75,000 fans enjoy the sold-out game, military
forces will be at work behind the scenes, supporting civil authorities to
maintain security in and around the stadium and in the skies overhead.

Fighter jets from the Continental US North American Aerospace Defense
Command Region will be airborne, working in coordination with the FBI, US
Customs and Border Protection, FAA and local law enforcement to enforce
flight restrictions over Miami during the game, reported its commander, USAF
Maj Gen Garry Dean.

USAF Col Randy Spears, commander of the 601st Air and Space Ops Ctr,
called the mission an extension of the eagle-eyes his airmen provide every day.
"The men and women of this AOC monitor the skies 24/7, 365 for the
contiguous United States, and Sunday's special event is another part of our mission
set," he said.

In addition, the FL-ANG's 44th Civil Support Team will be on the
ground, poised to support civil authorities, as required. The 40-member team, a
mix of soldiers and airmen, is trained respond to any emergency situation,
including those dealing with weapons of mass destruction, said USAF Lt Col
Ron Tittle, a FL-ANG public affairs officer.

As in recent years, about 40 wounded Marine Corps warriors will be
enjoying the game in person, courtesy of tickets donated by the Cleveland
Browns. Meanwhile, thousands of US service members will be watching, too,
either at home or overseas, via Armed Forces Network broadcasts.

Ladies and gentlemen as you look out the plane you'll notice - uh oops - where's the engine cowling?

A plane part fell off an Atlas Airlines Boeing 747 and landed in the parking lot of MIami International Airport on Friday, Feb. 5, 2010.

Stephanie Smith/CBS

At Super Bowl XLIV Super Bowl XLIV Media Day At Sun Life Stadium Some folks at Miami International Mall may have thought the sky was falling Friday afternoon when a piece of plane fell from the sky and landed in the parking lot.

The part, which is about as big as a car, landed outside of the Dillard's Department store.

The incident involved an Atlas Air Boeing 747 cargo light en route to Miami from Santiago, Chile, and took place at about 11:35 a.m. on Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration reported. The FAA's Kathleen Bergen says the aircraft was on final approach when the part fell. The plane landed safely at MIA.

Atlas Air confirms that the part was a fiberglass fairing from one of its freighter aircraft. The sizeable part did not hit anyone or anything but workers from a nearby auto dealership said they heard it fall and it was very loud.

In a statement released by Atlas, the company said, "Atlas is grateful that no one was injured and is investigating the matter further. Atlas is also cooperating with the appropriate authorities in their review of this matter. Atlas takes this matter very seriously and will be conducting a thorough investigation."

AVWEEK: ArcLight for Hypersonic Strike

By Graham Warwick:

The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) is seeking funding in Fiscal 2011 for ArcLight, a program to flight-test a long-range, high-speed strike weapon based on the Raytheon SM-3 ballistic-missile interceptor.

ArcLight will be based on an SM-3 Block II booster stack and a hypersonic glider, and designed to carry a 100-200 pound payload more than 2,000 nautical miles. The weapon will be compatible with the Mark 41 vertical launch system and capable of launch from U.S. Navy warships and submarines as well as Air Force assets.

The program is getting under way in Fiscal 2010 with $2 million in funding to conduct feasibility testing of new materials. The $5 million sought in 2011 would cover testing of key technologies and begin concept development.

Darpa is seeking a total budget of $3.1 billion in Fiscal 2011, up from $2.99 billion in 2010. This includes $303 million for advanced aerospace systems, such as ArcLight, an increase from the $258 million provided in 2010.

Funding sought includes $67.6 million for the Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) program, to cover wind tunnel, propulsion and seeker testing and begin building flight-test vehicles. Lockheed Martin has contracts to study two LRASM concepts: one high, fast and ramjet-powered; one low, slow and highly stealthy.

Darpa is a seeking $60 million in 2011 to flight-test a subscale demonstrator for the Vulture extreme-endurance solar-powered stratospheric unmanned surveillance aircraft, and $43.4 million to begin building a subscale demonstrator for the Isis radar-carrying unmanned stratospheric airship.

Another $35 million is sought for the Mode Transition program to fund the ground-test of a turbojet/scramjet turbine-based combined-cycle engine to power a hypersonic aircraft or air-breathing launch vehicle.

New programs planned to start in 2011 include Responsive, Reliable Access to Space, with $7 million sought to develop reusable vehicle concepts, “which may include leveraging of commercial sector investments,” Darpa says.

Another planned new program is Counter-Unmanned Air Vehicles (C-UAV), with $5.1 million sought in 2011 to assess current threats and viable approaches to detecting small, slow, low-altitude UAVs.

Darpa is seeking funding increases in Fiscal 2011 for several programs, including $12.1 million to initiate design of the roadworthy vertical-takeoff-and-landing Transformer Vehicle; $11.8 million to begin design of the Mission Adaptive Rotor demonstrator; and $1.3 million for flight-tests to investigate the drag-reduction benefits of formation flight.

Singapore Airshow: Boeing Looks To Lower V-22 Cost

By JOHN REED
Published: 4 Feb 2010 10:05

SINGAPORE - Boeing officials acknowledged this week that the company must lower the cost of the V-22 Osprey by up to 20 percent if they hope to sell the tiltrotor on the international market.

After decades of development and controversy the aircraft has finally entered combat service with the U.S. Marines and Air Force. However, if the company wishes to keep the production lines humming for international customers once the U.S. completes its predicted buy of 458 aircraft in the coming decade it must lower the cost, according to Phil Dunford, Boeing's vice president of rotorcraft systems.

"We think that we really need to get 15 to 20 percent out of the price to really make it affordable internationally and we're working hard on that," said Dunford during a Feb. 3 press conference here.

While Boeing has been in talks with numerous countries about the tiltrotor, nearly all have told the defense giant they can't afford the airplane, he added.

Before the company can bring down cost however, it must be able to increase the operational availability of the maintenance-intensive aircraft.

"It's making sure we get the aircraft where it needs to be in terms of peak readiness," said Dunford. "If you can drive the affordability of the airplane down it also helps the availability, because the price of all your parts goes down."

All of this must be done while the company builds and supports the 458 U.S. aircraft, he added.