Today at the local airport ...

Alaska C-17 crashed ruled pilot error

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - A pilot's overly aggressive maneuvering and overconfidence were blamed in an investigative report on a C-17 plane crash at an Anchorage military base that killed all four airmen on board.

Besides pilot error, the crew on board was also faulted for failing to notice the dangerous situation that culminated with the plane stalling and crashing into some woods July 28 at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.

"The mishap pilot violated regulatory provisions and multiple flight manual procedures, placing the aircraft outside established flight parameters at an attitude and altitude where recovery was not possible," the report's executive summary says.

Bob Hall, a base spokesman, said Friday evening he didn't know which of the three pilots was at the controls when the massive $184 million plane crashed during a training demonstration for an air show. A Pacific Air Forces spokeswoman also said the pilot's identity would not be disclosed out of sensitivity to the families.

"Who sat where in the plane is not being released," said Capt. Alysia Harvey.

Pacific Air Forces, based at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, released the results of its investigation Friday evening.

The probe "found clear and convincing evidence the cause of the mishap was pilot error," the report says. It also found evidence that other factors including overconfidence and misplaced motivation contributed to the crash.

"Furthermore, the mishap co-pilot and mishap safety observer did not realize the developing dangerous situation and failed to make appropriate inputs."

When the stall warning sounded, the co-pilot responded by saying "temperature, altitude lookin' good," according to the report.

The investigation also found evidence that the flight deck crew ignored warnings.

According to investigators - and video prior to the crash - the pilot made an aggressive right turn after the C-17's initial climb-out and left turn. The stall-warning system was activated as the plane banked, but the pilot continued the turn and there was no way to avoid a stall.

"Although the pilot eventually attempted to recover the aircraft, he employed incorrect procedures, and there was not sufficient altitude to regain controlled flight," the report says.

The C-17 crashed into a wooded area about a minute after taking off, sending a fireball hundreds of feet into the air and damaging a section of the Alaska Railroad's main track.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

C.I.A. mirroring WikiLeaks as a Honey Pot?

A friend from the Ace Tomato Company - posted this link to me: LINK

HONEY POT

Very interesting if it is true.

-SD

FAA: records out of date - security concern.

Washington (CNN) -- The Federal Aviation Administration says registration records for as many as one-third of all private aircraft are out-of-date and inaccurate, and has begun the process of re-registering aircraft in the United States -- a task made more urgent by the threat posed by criminals and terrorists.
Of the 357,000 registered aircraft in the United States, records for about 119,000 are believed to be out of date, with many of them believed to be junked or inactive aircraft, the FAA said.

But the inaccurate records also could conceal criminal or even terrorist activity, say some security and aviation experts, who say it is critical that the FAA restore order to its records.

To deal with the disarray, the FAA is in the process of canceling registration for all civil aircraft -- a category that includes virtually everything except military aircraft -- and requiring the owners to re-register. The re-registrations will be phased-in over three years, and aircraft owners will be required to renew the registrations every three years thereafter.
"These improvements will give us more up-to-date registration data and better information about the state of the aviation industry," FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said in July, when the rule took effect.

The FAA has long grappled with getting a handle on its records, in recent years requiring owners to report the sale of aircraft, the scrapping or destruction of aircraft, or a change in mailing address. But many owners have not complied with those requirements, the FAA said. And many aircraft owners do not voluntarily update the database with other information, it said.

The FAA's database identifies each aircraft by its registration number -- or "N" number, which is displayed on the plane's tail or fuselage -- its complete description, and the name and address of its registered owner.
In seeking to upgrade the requirement three years ago, the FAA noted that various levels of law enforcement use the database in drug smuggling investigations and "their efforts now have expanded to include matters of homeland security."
Proper records can assist investigators, aviation and security. Authorities routinely check the "N" number, or tail number, of suspicious planes, or planes that have entered restricted airspace.

Just as importantly, an accurate database can help the FAA notify aircraft owners of safety-related information, such as Airworthiness Directives.
The incomplete records are a security concern, but probably not a security problem," said Chris Dancy, a spokesman for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.

"Most of these planes are probably right where they're supposed to be. The FAA has just lost track of them through lost paperwork or the database not being updated or the owners not answering the triennial survey that the FAA sends out," Dancy said.

"So they're probably where they are supposed to be -- owned by the people the FAA last has record of. They just don't know that."
Dancy said most aircraft owners recognize the need for accurate records, and that AOPA has tried to minimize the inconveniences associated with re-registration.

"We offered some suggestions when the (new requirement was proposed) to try to make it a little less burdensome. But the fact of the matter is that the database is woefully out of date. It does need to be brought up to date. We thought it could be done without canceling current registrations. The FAA decided canceling was the best way. It's now the law of the land," he said.

Cheese in space ...

(CNN) -- Call it one small step for a cheese, one giant leap fromage-kind.

A wheel of Le Brouere cheese was the secret cargo aboard the SpaceX Dragon, the first commercial spacecraft to be recovered from Earth orbit, the company revealed Thursday. SpaceX co-founder Elon Musk hinted at the cargo after the capsule's successful splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday afternoon, suggesting it had something to do with the British comedy troupe Monty Python.

The block of fermented curd was a nod to one of the group's best-known sketches, "Cheese Shop." The wheel, described only as "very big," was being towed back to California aboard a barge along with the spacecraft and "basking in the glow of being the first cheese to travel to orbit on a commercial spacecraft," company spokeswoman Kirstin Brost told CNN.

In another comedy reference, the payload was bolted to the floor of SpaceX's Dragon 9 spacecraft in a circular drum bearing a picture of a cow and the warning "Top Secret!" -- a nod to the 1984 spoof by the creators of "Airplane!"

READ THE FULL STORY AT CNN