United Flight 1637 was supposed to be a quick holiday jaunt for off-duty Air Force Captain Mike Gongol and his family. But when the 737's pilot suffered an apparent heart attack, Gongol ended up in the cockpit, helping guide the plane to an emergency landing that saved 160 souls.

According to WNYC, there are 634 runways in range of the missing flight. The Atlantic's Jim Fallows points out that not all of them, though, are big enough to handle a Boeing 777.

So tell me, "Sully" Sullenberger: How do you handle this one?

After banning children from First Class cabins last year, Malaysia Airlines has now banned humans under the age of 12 from its upstairs Economy class cabins, as well.

Donald Trump bought himself a gold-plated 757 so that he can cruise around the country and pretend like he's running for president in a desperate attempt to remain in the spotlight. Knowing how much everyone in America cares about the details of his private air fleet, Trump posted a video tour of the monstrosity on YouTube. Let's check it out.

Gérard Depardieu was on an airplane with 100 other people and had to pee, but the flight attendant said he couldn't go until after takeoff. So the legendary French actor took matters into his own hands: He whipped out his dick and peed in the aisle. No, seriously:

Sitting in an airplane on a tarmac in Detroit, lifelong Brooklynite Robert Sayegh turned to his seatmate and said, "What's taking so fucking long to close the overheard compartments?" Shortly thereafter, the pilot turned the airplane around. Police removed Sayegh from the plane for being "disruptive."

Hank Krakowski, the FAA's top air traffic control official, resigned today after a fifth air traffic controller was caught sleeping on the job in just the past four months.

Two planes collided at JFK tonight when an Air France Airbus A380—the world's largest commercial passenger jet—clipped a much smaller plane while taxiing on the runway.

Southwest Airlines seems to have a problem keeping its planes together these days, so Discovery News thought it would be a good idea to ask some expert what would happen if you get sucked out of a plane. It's scary stuff.

Grammy-nominated rapper B.o.B. performed his song "Airplanes" on a Delta airlines P.A. system. Now, cute as seeing this on Delta's official YouTube channel is, how annoying would it be to be forced to listen to B.o.B. warbling along to an MP3 of his own song, through a tinny airplane sound system? Can't we all just agree to sit in tense, angry silence when flying the friendly skies?

Click to viewSecretary of Defense Robert Gates is in China this week to cool military tensions, and to tell Chinese officials that the U.S. military is still king. And today, China tested its new stealth fighter jet. It's just a coincidence, though!

Airplanes are the worst places to meet celebrities. The cramped environment of an upholstered metal tube brings out the worst in every tantrum-throwing, assistant-berating diva. The only thing worse than a tantrum? Insufferable, yoga-enhanced calm!

Air travel can be so stressful these days. Passengers heading from Phoenix to Washington state livened it up recently with an in-flight pillow fight. It gets serious when someone shouts, "Throw them all into first!" and incites a class war.

United Airlines unveiled a special Boeing 757 this morning to commemorate Oprah Winfrey's final season. The interiors were designed by the Queen of Daytime herself, and her signature graces the jet's tail. Unfortunately, Gayle is not the flight attendant.

Last weekend, San Francisco played host to an air show. And while the Blue Angels were the stars, this incredible video—of a Boeing 747 flying just barely over the Golden Gate Bridge—is truly a sight to be seen.

In the wake of its most infamous employee's dramatic job walk-off in August, JetBlue's passenger traffic increased by 15 percent in September compared to last year. Maybe Steven Slater was good PR, after all?

Fussy flight attendant turned folk hero Steven Slater quit his job with aplomb, but he just can't quit his love of airplanes. He was spotted last night hanging out at Flight 151, an aviation theme restaurant in Chelsea. [Zagat]

Steven Slater—the JetBlue flight attendant who stormed off the job via inflatable slide—reported to court today as he negotiates with prosecutors to avoid jail time. While awaiting their moment before the judge, Slater's lawyer shared some new details.

Did you know airplanes have automated messages that notify passengers when they are falling into the sea? A British Airways flight recently told passengers, "We're about to crash," prompting widespread panic. Then the flight attendants were like, "Psyche!"