faa

Lacey Donohue · 09/26/13 08:27PM

A Federal Aviation Administration committee recommended Thursday that passengers be allowed to use smartphones, iPads, Kindles, etc., during takeoffs and landings as long as they're switched to airplane mode. It's now up to FAA officials to accept—and it's largely expected they will—the committee's recommendations.

'Harlem Shake' Finally Gets the Federal Investigation It Deserves

Taylor Berman · 02/28/13 11:05PM

The meme that's made Bauuer's incorrectly named "Harlem Shake" the number one song in America two weeks in a row is finally getting the federal investigation it deserves. Sort of. One of the more recent versions of the meme, made by the Colorado College Ultimate Frisbee Team – takes place aboard a Frontier Airlines flight. It starts off innocently/predictably enough, with a lone frisbee player dancing in a lacrosse helmet. Then, as always happens in these videos, the whole plane joins in, including other members of the team in various costumes, plus a confused-looking but game old man. Harmless fun, in an awful sort of way, right? Wrong, according to the FAA, who have launched an investigation into the video.

The FAA Is Rubbing Alec Baldwin's Face In It

Ryan Tate · 12/13/11 05:40PM

Thrown off a plane. Subject to a proposed boycott. And now this, a final humiliating insult to Alec Baldwin, for playing an iOS app when he shouldn't have: The Federal Aviation Administration says the actor's airline nemeses can use iPads in flight, even while prohibiting Baldwin from doing the same thing.

Sexxxy Skydivers Broke No Rules, Says FAA

Lauri Apple · 10/29/11 12:32PM

Remember our pals Alex Torres the porn actor and his receptionist friend Hope Powell, who did sex during a skydiving trip, posted a video of their shenanigans on the Internet, and caught the attention of the Federal Aviation Administration? The FAA has concluded its investigation of their adventurous mating habits and decided that, because the copulating couple didn't distract their pilot, they broke no federal rules. So if you saw Torres' video and thought that skydiving sex seemed worthy of exploration, go ahead and try it out, I guess. Just leave the pilot out of it. Oh, and you can leave your video camera at home. Seriously, we won't mind at all if you keep your sexxxploits to yourself. [NBC San Diego]

FAA Investigating Skydiving Porn

Seth Abramovitch · 10/14/11 02:46AM

Alex Torres (born: Alexandre Boisvert; aliases: VooDoo Child, Voodoo, Voo Doo, Lex) is a French Canadian skydiver and porn actor currently living in California, who wanted to get the attention of Howard Stern. So he shot a video (NSFW link here), set to Katy Perry's "E.T.", of him having sex with Hope Howell, a receptionist at Skydive Taft School in Bakersfield, where he works. But they weren't just having sex. They were having sex in the plane. They were having sex as they jumped out together. And they were still having sex as they hurtled towards the ground. (I'm sure you think you know where this is going, but the two landed safely and without incident, and at no point did Howell reach behind her to pull the ripcord and accidentally tear Voodoo's dick off.)

WWSD? Captain Sully Concerned About Air Safety

Jeff Neumann · 04/28/11 07:22AM

Air travel in America is becoming increasingly scary, with napping air traffic controllers, First Lady near misses, and so on. Who can we turn to in these trying times? Heh, we should be ashamed for posing such a rhetorical question. The Daily Beast caught up with the only man we need to hear from, Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, to get his thoughts on the crisis gathering in America's skies. Besides the fact that Captain Sully never met a flying schedule he couldn't man up and handle, we learn that proposed cuts in the FAA's budget scare him:

Another Air Traffic Controller Caught Napping

Jeff Neumann · 04/14/11 05:19AM

We officially have a trend on our hands: Another air traffic controller was found sleeping on the job yesterday, this time in Reno, Nevada. And the flight yesterday was an airborne ambulance, and the pilot was forced to land on his own. It's only taken several high profile incidents similar to yesterday's to get the FAA to add more than one controller to overnight shifts at 26 airports across the country. How thoughtful.

Air Traffic Controller Brought Blankets for Work Naps

Jeff Neumann · 04/07/11 04:20AM

Remember the air traffic controller who fell asleep at the controls on the graveyard shift in DC last month, forcing a pilot to land a passenger jet on his own? Well, there seems to be somewhat of a pattern developing here: FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt testified at a congressional hearing about the incident yesterday, and said that in February an air traffic controller at Knoxville, Tennessee's McGhee Tyson Airport was "found intentionally sleeping" on the job. And the best part? He brought pillows and a cushion with him!