The Monday night emergency plane landing on Rockaway Beach may be in part thanks to a young pilot's fondness for a Discovery show about flying planes in Alaska—as well as a passenger's upset stomach. Jason Maloney, 24, also spoke in a joking, casual manner with air traffic control when asking for permission (which was repeatedly denied, because it wasn't declared emergency) to land on the beach, saying, "Just let us know if we're up in your grill," and ""Whooooa ... What if I want to hide from you?" [Listen to the weird audio below.] more ›

Well, this is unsettling. An air traffic controller at Kennedy Airport told Fox 5 that the runway renovation at JFK, which has shut down the airport's main runway while it undergoes renovations, has made things so complicated that air traffic controllers "are just trying to hold on." What does that mean. Controller Stephen Abraham told them that departing planes have to now cross runways twice, which is a concerns, and that every time a plane crosses a runway, there's an opportunity for disaster. The FAA is working to make sure safe operating procedures are in place. So hopefully those kids are out of the traffic control tower! more ›

Forget how cute and official the air traffic controller's children sounded: An internal memo calls their stints "unauthorized and unprofessional. CNN reports that the JFK Airport facilities manager for air traffic control learned of the mid-February incidents and issued a memo a week later, "The display of professionalism in the past by the control personnel at this facility has been exemplary. However, a lapse in judgment for what may seem a minor transgression diminishes our credibility and slights the high standards of professionalism." How prescient! more ›

After news broke yesterday that an air traffic controller at JFK airport let his young son clear planes for takeoff five times on February 16th, it emerged that the father did it again the next day with the boy's twin sister. The controller, Glenn Duffy, 48, of Stony Brook, Long Island, has been suspended, along with one supervisor; they'll both draw full salaries during the investigation. The Post has audio of the girl clearing planes for take off—she sounds even cuter than her brother, and a pilot can be heard telling her "nicely done, see you later." Now, these shenanigans may seem reckless to the layman, but professional pilots insist it was all completely harmless. more ›

[UPDATE: This wasn't the first time!] An air traffic controller at JFK airport brought his young son to work last month and let the bright young lad do his job for him. Now the FAA is investigating all the employees who were in the tower that day, and an audio recording of the child's instructions to pilots has surfaced. Listen: more ›

The skies above Newark Liberty International Airport are a disaster waiting to happen, according to federal investigators who are concerned about the simultaneous use of intersecting runways. Problems arise when a plane needs to abort its landing — which occurs about once every 700 flights at Newark. Current protocol forces the diverted plane to make a sharp right turn directly across the flight path of planes taking off and landing, "allowing little margin for error," according to CNN. more ›

Air traffic controllers say two planes were within 100 feet of colliding at JFK Airport this past weekend. more ›