Results tagged “flight”

During the first nine months of the year, LaGuardia, Newark, and JFK have maintained the worst record for on-time arrivals among the 31 major U.S. air hubs, according to the FAA. And because so many flights pass through these hubs, nearly three-quarters of all delays in the U.S. could be traced to a problem in New York. The line of planes waiting to land at LaGuardia Airport can sometimes stretch unbroken in the sky for 40 miles, according to one air traffic controller, who tells the AP, "All we can do is take them and space them out as close as FAA rules allow. It's not like you can put more aircraft in there. That's it. We're just maxed out."

One more incident like this and Delta is going to get a reputation. Just weeks after a mouse was found on board one of their planes, causing an evacuation and serious delay... it's happened again!

Richie Notar, the co-owner of acclaimed sushi chain Nobu, took a pill and drank a glass of wine before his Monday night red-eye flight from LA to New York. Then he was "out for the count"—at least, from his point of view. But before the flight was over, he'd be trying to bite his way through a pair of flex cuffs. One witness from the flight gave this account:

Continue reading "Nobu Co-Owner Handcuffed After Freaky Flight Outburst"

The animals scored another point against the humans at JFK this past Sunday. Reportedly a mouse (eek!) was running rampant around a Delta aircraft waiting to depart for London. Upon being spotted, the captain refused to operate the flight, "fearing the rodent might gnaw through some critical wiring and put the entire aircraft at risk high over the Atlantic." And now we have a new reason to fear flying.

The FAA has released the audio recording of a Teterboro air traffic controller's phone banter in the moments before a small plane and sightseeing helicopter collided over the Hudson River on August 8th. We look forward to hearing this moron's voice in our heads next time we fly:

It's not just your self-dramatizing imagination; it really is a headache trying to fly away from New York City. Not only are our airports absolutely no fun (survey says) but there's seemingly no exit from them. A new study from the Brookings Institute confirms that New York is still the worst for on-time air travel, with 30 percent of arrivals and 22 percent of departures clocking in late. And those eggheads predict it's probably only going to get worse! Why?

With all the hubbub about Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger making his long-awaited return to the skies after his miraculous splash landing of Flight 1549 by flying from Laguardia to Charlotte, North Carolina this afternoon, it turns out that Sully had to get to NYC some how. And that was by flying Flight 1050 from Charlotte to LGA at 7:55 a.m! The Daily News had a reporter and photographer onboard for the scoop.

But it was a false alarm! According to Reuters, a crew on a United flight from Los Angeles to JFK Airport (with Cairo as the final destination) was suspicious of two Middle Eastern men because "one of the men got up to use the plane's restroom just before take-off, ignoring orders from the flight crew to remain in his seat."

Senator Chuck Schumer held one of his famous Sunday press conferences yesterday, presumably before spending the rest of the day chilling with Jay-Z and Beyonce at the summer's last Pool Party. The presser was held three days after the National Transportation Safety Board recommended major changes to air traffic over the Hudson River—changes which Schumer says fall short. The senator told reporters that the current regulations are "a mess. There are countless handoffs, gaps and holes in the regulatory authority, and that only leads to trouble." Trouble like the fatal mid-air collision between a single-engine plane and a tour helicopter earlier this month. Schumer is demanding (once again) that the FAA monitor all flights below 1,000 feet (pilots currently use a "see and avoid" strategy), the creation of a pilot training program for commercial sightseeing operations, and fully staffed control towers at Teterboro Airport and at other area airports. Radical, right? The TSB report admitted that the absence of a supervisor from the Teterboro tower at the time of the crash enabled a controller to make a "nonbusiness" cell phone call, which infamously involved joking about barbecuing a dead cat—actually making the genre of dead pet jokes even more inappropriate than ever.

Having gotten his drink on while waiting for his Jet Blue flight to Mardi Gras in New Orleans in February, Paul Henry Boritzer was in a totally festive mood when he finally boarded the plane. But then the flight attendants had to go and harsh his vibe because he was strolling about the cabin "in a loud and disruptive behavior" ten minutes before take-off. When a flight attendant asked that he return to his seat, he told her he didn't have to follow her rules, because he was a federal air marshal and a U.S. Airway pilot. Lying about that stuff is a no-no, and after the attendant insisted he sit down, Boritzer called her a bitch and asked, "Who do you think you are?" Boritzer remained disruptive throughout the flight, and, according to the Justice Department, threatened a flight attendant who denied him more booze. Needless to say, he didn't make it to Mardi Gras; he was arrested upon arrival and a jury yesterday found him guilty of interfering with a flight crew and impersonating a Federal air marshal. Boritzer will be sentenced in December, and could face a 29 year prison term, a $1 million fine, and the indignity of Will Ferrell portraying him in a movie adaptation.

As noted in our newsletter this morning, on this day in 1953, the first commuter passenger service by helicopter began. New York Airways provided a lift for busy folks who wanted to avoid traffic.

As long as he lives, U.S. Airways Captain Chesley Sullenberger will travel the land to tell the amazing story of his successful emergency landing on the Hudson River in January; this morning found him in Washington to testify during hearings held by the National Transportation Safety Board on air safety and the growing threat of bird strikes. (According to the Times, researchers counted 229 people killed and 210 aircraft destroyed as a result of bird strikes in the last 20 years.) And yesterday the Smithsonian Institution announced that isotopic analysis of goose remains found in Flight 1549's engines confirmed that the birds were migratory, thus suggesting that habitat destruction would not have prevented the accident.

Jeffrey Skiles, who was co-pilot to Captain Chesley Sullenberger on Flight 1549, flew his first plane yesterday since the January splash landing in the Hudson. A Daily News reporter was on the Charlotte, NC-to-Detroit flight; Skiles said, "It felt really good. It all came right back to me. I'm a pilot; this is what my whole life is about." He also revealed that he spent a few days in a simulator (to prepare) last week and added, "Actually, it was my wife who said to me, 'When are you going back to work?' She got tired of looking at me." The filght's captain said Skiles' return flight was "flawless" in spite of gusting 30-mph winds. In other Flight 1549 news, one of the flight's survivors testified at an FAA hearing that bird strike data should be made public, "The issue needs to be addressed openly, not swept under the rug."

A 21-year-old JetBlue baggage handler apparently dozed off in a plane's cargo bin at JFK Airport— and then found himself stuck inside while the plane was in transit. The Daily News says that Sidney Nurse called JetBlue (from the plane) about being stuck, but had wait to after the plane landed 200 miles north at Logan Airport in Boston until he was rescued. And luckily the plane's cargo hold is pressurized—Nurse was relatively unscathed. Still, the Massachusetts State Police said, "Even after talking to him, we were a little uncertain as to how it happened. This may have been accidental." JetBlue is investigating the Saturday incident; Nurse returned home—in a passenger seat—on another flight.

After a nearly three year battle, a man who punched an American Airlines flight attendent on a plane traveling from Zurich to New York has been unable to clear his name. Pierre Delis of Maryland was convicted of assault back in 2006 after an argument with a flight attendant got physical; the incident was sparked when the attendant pushing the dinner cart informed him there was no chicken left, only roast beef. She says Delis shouted obscenities at her and then punched her in the chest, leaving a bruise. He says he hit her inadvertently while trying to swat her hand out of his face. At any rate, Delis was arrested upon landing and ultimately sentenced to time served—the few hours he'd spent in jail—and had to pay $10 in court costs. But he's been trying to overturn the conviction ever since, taking it all the way to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Manhattan, which yesterday upheld the conviction. So, now you know: Pierre Delis of Maryland is GUILTY of hitting a woman in chest because he couldn't get his precious airplane chicken.

Newark airport had the worst on-time arrival rate in all the land in 2008, according to the federal DOT, which just released its year-end report [PDF] on flight delays. Go EWR! This is the the fourth time in the past six years Newark won the top prize for tardiness, coming in second place in 2007 and 2004. Last year flights to Newark arrived within 15 minutes of their scheduled time only 62.32% of the time; by comparison, the airline industry's overall on-time rate is 76%. (A 2.6% improvement over '07!) For the record, La Guardia was second-worst and JFK ranked fourth. Airlines blame the delays on congested air traffic in the New York region, which is only exacerbated by inclement winter weather and high winds. The study also found that one of the worst flights you could possibly take in '08 was the consistently delayed ExpressJet Airlines Flight 2019 from Hartford to Newark, which was late 93.3% of the time. Of course, when Newark's the destination, why rush? [Via Star-Ledger.]

Passengers aboard a flight from Moscow to New York December 28th staged a mini "rebellion" before take-off when they noticed that the pilot was inebriated. How did they come to this conclusion? Because it took him three tries to say the words "duration of flight." Also, as one of the passengers told the Moscow Times (which happened to have a reporter on board!): "I don't think there's anyone in Russia who doesn't know what a drunk person looks like."

The fashion set know when to strike when the iron is hot, and designer Kenneth Cole has put up a new billboard that is so Winter '09. The simple black and white message isn't a new format for his advertisements, but this one is saluting the Flight 1549 crew, passengers and of course the heroic pilot Captain Sullenberger. Caught by the eagle eyes over at WCBS, it's currently up on West 57th Street and the West Side Highway (right above the Artkraft Strauss building).

Meet Mathias Guerrand-Hermes: Polo player, heir to the French fashion house Hermès, petulant crotch-grabber. The 36-year-old socialite is in the papers today after being arraigned in Brooklyn federal court over a nasty incident aboard an Air France flight from Paris to JFK on Tuesday. Prosecutors say it all started when Guerrand-Hermes—loaded on booze and the pain medication Propofan—began pestering a female passenger in first class. When her husband told him to step off, Guerrand-Hermes, who was perched on the lady's armrest, simply moved in closer.

Since equipping its aircraft with in-flight WiFi, American Airlines has gotten "a lot of complaints" about passengers using the Internets to enjoy adult entertainment, presumably joining the Mile High Club with a little help from Rosy Palmer and Handjela . Ah, but ain't that American? The airline started offering the service in August for $12.95, but unlike Jet Blue, didn't install Internet filters to block porn. And despite pressure from flight attendants, they have no plans to do so. An American spokesman tells the Post: "Customers viewing inappropriate material on board a flight is not a new scenario for our crews, who have always managed this issue with great success." Besides, passengers who can't bear to be separated from their precious porno for the duration of a flight have always been allowed to bring adult magazines and DVDs on board, so why deprive them now?

UPDATE: The American Airlines situation at JFK still seems to be a mess, with about 25 flights delayed due to a computer "glitch" in the software that controls the baggage sorting conveyor belt. As of 1 p.m., delays were ranging from an hour to an hour and a half, according to Reuters. In the meantime, one Gothamist reader took the time to vent with the image above.

Passengers who boarded a Delta flight to Las Vegas at JFK airport at 10:30 a.m. yesterday had plenty of time to catch up on their Sudoku, because they ended up being stuck on the plane for over 7 hours. The flight never left JFK due to scattered thunderstorms on Sunday. Passengers were placated with water and “warm Sprite,” according to one account, and were finally permitted off the plane sometime after 5:30 p.m. A Delta spokesman could not explain why passengers were not allowed to return to the gate, and promised to refund their money. Which is a nice gesture, since airline passengers still have no rights.

An American Airlines flight from Miami to LaGuardia Sunday night was canceled due to the passengers' collective rudeness. Fox 5 has it that a flight crew was so late getting to the plane that upon arrival they were greeted with raucous booing from the impatient passengers. So the crew decided to teach the rabble a lesson in manners and refused to work the flight for the “hostile mob.”

The world-renowned British Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, the Red Arrows, will fly over our skies later today. The 25-minute show will begin at 6:30 p.m. over the New York Harbor, and the spectacle is best viewed from the shores of South Beach on Staten Island. At 6:55 the nine-pilot team will make their way towards the Statue of Liberty for a flyby (which will occur at 6:58), so if you can't make it to Staten Island, there's still a chance of catching a glimpse. From the press release:

The Red Arrows Statue of Liberty flyby at 6:58 pm will be at a northeast direction, coming up New York harbor, past Brooklyn/Staten Island, the Statue of Liberty, and further up the Hudson River. The Red Arrows will then turn around and retrace their steps, flying back to the Atlantic Ocean the same way they came in.

Get this woman a reality TV show! Christina Szele of Woodside, Queens created such a disturbance during a Jet Blue flight from JFK airport to San Francisco that pilots diverted the plane and landed in Denver, where federal authorities took her into custody. According to an affidavit obtained by the Smoking Gun, things started to go sideways after a flight attendant noticed Szele waiting on line for the bathroom with a book of matches and a cigarette, which were promptly seized.

An unidentified man was forcibly removed from a United Airlines at JFK before it took off last night because he wouldn’t sit down and stop praying. A San Francisco author named Ori Brafman, who was on the flight, told WNBC the Orthodox Jewish man ignored instructions from flight attendants to remain in his seat. During the minutes before take off, he walked to the back of the plane to pray, and when he continued to defy attendants' orders, they summoned airport security.