Terror Alert Sends British Airways Jet Back Home

From the UK’s Mirror – A British Airways jumbo was ordered back to Heathrow halfway through a flight by American air traffic controllers after a terror alert.

They banned Flight 243 from US airspace over a “data discrepancy” regarding a 55-year-old male passenger.

The Boeing 747’s flight path to Mexico City would have taken it over Florida.

Metropolitan police say the man was not arrested, and the Department for Transport says the incident revealed no breach of security.

via Read Full Article.

Pilots Landing at Seattle-Tacoma Airport Report Lasers

Pilots on 12 jetliners landing at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Sunday reported that someone was shining a green laser light into their cockpits, bringing renewed attention to a problem that has plagued pilots since the introduction of cheap laser pointers several years ago.

All the planes were targeted during a 20-minute period Sunday night, and all landed safely. But the incident led to pilots simultaneously trying to avoid being temporarily blinded by the light while trying to help authorities pinpoint its source, believed to be about a mile north of the airport.

Air traffic controllers continuously cautioned pilots about the light during the episode, which lasted from 7:10 to 7:30 p.m. PT.

“All right, I’ll keep an eye out for that,” one pilot responded before correcting himself. “Er, I’ll keep an eye away from that,” he said in radio traffic captured by LiveATC.net.

Another pilot reported the source to be a block and a half west of an interstate. Airport authorities said they conducted two searches of the area but did not find the culprit.

Laser attacks on aircraft have increased in recent years, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. There have been 148 incidents this year, FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said.

Source