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Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Why Have There Been So Many Plane Incidents in 2025
Originally appeared on E! Online Considering how many millions of people travel by commercial airliner every day without incident, crashes involving such planes are the definition of rare: Seldom occurring or uncommon. But it only takes one for it to feel as if the sky is falling. Because while it's generally known that, statistically speaking, flying is a safer mode of travel than driving, the thought of anything going wrong aboard a plane is exponentially scarier. And on Jan. 29, the worst happened: American Airlines Flight 5342—carrying 60 passengers and four crew members from Wichita, Ks., to Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C.—was approaching the runway when it collided midair with an Army Black Hawk helicopter, killing everyone aboard both aircrafts. It was the first commercial airline crash on U.S. soil since Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashed into a house near Buffalo, N.Y., in 2009, killing all 49 people aboard and one person on the ground. But, long gap between crashes aside, it was hard to forget that the disaster occurred a year after a panel blew off a Boeing jet midair during an Alaska Airlines flight. Since there were no casualties, the incident became fodder for a Saturday Night Live sketch ("That's why our new slogan is, 'Alaska Airlines: You didn't die and you got a cool story'"), but we tend to try to laugh at what scares the s--t out of us. More from E! Online Jessa Duggar Is Pregnant, Expecting Baby No. 6 With Husband Ben Seewald Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise's Daughter Bella Cruise Supports Half-Sister Sunday Rose Gene Hackman and Wife Betsy Arakawa's Causes of Death Revealed But, long gap between crashes aside, it was hard to forget that the disaster occurred a year after a panel blew off a Boeing jet midair during an Alaska Airlines flight. Since there were no casualties, the incident became fodder for a Saturday Night Live sketch ("That's why our new slogan is, 'Alaska Airlines: You didn't die and you got a cool story'"), but we tend to try to laugh at what scares the s--t out of us. Nor were fears assuaged when a Learjet 55 air ambulance crashed in Philadelphia two days after the American Airlines tragedy, killing all six people onboard and one person on the ground. Or when a Delta jet coming from Minneapolis crash-landed and flipped over upon arrival in Toronto on Feb. 17. (All 76 passengers and four crew members survived.) Still, U.S. government officials and aviation experts have been quick to assure the public that flying is safe, especially on commercial airlines. "We're going to lose 44,000 people on the roads this year," aviation expert John Cox told NBC News March 1. "We will not have anywhere close to that, that a problem with an airplane. The facts are clear, the most dangerous part of any flight for a passenger is the drive to and from the airport." And while 2025 did begin with a devastating loss of life, the average number of fatal aviation incidents that tend to occur during January and February in a given year in the U.S. were down. According to numbers from the National Transportation Safety Board, January and February typically have about 20 fatal aviation accidents per month (that includes all types of civil—aka non-military—aircraft, including cargo planes and private jets). But there were only 10 fatal aviation accidents this past January, and in February there were six. 'Commercial aviation is a profoundly safe way to move large numbers of people," safety consultant and former NTSB managing director Peter Goelz told The Guardian March 1, "and it gets safer every year." And tragedies tend to result in new reforms. For instance, families affected by the 2009 Buffalo crash helped secure the passage of a federal aviation safety bill that required, among other things, the creation of a pilot performance database and a requirement that pilots have 10 hours of rest before flying. "We call each other the family we never wanted," Ron Aughtmon, who lost an uncle in the Buffalo crash, told CBS News last month of the relatives who joined forces to effect change. "Not many people know what flight 3407 is, and our job is to make sure that we keep our loved ones and the fight for airline safety at the forefront." 'One good thing that the aviation community does do is it really does learn from its past experiences and past accidents,' aviation attorney Jim Brauchle told USA Today in early February. "The [Federal Aviation Administration] has implemented or tried to implement a lot of programs where, if you report safety issues, there's no repercussions for things like that." Moreover, he continued, "Everything is pretty highly regulated. With aircraft we have so many redundant systems. If you have a failure of something there's usually a backup. Technology today has gotten so much better." Still, so many headlines about flying in 2025 have been of the alarming variety, so there's been a spotlight on all types of incidents. Here's a look at the year so far: Jan. 29: American Airlines Flight 5342 Collides With Army Black Hawk HelicopterJan. 31: Medical Transport Jet Crashes in PhiladelphiaFeb. 6: Small Plane Crash in Alaska Kills 10Feb. 10: Vince Neil's Learjet Involved in Fatal CollisionFeb. 17: Delta Jet Crash Lands in Toronto and Flips OverFeb. 19: Private Planes Collide at Arizona Airport, Killing 2March 1: FedEx Plane Engine Catches Fire After Colliding With Bird
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
What the truck is going on with plane crashes?
Welcome to the WHAT THE TRUCK?!? Newsletter. In this issue: plane crashes, Nikola's bankruptcy and more. Up in the air X Delta turns air travel upside down — When I boarded my flight from Atlanta to Chattanooga, Tennessee, Wednesday afternoon, one of my Delta pilots announced over the intercom that our flight was being flown by Air Force and Marine veterans. Curious timing in light of recent crashes, including a Delta CRJ-900 jet, operated by Endeavor Air, which crashed while landing at Toronto Pearson Airport on Monday. In fact, I was reading about this story while stuck on the tarmac in Atlanta for an hour due to a lack of air traffic controllers in the Jacksonville and Orlando, Florida, area. Of the four Delta flights I took between Monday and Wednesday traveling from Chattanooga to Orlando through Atlanta, that was the only one to have the pilots list their credentials.X Miraculously, nobody died in that plane crash, but the Atlanta-based mega airline is already getting ahead of legal action. According to Fox Business, 'Delta Air Lines confirmed the plans to provide $30,000 to each victim – 76 passengers and 4 crew members.' A Delta spokesperson has said that the offer 'has no strings attached and does not affect rights.' X I asked my good friend and industry attorney Matthew Leffler what he'd do were he on that flight or representing someone on it. (Note that this is not legal advice; consult your own attorney.) X I polled my audience to see what they'd do. 37.8% of X users and 46% of LinkedIn users said they'd take the money and move on. But, with no strings attached, many said they'd prefer to do both. 62.2% of you on X and 54% on LinkedIn said they're calling their lawyer. NTSB It may seem like an abnormal number of plane crashes have been happening across North America this year even though National Transportation Safety Board crash data is down. Here are a few of the most notable: Sixty-seven people died in January when a Black Hawk helicopter crashed into an American Airlines-affiliated commercial jet. A pilot was killed when Motley Crue singer Vince Neil's private jet crashed into a plane upon landing in Arizona.A medical transport jet with a child patient, her mother and four others aboard crashed into a Philadelphia neighborhood on Jan. 31. The crash killed all 6 on board as well as a father who was in his car on the this month, a commuter plane crash in Alaska killed 10 people on board. Small planes crash all the time, but commercial airline crashes are a whole other story. In fact, there had been no major U.S. commercial passenger airline crashes with fatalities between Feb. 12, 2009 (Colgan Air Flight 3407, 50 deaths), and Jan. 29, 2025 (the Black Hawk collision). IMDB Hell, when pilots Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger and Jeffrey Skiles landed on the Hudson River in January 2009, they made a movie about it. That's how rare commercial crashes are. Two high-profile ones happening within weeks is sure to get the public's blood pressure up. While selection bias and reporting may be bringing more attention to this despite all crashes being down, the involvement of commercial airliners is the outlier that is demanding the public's attention. SONAR How is this hitting freight? FreightWaves reports, 'Parcel and air cargo customers are experiencing shipping delays in parts of North America because of winter storms and Monday's crash of a Delta Air Lines regional jet at the Toronto airport.'FedEx has warned of delays due to snow at its hub in Memphis, Tennessee, while UPS has been contending with its own storm and flooding in Kentucky. Tomorrow on WHAT THE TRUCK?!?, we'll get much deeper into this story with AirlineGeeks founder Ryan Ewing. The Ballad of Nikola FreightWaves On Sept. 10, 2020, Hindenburg Research dropped a nuclear bombshell on Nikola Motors. Hindenburg's report, 'Nikola: How to Parlay An Ocean of Lies Into a Partnership With the Largest Auto OEM in America,' set in motion the conviction of Nikola founder Trevor Milton and caused the company's stock to fall into a death spiral. At its five-year peak, it was valued at $1,977 a share. Today it trades for 46 cents. Wednesday, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Google Speaking of Trevor Milton, the embittered founder and convicted felon has returned to the same place he got in trouble for saying too much in the past: social posted to X, 'We owned all of our assets, we were ahead and built the first production intent trucks in the united states and later delivered the first trucks in production.' X He even claims the Badger was a real thing. What he doesn't mention is that truck they were showcasing and allegedly rolled down a hill for an ad isn't what they brought to market. X What Nikola did bring to market were Iveco trucks, which they rebranded as the Nikola Tre and sold with their own battery electric and hydrogen technology. I've been in a few and to Nikola's credit, I know of several fleets that use their trucks every day. In fact, I did a documentary with Talon that included their fuel cell electric vehicle. We even took it to a HYLA station to see it refuel. Coyote Container's William Hall recently shared his experience owning a Nikola Tre FCEV with us on WHAT THE TRUCK?!? Wednesday, he reacted to the news on LinkedIn. LinkedIn I'm not sure what pathway current Nikola owners will have to keep their trucks serviced and if there is even a market to sell them into without taking a massive bath. It's a tough situation for fleets that listened to government regulations that were forced upon them. X Hall had reported a number of issues with his Nikola over the past year. Now that they're in bankruptcy, holding on to one could be a real liability considering few will be able to properly service news of Nikola's elongated downfall, and EV trucks in general presenting underwhelming solutions with poor infrastructure, why are we forcing fleets and dealers to support this market and assume such risk? In Massachusetts, where the prospect of owning an EV semi is far less attractive than in sunny SoCal, heavy-duty truck dealers say EV requirements are hurting business. Despite dealers and fleets trying to talk sense to regulators, Jason Mathers with the Environmental Defense Fund told WBZ News, 'I think there is an urgent need right, given the human health impacts for addressing diesel pollution, and I would say, the technology is ready, and it's getting better every day.' That is true, if we completely ignore that companies like Nikola are going bankrupt and dealers can't sell units as the infrastructure and application for these trucks are not mature Preston, vice president of Peterbilt Stores New England, told WBZ, 'We really don't have the infrastructure in place to be able to accommodate that. Plus, we're very limited in the applications that we have for electric trucks so it really restricts what we can do.' LinkedIn WattEV did finally get one Tesla Semi, so there's that. Sound off. What do you think: Are you planning on investing in EVs, or are you sticking this one out as long as you can? Email me here. Meme of the week X WTT Friday Mid-America Trucking Show preview; WHAT THE TRUCK is up with plane crashes – Friday on WHAT THE TRUCK?!?, I'm catching up with Mid-America Trucking Show event organizer Toby Young! We'll find out what's going to go down when over 50,000 truckers and industry professionals descend upon Kentucky next month. Supertrucker Justin Martin returns to the show to talk about trucking's biggest and most controversial issues, like immigration hiring by fleets, cleaning snow off a trailer, parking and more. What the truck is up with all these plane crashes? AirlineGeeks founder Ryan Ewing tells us everything we need to know about what's going wrong with these commercial airline crashes. Plus, all the latest headlines, trends and viral weirdness since our last new shows live at noon EST Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on FreightWaves LinkedIn, Facebook, X or YouTube, or on demand by looking up WHAT THE TRUCK?!? on your favorite podcast player and at 5 p.m. Eastern on SiriusXM's Road Dog Trucking Channel MAKE AMERICA FREIGHT AGAIN – We are so back. Head on over to to get our newest merch! Use code WTTFans for 10% off. Now on demand Check this out Small carriers and owner-operators often struggle with fragmented, outdated or wrong information. That's where The Playbook comes in. Built by Adam Wingfield — a 22-year trucking industry veteran — it's the comprehensive resource you've been waiting for. Why The Playbook?After years of seeing small carriers struggle, Wingfield teamed up with FreightWaves to create a structured, fact-based guide to succeed in trucking. The Playbook is not just another content hub — it's a one-stop resource for success. What's Inside? Roadmap Digital Learning Hub: Step-by-step courses and training on compliance, finance, operations and sales. Masterclass: Biweekly sessions diving deep into the key areas of trucking business growth. The Long Haul Podcast: Hear from industry experts on growing your trucking business. Partner Portal: Connect with vetted industry partners and grow your business efficiently. Small Carrier Market Update: Stay ahead with real-time freight trends and insights. Tools & Templates: Access spreadsheets, calculators and contract templates. Why FreightWaves?FreightWaves brings industry-leading data and analytics to the table, ensuring you get the same insights larger carriers rely on. The Playbook's MissionIt's not just a project — it's a movement to ensure small carriers thrive in an industry where knowledge is power. Sign up for the weekly Playbook newsletter here. The rest of the noise Port of Los Angeles sees record January volume Federal Maritime Commission dropping DEI from strategic plan Trucking braces for immigration crackdowns Trucking groups praise DOT termination of NY congestion tolls Thanks for reading, and feel free to forward this to a friend. Tweet @ Dooner Email me Subscribe to the newsletter Subscribe to the show Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube TikTok Twitter Or simply look up WHAT THE TRUCK?!? on your favorite podcast player. Or, if you have SiriusXM, tune in to the show Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 5 p.m. Eastern time on Road Dog Trucking Channel 146. Exit through the gift shop: Don't be a stranger, Dooner The post What the truck is going on with plane crashes? appeared first on FreightWaves.
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mike Micoli, longtime News 4 engineer, passes away
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Mike Micoli, a longtime engineer at WIVB News 4, passed away on Saturday after a hard-fought battle with cancer. Micoli began his career with News 4 in May 1995 as an engineer, working as a truck technician and master control operator. He was instrumental in making sure newscasts from the studio and the field were flawless. Micoli was the first satellite truck operator at the scene of the tragic Flight 3407 crash, providing news hits non-stop for News 4 and every 15 minutes for overseas networks. He worked until 4 p.m. the following day, working almost 26 hours. Micoli also enjoyed working various sporting events in Buffalo, as well as the World's Largest Disco. He will be greatly missed by everyone at News 4. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Families gather for vigil to remember loved ones 16 years after Flight 3407 crash
CLARENCE CENTER, N.Y. (WIVB) — Wednesday marked 16 years since Flight 3407, which was heading from Newark, New Jersey, to Buffalo, crashed into a home in Clarence Center. 50 lives were lost. Friends and family members remembered their loved ones at the site of the crash during the vigil Wednesday night. Marilyn and John Kausner lost their daughter Elly in the Flight 3407 crash. Not a day goes by without them thinking of her. 'The way that she lived her life with so much passion — I believe that it's because God had put within her some kind of knowledge that she was only going to have 24 years, so she lived her life with a lot of gusto,' Marilyn said. 'She was very passionate about her family, she was very passionate about her friends, she had a tight knit group or friends and they're still very close.' Following the tragedy, many families of the victims waged their Herculean battle with airlines and the federal government to make the skies safe, advancing the FAA Reauthorization Act. John said he has traveled to D.C. over 100 times. Two weeks ago marked the first time in the United States since Flight 3407 that a major commercial airline crash had occurred when an Army helicopter collided with a commercial jet, killing everyone on board. 'That trauma is still there and when we saw it, it came back,' Marilyn said. Ron Aughtmon lost his uncle, John Fiore, 16 years ago to the crash. 'He was the hit of a party, he spent 30 years in the military and retired chief master sergeant of the Niagara Falls Air Force Base and was getting ready to retire from his civilian job as a plant manager in Niagara Falls when the plane crashed,' Aughtmon said. Their family setup a charitable foundation in his name to raise money for various local organizations. 'It helps me reflect and keep a purpose of my life too,' Aughtmon said. He finds solace visiting the Flight 3407 Memorial in Clarence Center. 'It means everything, it's humbling, you cry, you remember the good and the bad,' Aughtmon said. Joe Pettys also remembered his sister Mary and all the victims at the vigil. 'They're all in a better place and like I said, I have nine brothers and sisters and we all, we get through it,' Pettys said. Flight 3407 families said they deal with their grief by relying on friends, family and other 3407 families. The FAA Reauthorization Act, which was approved last year, runs through 2028. The families have pledged to always fight for aviation safety. Jeff Preval is an award-winning anchor and reporter who joined the News 4 team in December 2021. See more of his work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
13-02-2025
- General
- CBS News
The 2009 Colgan Air disaster became a turning point for U.S. aviation. These families led the call for change.
Last month's mid-air collision near Washington, D.C., was the first fatal American commercial air disaster since shortly after 10 p.m. on February 12, 2009, when Colgan Air Flight 3407 fell out of the sky and crashed into a house near Buffalo, New York. It was the 14th fatal crash of a U.S. airliner in 15 years, but the 2009 disaster would become a turning point in American aviation. In the following years, the crash site was transformed into a memorial and place of reflection for the 50 people who died — 49 on the plane and one person who was in the house. But for the families who lost loved ones — like John and Marilyn Kausner, whose 24-year-old daughter Elly was killed in the incident — the fight that started there never stopped. "She was brilliant, she was beautiful and the life of the party," John said about his daughter. When the National Transportation Safety Board produced its report, it showed pilot error caused the plane to stall and nosedive. It was also revealed the pilot had not been forthcoming about failing prior flight tests. The findings spurred the families of the deceased into action. They banded together and lobbied the government to pass a federal airline safety bill, leading to a mandated 1,500 hours of flight training for co-pilots, the creation of a pilot performance database and a requirement that pilots have 10 hours of rest before flying. The Kausners brought along a posters of the victims on their trips to Washington, D.C., "to put a face to the tragedy," Kausner said. Ron Aughtmon lost his uncle John Fiore, a veteran who dedicated his life to public service. "We call each other the family we never wanted," Aughtmon said of the families of other victims. "Not many people know what flight 3407 is, and our job is to make sure that we keep our loved ones and the fight for airline safety at the forefront." To this day, the families are still pushing to keep those regulations intact as regional airlines attempt to roll back pilot training requirements. The D.C. mid-air collision last month ended what had been the longest safety streak without a fatal crash in American commercial aviation. It had been nearly 16 years since the Colgan Air crash. "When we saw it, it came back. It was rough, but we quickly thought about those families and what they are going through right now," Marilyn Kausner said. The 3407 memorial is a reminder of their loss and the change they fought for. Marilyn also says the other families affected by flight 3407 are now like her own. "It's how I could be with her, and I believe it's why we were also successful did it together," Marilyn said. It's a group they never wanted to join, but now one they can't live without.
