The pilot of a helicopter that went missing near a mountain in New Mexico talked to dispatchers just after the craft struck a mountainside, a state official told CNN. "Are you 10-4" a dispatcher asked the pilot, inquiring if he was OK. "Not really," the pilot replied. After this brief communication, the pilot and dispatchers lost touch. Rescuers were trekking across a mountain Wednesday in search of the missing state police helicopter. Peter Olson, a spokesman for the New Mexico ...

Air France has agreed to replace within days sensors on all of its Airbus A330 and A340 airplanes, parts that are suspected of being involved in last week's crash, a pilots' union said Tuesday. Air France said Saturday that it had begun replacing the sensors throughout its fleet in April. An Air France representative said Tuesday the airline would not comment until after a meeting later in the day between Air France and the SNPL union. Airbus had ...

The National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday will launch three days of hearings into the circumstances surrounding the US Airways Flight 1549 emergency landing on New York's Hudson River. Looking into several issues from the January 15 incident -- from migratory birds to why a rear door opened after the landing -- the NTSB panel will hear testimony from key witnesses, including Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, the pilot; and Billy Campbell, the only passenger scheduled to testify. On Monday, the ...

The search for the wreckage of an Air France plane that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean with 228 on board intensified Thursday after clues appeared to rule out a mid-air fire or explosion. As several ships trawled the crash site in the Atlantic, Brazil's defense minister said a 20-kilometer (12-mile) oil slick near where the plane went down on Monday indicated it probably did not break up until it hit the water. If true, that would rule out an ...

Launched in 1995, the Airbus A330-200 is the newest member of the European aircraft manufacturer's twinjet family. With a range of 12,500 km (6,750 nautical miles) and the capacity to carry 253 passengers, the A330-200 is extremely well-regarded as a medium to long-range airliner. There are 600 currently in service with 82 airlines, including Air France, worldwide. Airbus has a further 300 orders for the aircraft. According to aviation expert Kieran Daly, the A330-200 is a "reliable, ultra-modern, state-of-the-art airplane," ...

He's a helicopter test pilot who spent 18 years in the British Army. He just beat more than 8,400 others to become one of Europe's newest astronauts, destined for the International Space Station. So what is Tim Peake most nervous about Learning Russian. "That's an area that I think will probably be quite difficult for me," said Peake, 37, in an interview Friday with CNN. It certainly speaks volumes about Peake's experience that he considers learning a language the hardest ...

The arrest of four alleged terrorism plotters in the Riverdale section of New York City was the culmination of a painstaking 10-month FBI investigation. Each of the four men is charged with one count of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction within the U.S., which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, and one count of conspiracy to acquire and use anti-aircraft missiles, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison and a mandatory minimum of ...

The White House indicated Wednesday that a report and a photo from the controversial low-altitude New York flyover by a 747 plane used as Air Force One could be released soon. Earlier, White House officials had said that there were no plans to release photos to the public. But the tone seemed to change on Wednesday. "The report, I believe, will be concluded at some point this week. We'll release its findings and release a photo," White House Press ...

The global rise in swine flu has showed few signs of slowing. Now in 11 countries, the H1N1 flu virus was confirmed on Thursday in the Netherlands and Switzerland; in Canada, cases rose to 27 and in the U.S., the caseload increased to 109 in 11 states, with hundreds of school closures that sent some 160,000 students home. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has said that a new flu pandemic is imminent, yet some pharmacies are temporarily running ...

Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday morning he has advised his family to avoid "confined places" such as aircraft, subways and classrooms because of the swine flu risk. Biden made the remarks on NBC's "Today Show," after he was asked what he would tell a family member about traveling to Mexico, where the first cases of the virus -- technically known as 2009 H1N1 -- were detected. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, is advising people ...