The challenges inherent in getting a 162,000-pound aircraft off the ground and landing it safely are pretty obvious to most observers. But at cruising altitude, above 10,000 feet, pilots face a different critical challenge: staying focused."You can't read a novel, but you could read a manual about procedures or about the airplane," the former Boeing 767-400 pilot said. "You can't read a newspaper. You can't use a laptop. That's strictly prohibited." However, some airlines make documents, including manuals, available only ...

For the 18th year in a row, the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday voted to condemn the 47-year embargo against Cuba by the United States."You can't read a novel, but you could read a manual about procedures or about the airplane," the former Boeing 767-400 pilot said. "You can't read a newspaper. You can't use a laptop. That's strictly prohibited." However, some airlines make documents, including manuals, available only in digital form and provide company laptops for pilots to ...

Federal aviation authorities are expected to suspend or revoke the licenses of the two Northwest Airline pilots involved in last week's overflight of the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport, a federal official said.

United Nations-backed nuclear inspectors on Sunday visited a newly disclosed Iranian nuclear facility near the city of Qom, Iranian media has reported.That proposal calls for low-enriched uranium produced in Iran to be sent abroad for further enrichment and then returned for use in medical research and treatment. Tehran is studying the draft proposal and will have an answer next week, Iranian diplomat Ali Asghar Soltanieh said on state-run Press TV. Iran informed IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei that it is ...

Rapper Kanye West and his business manager must complete 50 hours of community service in exchange for the dismissal of charges stemming from a Los Angeles airport scuffle with paparazzi last year. West has already attended 12 hours of anger management classes and paid for the camera that was broken during the incident, his lawyer told the judge during a hearing Friday morning. Police arrested West and Don Crawley on September 11, 2008, after an altercation with a photographer and ...

A security guard at New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport is under arrest for allegedly making threatening remarks about President Obama, a spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service said Wednesday. John Brek, 55, of Linden, New Jersey, was arrested Tuesday and charged with making terroristic threats, Port Authority spokesman John Kelly said. A search of Brek's home turned up at least 40 firearms, Kelly said, all of which appear to be legally owned. U.S. Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan said ...

A 92-year-old woman with cocaine strapped to her body flew all the way from Brazil to Spain before police arrested her, in a wheelchair, at Madrid's airport. They found 4.3 kilos, or nearly 9.5 pounds, of cocaine packets strapped to her legs and torso, and also arrested a 44-year-old female companion, who tried to escape on another plane, a Civil Guard spokeswoman told CNN Tuesday. The two women, both from Uruguay, were arrested last Friday after arriving in Madrid on ...

Turkey's foreign minister denied any government link to a controversial historical drama being broadcast on Turkey's state television network. The denial comes after the Israeli government accused the program of being state-sponsored "incitement." "As far as I understand, the series is produced by a private company. TRT (Turkish Radio and Television Corp.) is an independent organization after all," Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said during a brief appearance before journalists at Ankara airport. "This is a matter to be evaluated entirely ...

A man accused of playing a role in the 1968 hijacking of a Pan Am flight from New York to Puerto Rico was captured Sunday, federal officials said. Luis Armando Pena Soltren, 66, surrendered to federal authorities at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport after exiting a flight from Havana, Cuba, officials said. It's the same airport from which Pan Am Flight 281 took off more than 40 years ago. Additional details on Soltren's apprehension were not provided by ...

As with many jokes, it started with a small jab at the expense of New Jersey. The gags continued Monday night when "Tonight Show" host Conan O'Brien ventured into "the biggest scandal in the country that's now involving a late-night host." O'Brien was, of course, referring to his continuing comical conflict with the city of Newark, New Jersey, and its mayor, Cory Booker. It all began on September 23, when O'Brien, in his nightly comical spiel, joked that Booker's plan ...