Europe’s pilots stage protest over flying hours

Airline pilots and cabin crew across Europe are holding demonstrations Monday to protest over rules governing their flying hours which they say are putting the lives of passengers at risk. LONDON, England (CNN) — Airline pilots and cabin crew across Europe are holding demonstrations Monday to protest over rules governing their flying hours which they say are putting the lives of passengers at risk.

Share

Scientists analyze blood to test for toxic airplane air exposure

Inside a freezer in a research laboratory at the University of Washington are blood and blood plasma samples from 92 people who suffer from mysterious illnesses, including tremors, memory loss and severe migraine headaches. They are mostly pilots and flight attendants who suspect they’ve been poisoned in their workplace — on board the aircraft they fly. Clement Furlong, University of Washington professor of medicine and genome sciences, leads a team of scientists who have been collecting the samples for 2 ½ years.

Share

FDA scrutinizing safety of asthma drug Xolair

The Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday it is conducting a safety review of the asthma drug Xolair after data from an ongoing study suggested an increased number of heart attacks and strokes among patients who use it. Shirley McGill, 55, was found dead in her cabin on the Carnival Elation on Tuesday as the ship, after a five-day cruise to Cabo San Lucas, was heading back to its origination point of San Diego, California, authorities said. Robert McGill, who is in his mid-50s, is charged with murder on the high seas, FBI Special Agent in Charge Keith Slotter told HLN.

Share

Husband charged with killing wife on cruise

A Los Angeles-area man has been charged with murder in the death of his wife while on a cruise along the Mexican coast, An FBI spokesman told CNN sister network HLN. Shirley McGill, 55, was found dead in her cabin on the Carnival Elation on Tuesday as the ship, after a five-day cruise to Cabo San Lucas, was heading back to its origination point of San Diego, California, authorities said. Robert McGill, who is in his mid-50s, is charged with murder on the high seas, FBI Special Agent in Charge Keith Slotter told HLN

Share

Passengers pray as jetliner pops a hole

Passengers from a Southwest Airlines jet that made an emergency landing because of a hole in the fuselage made it to their original destination early Tuesday. Southwest Flight 2294 made an emergency stop in Charleston, West Virginia, on Monday after a football-sized hole in its fuselage caused the cabin to depressurize, an airline spokeswoman said.

Share

Jet makes landing with football-sized hole

A Southwest Airlines jet made an emergency landing in Charleston, West Virginia, on Monday after a football-sized hole in its fuselage caused the cabin to depressurize, an airline spokeswoman said. There were no injuries aboard the Boeing 737, which was traveling at about 30,000 feet when the problem occurred, Southwest spokeswoman Marilee McInnis told CNN. The sudden drop in cabin pressure caused the jet’s oxygen masks to deploy.

Share

Commentary: Flu and your health on a plane

The novel swine flu is showing the world just how interconnected we are and how commercial aircraft can serve as vehicles of rapid disease spread. (CNN) — The novel swine flu is showing the world just how interconnected we are and how commercial aircraft can serve as vehicles of rapid disease spread. I am frequently asked: What is the risk of catching an illness while flying In a nutshell, the risk of getting an infection while you’re in an enclosed space such as an airplane depends upon three factors: The infectiousness of the contagious person spreading the illness; the degree of your exposure (how close you are to the contagious person and for how long); and the ventilation of the space or passenger cabin.

Share

Surviving Crashes: How Airlines Prepare for the Worst

We tend to think of airplane crashes as fatal events. So when survivors emerge from the carcass of a crumpled jumbo jet, as they did outside Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport on Wednesday or on the Hudson River in mid-January, the spectacle is often described as “miraculous.” But survival in an airplane crash is no miracle.

Share