FAA relents, will open database on airplane-bird collisions to public

After getting pelted by criticism from everyone from airline passengers to federal accident investigators, the Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday reversed course and said it will publicly reveal its records on bird strikes. The FAA said it will make its entire bird-strike database available on a public Web site on Friday, and is withdrawing a proposal to keep certain data confidential. The FAA had argued that protecting certain information, such as the names of airlines and airports involved in bird mishaps, would encourage airlines to participate in the voluntary reporting program

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One aboard in ‘not survivable’ Florida crash, official says

A Fort Lauderdale official said that only one person was on a plane that slammed into a vacant house Friday, a crash called "not survivable" by a fire official. The two-engine Cessna crashed about 11:15 a.m. in a neighborhood not far from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, from which it took off, the city official said.

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Google improves Gmail for iPhone, Android

Google has released a new Web-based version of Gmail that gives iPhone and Android phone users a more sophisticated version of the online e-mail service, including access to messages that’s faster and that works even when offline. Google demonstrated the Web-based mobile version of Gmail last week and announced its availability Tuesday on the Google Mobile blog. “You’ll notice that it’s a lot faster when performing actions like opening an e-mail, navigating, or searching.

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