Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, Irish Ambassador Noel Fahey (representing the Presidency of the European Union), and European Union Ambassador Gunter Burghardt, (representing the European Commission) have signed an agreement that will allow U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to collect airline Passenger Name Record (PNR) information relating to flights between the United States and the European Union.

The Traverse City Record-Eagle (MI) is reporting that an 85 year old man managed to land his Bede BD-4 (file photo below) homebuilt aircraft on the shores of East Grand Traverse Bay with such skill that he managed to walk away from the crash.

News Spy Pedro Rodriguez from Guaynabo (PR) sent us a note and a message from the International Starfighter Society to let us know that Italy is about to retire all but two of the last F-104 Starfighters that the country still operates.

Eclipse Aviation has achieved its goal of selling its full order book of 2,100 aircraft at a sub-$1 Million price tag. The price of the Eclipse 500 is now transitioning to $1,175,000 for all new orders.

Few Clues As To What Claimed Industry Legend

NTSB Identification: SEA04LA074 14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation Accident occurred Tuesday, April 27, 2004 in Montour, ID Aircraft: Schramm Helicycle, registration: N3275Q Injuries: 1 Fatal.

Japan's NTV reports that a paraglider on her first solo flight near Hiroshima became entangled with a 66,000 volt power line some 100 feet above the ground.

NOTAM:  4/4556  Issued:  05/24/2004 11:18  Effective:  05/28/2004 15:30 - 05/30/2004 21:00  State:  MO  Facility:  ZKC - KANSAS CITY (ARTCC),MO.  Type:  AIR SHOWS/SPORTS  Description:  COLUMBIA REGIONAL AIRPORT, COLUMBIA, MO. DUE THE SALUTE TO VETERANS AIR SHOW

NOTAM:  4/4759  Issued:  05/28/2004 03:30  Effective:  Immediately - Until Further Notice  State:  AZ  Facility:  ZAB - ALBUQUERQUE (ARTCC),NM.  Type:  HAZARDS  Description:  10 W BUCKEYE, AZ.

"You don't have time to choose. You have two or three options, and you pick the best one. There was no place on land to land without hitting a house or car or something or people - so I took the water." Source: Paul Kauffman, 85 yr old pilot, after successfully crash-landing his BD-4 homebuilt airplane on the shores of East Grand Traverse Bay and walking away from the accident.

AD NUMBER: 2004-11-04 MANUFACTURER: Eagle Aircraft SUBJECT: Airworthiness Directive 2004-11-04 SUMMARY: the FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Eagle Aircraft (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd (Eagle Aircraft) Model Eagle 150B airplanes. This AD requires you to inspect certain canardin board flap hinge support brackets (initially prior to further flight and repetitively before the first flight of each day) and perform any necessary follow-up action. This AD is the result of mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) issued by the airworthiness authorities for Australia and Malaysia. We are issuing this AD to prevent failure of the canard inboard flap hinge support brackets caused by