FAA Comments on Pacific Air Traffic Stop Raise Eyebrows

Some in the collective aerospace community have expressed a measure of annoyance at the recent non-statement issued by the FAA in regards to a ground stop issued on January 10. The halt saw departures from west coast airports paused for around 15 minutes with little forewarning or post-hoc explanation. The FAA's twitter account posted a picture containing a short, terse statement, stating "As a matter of precaution, the FAA temporarily paused departures at some airports along the West Coast on Monday night. Full operations resumed in less than 15 minutes. The FAA regularly takes precautionary measures. We are reviewing the process around this ground stop as we do after all such

Airline Passenger Goes on Small Cockpit Rampage, Damages Flight Controls

An American Airlines Passenger boarding a flight to Miami, Florida from San Pedro Sula, Honduras, providing waiting passengers with a moment of pre-flight "entertainment" that led to them waiting for a replacement aircraft to be dead-headed from the US.  The passenger caused problems when he sprinted down the jetway and made his way into the open cockpit. Once there, he is said to have begun damaging and breaking controls and switches throughout the flight deck, shortly thereafter attempting to escape the flight crew's attempts to stop him by opening the starboard cockpit window in an attempt to escape. Onlookers saw his capture and arrest, but the damage was done, with