Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Mountain State University sells aircraft, counts assets

BECKLEY, W.Va. -- Mountain State University has sold its two aircraft and is assessing other properties ahead of its scheduled closure in December.

Interim President Richard Sours told The Register-Herald that the university sold a small single-engine airplane and a twin-engine corporate airplane several weeks ago.

Sours said the president's home and other assets aren't on the market and there's no plan to sell the Martinsburg Mall.

In June, the Higher Learning Commission revoked the private Beckley-based school's accreditation because of leadership, organizational and integrity issues. The accreditation later was extended to Dec. 31.

The University of Charleston took over Mountain State's campuses in Beckley and Martinsburg so students can complete their degrees.

Sours said UC has indicated that it wants to fully occupy the Beckley campus in January.

Solo Wings Windlass Aquilla, ZK-MDM: Fatal accident occurred September 27, 2010, Tauranga Aerodome, New Zealand


A King Country pilot killed when his microlight plane crashed at Tauranga Airport had been incapacitated by a cardiac event, a coroner has found.

Jeffrey Arthur Bryant, 56, a self-employed rural agricultural contractor from Piopio, died from his injuries on September 27, 2010 about 8.40am.

His plane had been seen spiraling downwards, out of control, before crashing near the eastern end of the runway.

Coroner Tim Scott, who today released his findings into the Bryant's death, said the crash occurred because the pilot suffered an incapacitating medical event, probably cardiac.

"Although the cardiologist did not consider there was strong evidence of a cardiac cause, he concluded there was some evidence and frankly nothing else fits the scenario," he said.

"I do not conclude however that Jeff's death can be attributed to that medical event. Rather that the medical event disabled him."

Bryant bought his four-year-old microlight plane in 2005 to fulfil his lifelong dream of becoming a pilot.

He was parking the plane at Tauranga Airport, but had plans to eventually move it to Piopio.

Bryant had flown solo often and was looking forward to completing his hours and getting his licence.

On the day of the crash, he was flying alone, but under instruction, when he began touch-and-go landings on a runway.

Touch-and-go is a manoeuvre where a pilot applies power shortly after landing so that the plane takes off again.

When he was finishing his second landing, the plane began climbing at a steep angle and then began a steep left-hand descending turn.

It recovered briefly from the descent and began to climb again but then went into another steep left descending turn from which it did not recover. The plane struck the ground.

The Civil Aviation Authority concluded that weather was not a factor in the crash, Bryant was qualified to fly and there was no evidence of aircraft failure.

Bryant's wife, Gwenda, told the inquest that her husband had suffered from pain and discomfort in his upper chest area from time to time.

He believed he was feeling heart burn symptoms. It appeared he went to the doctor, but there was no recorded medical history relating to it.

His autopsy revealed evidence of a mild cardiac condition, which cardiologist Peter Leslie said could lead to a cardiac arrhythmia.

"Without there being any strong evidence, a possible cause of the crash could have been a fatal cardiac cause or a disabling arrhythmia," Scott said.

Witness Peter Rutledge, himself a pilot, believed the aircraft moved as if under full power without any control inputs from the pilot.


"That is what I think happened," Scott said.

Source says J-STARS aircraft may have been sabotaged at contractor location

Joint STARS aircraft undergoing work at a contractor facility may have been sabotaged.
 


A tersely worded statement issued by Robins Air Force Base on Tuesday indicated that workers at Northrup Grumman’s Lake Charles, La., facility have discovered severed wires on an E-8C jet.

“To ensure the integrity of the maintenance process, we are working with Northrop Grumman to get to the root cause,” the statement added. “The matter is currently under investigation and more details will be released as they become available.”

Although the Air Force statement implied only one aircraft was affected, a source close to the incident has told The Patriot that up to four aircraft may have been damaged. The source also said a Northrop Grumman worker was suspected although the identity of the worker and a possible motive were unknown. The Air Force Office of Special Investigations is conducting the review, the source noted.

Northrop Grumman spokesman Gregory Harland issued a statement through Robins saying that the company “is supporting the United States Air Force in an ongoing investigation.” He referred all additional questions to the Air Force.

Harland, sector communications director for Northrup Grumman Aerospace Systems in Melbourne, Fla., declined to elaborate during a Tuesday afternoon telephone call.

The Joint STARS airborne ground surveillance fleet – heavily taxed and deployed in the continuing war on terror – is based exclusively at Robins under an active associate arrangement between the active-duty 461ST Air Control Wing and the Georgia Air National Guard’s 116th Air Control Wing. However, the actual aircraft belong to the Georgia Air National Guard.

Maj. Gen. Tom Moore, commander of the Georgia ANG, confirmed Tuesday afternoon that Air Force OSI was investigating the matter. He did not go into detail on the operational impact, but said that “any grounding of one of our jets significantly impacts our operations. We only have 16 jets and they are all very much in demand.”

Northrop Grumman’s Lake Charles Maintenance and Modification Center is responsible for Joint STARS periodic depot maintenance under a Total System Support Responsibility agreement with the Air Force. According to the company Web site, the center also performs Air Force-requested modifications and upgrades and “works on an average of ten Joint STARS per year.”

PENNSYLVANIA: Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority hires developer to explore land sale, including Braden Airpark

 
Express-Times File Photo | KEN WHITE
A pilot lands his 2003 Rands 57 at Braden Airpark in Forks Township. Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority, which owns Braden Airpark, is considering selling multiple properties including Braden as a means to pay heavy legal debt.

Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority has approved an agreement with a master developer that will explore putting about 800 acres for sale, including Braden Airpark, in order to raise money and pay massive legal debts. 

The authority, which runs Lehigh Valley International Airport, agreed today to hire New York-based real estate company The Rockefeller Group to help with strategy.

Airport officials stressed this is a multi-step plan that will consider many options with no predetermined outcomes.

“It’s very early in the process,” LNAA executive director Charles Everett said. “No decisions have been made in terms of any disposition.”

Land under review includes most property the authority owns except Queen City Airport in Allentown and LVIA facilities in Hanover Township, Lehigh County.

The remaining properties include about 600 undeveloped acres once targeted for homes near LVIA, plus Braden Airpark in Forks Township and other ancillary tracts.

A $16 million legal settlement the authority owes to developers by 2015 is driving its need to raise cash.

The backloaded settlement — most money is due in 2014 and 2015 — is required to compensate builders for the authority’s court-ordered condemnation of land in the 1990s that scuttled a housing proposal near LVIA known as Willow Brook Farms, or WBF.

While the authority mulls its options, backers of Braden Airpark and general aviation enthusiasts warned against selling the 80-acre Forks property off Sullivan Trail.

Vern Moyer, owner of Moyer Aviation Inc., which leases the airpark from the authority, said there is a “false impression that the airport is just sitting there.” Moyer noted that Braden employs 20 people, trains pilots, and provides charter flights to destinations including Florida.

“We are a business,” Moyer said. “We provide services to the general public. We pay taxes.”

Erik Chuss, chairman of Forks supervisors, urged the authority to consult with township officials whatever it does.

“We are a stakeholder in this,” Chuss said. “The township does view Braden Airpark as an asset in our long-term master plan.”

LNAA chairman Tony Iannelli said recent media reports should not give impression that sale of any property is imminent.

“The fact that there was an article in the paper just means there was an article in the paper,” Iannelli said. “It doesn’t make it any higher or lower on our radar. We know we can’t work in a vacuum. Everyone will have a voice in this.”

Authority members had discussed selling Queen City Airport, a 210-acre facility just north of Interstate 78, but decided against that route months ago. Officials feared that too many obstacles, including a federal requirement that any sale include finding a replacement airport, made it impractical.

The agreement with Rockefeller Group authorizes the Manhattan firm to assess properties under review and provide a master plan to the authority within 45 days from Oct. 1.

If both sides agree, Rockefeller can then submit what properties it is interested in acquiring, leasing, or pursuing a joint venture with the authority. It can also decline to pursue properties, which would return responsibility to the authority.

The entire process can take many months. Everett said the ultimate timetable is the three-year window that the authority has to pay its $16 million legal debt.

The vote to hire Rockefeller was 11-1 with Mayor Ed Pawlowski dissenting. Pawlowski objected to several provisions including providing Rockefeller an exclusive advantage on buying the properties plus options to opt out.

“We need more certainty,” Pawlowski said.  


 Source:   http://www.lehighvalleylive.com

Engineered Materials Arresting System at Trenton Mercer Airport (KTTN), New Jersey

 



Mercer County Freeholder Pasquale "Pat" Colavita, Jr., County Executive Brian M. Hughes, Director of the County Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Aaron T. Watson, Freeholder Anthony P. Carabelli and Freeholder Ann M. Cannon watch as a block of crushable concrete into the Trenton-Mercer Airport’s EMAS system in Ewing Township on Tuesday, September 25, 2012. 

EMAS stands for Engineered Material Arresting System, and is placed at the end of a runway to stop an aircraft that overruns the runway. 

The project was funded by a $13.4 million grant from the FAA and $353,000 grant from the NJ DOT. 

VIDEO: Dassault Falcon 7X Landing At Prague

 

Published on September 24, 2012 by Yurogk 

Dassault Falcon 7X Landing and Long Taxiway At Prague

Mooney M20J/201, N201QB: Accident occurred March 23, 2012 in Bloomfield, Indiana

National Transportation Safety Board - Aviation Accident Final Report: http://app.ntsb.gov/pdf

National Transportation Safety Board  -   Docket And Docket Items:   http://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms

National Transportation Safety Board  - Aviation Accident Data Summary:   http://app.ntsb.gov/pdf

http://registry.faa.gov

NTSB Identification: CEN12LA198 
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, March 23, 2012 in Bloomfield, IN
Probable Cause Approval Date: 05/23/2013
Aircraft: MOONEY M20J, registration: N201QB
Injuries: 2 Serious.

NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

The pilot was attempting to land on a lighted grass runway at night. His first two attempts to land were aborted. According to the passenger, the pilot landed the airplane on his third attempt with only 400 feet of available runway remaining and then “slammed” on the brakes, and the airplane began to slide. After the airplane exited the runway end, the pilot applied full power to abort the landing; however, the airplane only became momentarily airborne before it stalled and collided with a levy.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The pilot's failure to land with sufficient runway remaining to stop, which resulted in an unsuccessful aborted landing, inadvertent stall, and collision with terrain.

On March 23, 2012, at 2100 eastern daylight time, N201QB, a Mooney M20J airplane, was substantially damaged when it collided with an embankment during an aborted landing on runway 18 at Shawnee Airport (1I3), Bloomfield, Indiana. The commercial pilot and the passenger were seriously injured. The airplane was co-registered to and operated by the pilot. No flight plan was filed for the flight that originated at Sullivan County Airport (SIV), Sullivan, Indiana, about 2040, and destined for 1I3. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the repositioning flight conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.

In an interview with a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, the pilot stated that he made four attempts to land on the 2,160-foot-long by 150-foot-wide, sod strip equipped with non-standard runway edge lights. On the fourth attempt, he landed the airplane, but said the brakes did not seem to be working because the airplane was not slowing down. The pilot attempted to abort the landing and subsequently impacted a levy south of the runway.

The passenger told the FAA inspector that they approached the airport as it was getting dark outside. The pilot made three (not four as reported by the pilot) attempts to land, but each time he kept turning onto the base leg too early, which resulted in a higher than normal final approach. On the first attempt, the pilot touched down, but elected to abort the landing. On the second attempt, the airplane touched down with less than 200 feet of runway remaining, so the pilot applied power and went around again. On the third landing attempt, the airplane touched down with approximately 400 feet of runway remaining. The pilot "slammed" on the brakes, and the airplane began to slide. When the airplane went off the runway, the pilot applied full power and the nose of the airplane pitched up. The main landing gear wheels crossed over a dirt road separating the runway and a plowed field, and momentarily became airborne. The passenger said he saw the stall warning light illuminated, but could not recall hearing the stall horn. The airplane stalled and impacted with a creek bank.

An on-scene examination of the airplane was conducted by two FAA inspectors. According to an inspector,the airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall and the fuselage. The runway and surrounding area appeared to be wet/soft from recent rainfall.

The pilot held a commercial pilot certificate for airplane single-engine land, instrument airplane. He also held a certified flight and ground instructor ratings. His last FAA Third Class medical was issued on July 25, 2011. At that time, he reported a total of 1,300 flight hours.

Weather at Monroe County Airport (BMG), Bloomfield, Indiana, approximately 19 miles east of the accident site, at 2053, was reported as wind calm, visibility 10 miles, clouds broken at 3,700 feet, overcast clouds at 4,600 feet, temperature 15 degrees Celsius, dewpoint 12 degrees Celsius, and an altimeter setting of 29.80 inches of Mercury. Remarks at that time were for distant lightning northeast and southeast of the airport.


 NTSB Identification: CEN12LA198
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, March 23, 2012 in Bloomfield, IN
Aircraft: MOONEY M20J, registration: N201QB
Injuries: 2 Serious. 

 
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

On March 23, 2012, at 2100 eastern daylight time, N201QB, a Mooney M20J airplane, was substantially damaged when it collided with an embankment during an aborted landing on runway 18 at Shawnee Airport (1I3), Bloomfield, Indiana. The commercial rated pilot and the passenger were seriously injured. The airplane was co-registered to and operated by the pilot. No flight plan was filed for the flight that originated at Sullivan County Airport (SIV), Sullivan, Indiana, about 2040, and destined for 1I3. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the repositioning flight conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.


The pilot was attempting to land on a 2,160-foot-long by 150-foot-wide, sod strip equipped with non-standard runway edge lights. According to the Indiana State Police Report, the pilot said he had just arrived at the airport as it was getting dark. Upon landing, when he applied the brakes they did not seem to be working. The pilot attempted to abort the landing and subsequently impacted a levy south of the runway.

The passenger told law enforcement that the pilot came in "too hot" and he thought the airplane's brakes were working fine.

An on-scene examination of the airplane was conducted by two Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspectors. According to an inspector,the airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall and the fuselage.

The pilot held a commercial pilot certificate for airplane single-engine land, instrument airplane. He also held certified flight and ground instructor ratings. His last FAA Third Class medical was issued on July 25, 2011. At that time, he reported a total of 1,300 flight hours.

Weather at Monroe County Airport (BMG), Bloomfield, Indiana, approximately 19 miles northeast of the accident site, at 2053, was reported as wind calm, visibility 10 miles, clouds broken at 3,700 feet, overcast clouds at 4,600 feet, temperature 15 degrees Celsius, dewpoint 12 degrees Celsius, and an altimeter setting of 29.80 inches of HG. Remarks at that time were for distant lightning northeast and southeast of the airport.


FAA IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 201QB        Make/Model: MO20      Description: M20J
  Date: 03/23/2012     Time: 0110

  Event Type: Accident   Highest Injury: Serious     Mid Air: N    Missing: N
  Damage: Substantial

LOCATION
  City: BLOOMFIELD   State: IN   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  AIRCRAFT ON LANDING, WENT OFF THE RUNWAY AND INTO A DITCH, BLOOMFIELD, IN

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   0
                 # Crew:   2     Fat:   0     Ser:   2     Min:   0     Unk:    
                 # Pass:   0     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:    
                 # Grnd:         Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:    


OTHER DATA
  Activity: Pleasure      Phase: Landing      Operation: OTHER


  FAA FSDO: INDIANAPOLIS, IN  (GL11)              Entry date: 03/27/2012 
 


 
Indiana State Trooper Adam Davis looks over the downed Mooney M20J/201, N201QB



 
 Mooney M20J/201, N201QB, piloted by Brent Sears, of Linton, crashed near Shawnee Field -- shown in the background.


 
Mooney M20J/201, N201QB crashed on landing narrowing clearing Lattas Creek near Shawnee Field. 


Indiana State Trooper Adam Davis looks over the crash site of Mooney M20J/201, N201QB







A civil suit has been filed in Greene Circuit Court against the pilot in a March 23 small aircraft crash near Shawnee Field by the Worthington man who was a passenger in the single-engine plane. 

The crash happened about 9 p.m. when the southbound aircraft, piloted by 55-year-old Brent Sears, of Linton, failed to come down on the runway at the grass airstrip, located near the intersection of State Road 54/U.S. 231N (State Road 57). 

The crash site was less than a quarter-mile from the airport runway on property owned by Lester Holtsclaw, located about two miles east of Switz City. 

The 1977 model Mooney M20J fixed wing single engine plane crashed into the south bank of Lattas Creek, southeast of the airport, during the aborted landing. 

Stephen Sutton, 39, and his wife, Jennifer, filed the suit last Thursday. 

The plane, which was heavily damaged in the crash, was owned by Edward Woods, of Route 3, Linton, and Sears, according to FAA records. 

The Suttons allege in the suit prepared by Anthony Patterson of the Lebanon law firm of Parr Richey Obremskey Frandsen & Patterson LLP, that Sears "piloted his aircraft in a careless and negligent manner." 

"As a direct and proximate result of defendant's carelessness and negligence in piloting his aircraft, he caused it to violently crash while attempting to land at the airfield," Patterson wrote in the complaint for damages that was filed with the court. 

The suit alleges that Sears is liable and negligent for damages suffered by Stephen Sutton ---- including medical expenses, lost wages, personal injuries, physical pain, emotional suffering and loss of enjoyment of life. 

Stephen Sutton suffered "serious permanent and temporary physical and emotional injuries" as the result of the crash, the suit alleges. 

In addition, the suit on behalf of Jennifer Sutton, alleges negligence by Sears in causing loss of love, affection, services, consortium and the companionship of her husband. 

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials surveyed the site of the single-engine airplane crash the morning after the crash and the case has been turned over to the National Safety Transportation Board (NSTB) to conduct the investigation. 

A final report on the cause of the crash could take a year to be filed, according to a spokesperson in the Great Lakes Office of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in Chicago. 

The preliminary report prepared by the NSTB shows that the flight originated at the Sullivan County Airport about 8:40 p.m. and crashed 20 minutes later at 9 p.m. 

According to an Indiana State Police report submitted to the NSTB, "The pilot said he had just arrived at the airport as it was getting dark. Upon landing, when he applied the brakes they did not seem to be working. The pilot attempted to abort the landing and subsequently impacted a levy south of the runway." 

The NTBS reported added, "The passenger (Sutton) told law enforcement that the pilot came in 'too hot' and he thought the airplane's brakes were working fine." 

The NTBS reports states that Sears held a commercial pilot certificate and was a certified flight and ground instructor with more than 1,300 flight hours at the time of his last FAA Third Class medical certification on July 25, 2011. 

Rescue personnel from the Fairplay-Grant Township Volunteer Fire Department in Switz City and the Worthington Fire Territory extricated the two men from the aircraft by cutting the top off of it.
Sears and Sutton were both taken to Indiana University Health Bloomington Hospital for initial treatment by Greene County Ambulance Service units. 

Both were later transferred to IU Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.

15 guns, other oddities seized at San Antonio airport this year

 

 SAN ANTONIO -- For the fourth time since Aug. 1, Transportation Security Administration officers at San Antonio International Airport have discovered a firearm inside a carry-on bag.

The latest incident happened on Wednesday in Terminal B and involved a man on an American Airlines flight bound for Dallas-Fort Worth. The passenger was arrested. His .22-caliber handgun was seized, along with nine rounds of ammunition and one in the chamber.

“There are some things we don’t want on a plane ever,” said TSA Federal Security Director Leo Vasquez, Jr.

Of the more than 800 guns detected by TSA in carry-on bags this year, Vasquez said 15 of them were uncovered at the San Antonio airport.

What’s often legal to possess on the ground does not get the same clearance in the skies, especially since the 9/11 attacks. Over the last year, TSA officers at the San Antonio airport have stopped all kinds of prohibited items.

On July 24, TSA officers turned up a set of brass knuckles in a carry-on bag. On June 15, officers discovered an Airsoft Gun in a checked piece of luggage that bore a striking resemblance to an AR-15 Grenade Launcher. On July 26, TSA officers found throwing stars in a carry-on bag.

“We do not want something in the cabin of the plane that could be used as a weapon,” said Vasquez, who supervises TSA security at eight South Texas airports, including San Antonio International.

Even the seemingly innocuous sometimes gets flagged. A turtle got stopped by TSA in the checked bagged of a passenger flying out of San Antonio earlier this year. The passengers stated he saw the turtle on the side of the road on his way to the airport and decided he wanted to take it home with him. TSA contacted the airline, which stated the turtle would not be transported on their flight. The turtle was eventually turned over to Sea World San Antonio.

“It was a fine looking Texas turtle,” Vasquez said. “It’s just not allowed on the plane.”

Unlike the days after September 11 -- when Vasquez estimated that, at most, four percent of checked luggage was inspected by security in San Antonio -- these days, there's 100 percent scrutiny by TSA officers. Back then, luggage was physically searched, and randomly selected. Now, all baggage is electronically screened in the bowels of the airport, with some bags then additionally vetted by TSA agents, who pore through baggage looking for possible threats.

It’s a multi-layered campaign by TSA to keep the skies safe, both in San Antonio and nationwide. Intelligence is used in concert with technology and manpower.

“You juxtapose what we have now to what we had 11 years ago, there’s no comparison," Vasquez said. "That doesn’t mean we’re perfect. It’s a huge organization. ... There’s almost 2 million people flying a day in the United States. ... So you know perfection is never going to be there, but we do strive for it.”

http://www.kens5.com

Veteran pilot reunited with aircraft of love

It was more than 60 years ago when aviation enthusiast Alan Bickley took to the skies to shuttle between the Midlands and Scotland for a relationship that was to span the decades.

Mr Bickley would regularly fly his two seater Piper Cub aircraft from Pendeford airfield to a landing strip near the Dundee home of wife-to-be Isobel during their long distance courtship.

And now the father-of-four, of Alexandra Road, Penn, has said it is a “dream come true” to have been reunited with the aircraft which he had last flown in October 1948.

Mr and Mrs Bickley met, in Scotland, in May 12, 1945 while he was stationed at Arbroath before serving as a pilot with the Fleet Air Arm, in Ceylon, formerly Sri Lanka.

He returned home to Wolverhampton in 1947 and soon afterwards his father George paid £600 for the Piper Cub, an American Air Force spotter plane built in 1943 that is now worth over £22,000.

It was immediately commandeered by Mr Bickley, now aged 86, to ensure romance blossomed with Isobel and he made the regular flight north of the border.

“I regularly flew up and down to Scotland a lot in it. She was the first passenger I carried in it and the last.


See full article:  http://www.expressandstar.com

United States citizen nabbed with cocaine shipment at Cheddi Jagan International Airport

– suspects in previous busts released

Police on Monday intercepted another cocaine shipment at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, bringing the total number of busts to three in recent weeks.

According to a police release, about 03:00h on Monday, checks on the suitcase of an outgoing U.S. citizen at the CJIA revealed 4.106kg of cocaine. The man has been arrested and is in police custody assisting with the investigations. Andrew Shawn Glasgow, 25, of 300 Hawthorne Avenue, New York, was about to board Caribbean Airlines 484 flight to New York when he was arrested by members of the Police Anti Narcotics Unit.

According to an airport official, suspicious substances were detected by police ranks as the suitcase was scanned which prompted officials to search the luggage; the drug was unearthed in the false bottom of the suitcase. The passenger was immediately asked to accompany the officials to the searching room where he was questioned, but denied having any knowledge of the cocaine. Charges are expected to be instituted shortly.

Meanwhile, the five persons who were being extensively grilled following the recent double drug bust at the CJIA, Timehri were released by Customs Anti Narcotics Unit (CANU) officers after the 72-hour detention period expired.

This is according to a well-placed source within the unit who also stated that they are continuing their investigations, with the hope of finding the real culprits.

The official stated that the unit continues to collect statements from employees attached to the CJIA, the Timehri Handling Service, and Caribbean Airlines. So far, more than 15 persons have been questioned after the discovery of the 30kg of cocaine, which has a street value of $21 million.

The first bust (28kg) was made by members of CANU on board a BW526 Caribbean Airlines flight bound for New York, while the second bust of two kg was made by members of the Police Narcotics Branch in a tractor that carries the stairs to the aircraft upon touching down.

In a recent interview, CANU head James Singh stated that law enforcement officers continue to be vigilant and are working diligently to eradicate the drug scourge.

He reiterated that while there have been security breaches at Guyana’s main port of entry, law enforcement needs to step up its game to control the situation.

http://www.guyanatimesgy.com

Flight Attendant's Gun Goes Off at Philadelphia International Airport (KPHL), Pennsylvania: Flight attendant forgot she had licensed weapon in her luggage


View more videos at: http://nbcphiladelphia.com.


A day after a flight attendant's gun accidentally went off in Philadelphia International Airport more information about the gun's owner serviced Monday.

The regional airline flight attendant who says he forgot she had a loaded weapon in her luggage when she arrived for work Sunday morning faced a disorderly conduct charge while the cop who accidentally fired the handgun was on desk duty Monday.

Philadelphia Police identified the Republic Airlines (a carrier that operates flights for US Airways) flight attendant as Jaclyn Luby, 27.

The West Chester, Pa. woman told investigators she forgot she had the loaded .38-caliber handgun in her carry-on as she passed through airport security at Terminal C around 6:50 a.m., according to Philadelphia Police.

A US Airways spokesman says that a police officer was called over to check out the gun and that's when it accidentally discharged. The bullet went into a TSA break room where an employee was sitting but luckily no one was injured, police said.

Police say that Luby had a license to carry the loaded weapon. Police confiscated the gun and said it was up to the county that issued Luby the permit if she would get the handgun back.

Luby received a summary citation for disorderly conduct, was taken into custody and released, according to court records.

 "That's standard practice," said airport police Capt. Michael Murphy. "That's what we would charge anyone with who had a permit to carry.

A Facebook page apparently belonging to Luby, which had the same date of birth listed as her court documents, was taken down Monday. NBC10's attempts to reach Luby weren't successful.

Republic Airlines refused comment when NBC10's Lu Ann Cahn asked them about the incident Monday.

The unidentified female officer who accidentally discharged the gun was placed on desk duty pending investigation, police said.

TSA tell NBC10 that 10 times last year and seven times so far this year someone showed up to Philly International with a gun accidentally packed in his or her bags. Earlier this year a Phoenixville man says he forgot he had a loaded gun on him when he went through airport security, a story NBC10 covered.

Another flight attendant was brought on board the Dallas, Texas-bound plane Luby was supposed to be working on and the scheduled flight arrived on time, according the airline.