A look at the new terminal at Los Angeles airport

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Features of the new Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles airport, which partially opens in August:

—Nearly 1.2 million square feet of useable space, twice the size of the previous terminal.

—60 restaurants and retailers, including Bulgari and Gucci.

—When fully completed in 2015, there will be 18 gates, including nine that can handle the massive Airbus A380.

—Can process 4,500 passengers an hour through customs, 62 percent more than the old facility.

—To save electricity, escalators and walkways go into sleep mode when not in use.

—A 72-foot "Time Tower" features an elevator and interactive surface that reacts to the movements of passengers.

—50 percent of seating in boarding gate areas will have electrical outlets to charge electronic devices.

—A destination board features two side screens that show images and information on a destination when flight information changes for that city.

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Small plane crash kills 4 at SE Michigan airport

WATERFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A pilot and three passengers were killed Friday after a small plane crashed shortly after taking off from an airport northwest of Detroit.

Airport spokesman Dave VanderVeen said the Cessna 172 went down about 1:40 p.m. Friday at Oakland County International Airport in Waterford Township. Three people aboard the private flight were killed instantly, while the fourth died later at a hospital.

VanderVeen said three of the victims were male and one was female but couldn't identify them further.

"It's a very sad day for the airport," said VanderVeen, the county's director of central services, who previously managed the airport for 25 years. He added that the airport's last fatal crash was in 2006.

VanderVeen said the pilot took off from a runway designed for smaller planes and reached an altitude of about 100 feet before requesting permission to return. The plane crashed in a field.

The Federal Aviation Administration was en route to the airport and the National Transportation and Safety Board is expected to arrive Saturday.

Oakland County is the state's second busiest airport after Detroit Metropolitan Airport, which is in the Detroit suburb of Romulus.

In 2006, a flight instructor and his student were killed when a single-engine plane belonging to a flight school crashed at the airport.

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Peru's Airport Siege: A Bad Omen for the New President (Time.com)

If the past few days are any indication of things to come, Peru's President-elect Ollanta Humala is in for a rough ride when he takes office on July 28. On Saturday, indigenous protesters in the country's southeast radically upped the stakes in their nearly seven-week campaign against the government's mining and oil/gas policies by taking over an airport in Juliaca, the business hub of the Puno department. Five protesters were killed by the police the previous day in an earlier attempt to take the airport. The losses from the series of strikes and shut-downs is estimated at close to $100 million and, apart from the violence, are sending shudders through an economy already nervous about Humala's left-leaning proclivities. Indeed, the controversy has become more than a quarrel about a single project but has come to symbolize a larger debate about development in Peru.

"The government allowed this problem to grow from opposition to a mining project to opposition to mining and hydrocarbons in general," says Rolando Luque, of the Peruvian government's human rights ombudsman's office. (See why Peru is fearful of its new president.)

Luque says such conflicts will likely increase when Humala takes office, with Peruvians expecting him to make good on campaign promises to better distribute the wealth generated by the country's decade-long economic boom. "We are talking about economic growth between 6% and 10% annually for the past few years, which has created expectation in the population," says Luque. "These expectations are likely to increase, forcing the state to be more representative and effective when it comes to how resources are used."

The protests in Puno began in early May in a few towns bordering Lake Titicaca, the world's highest navigable lake, which Peru's shares with neighboring Bolivia. The initial demand was for the cancellation of a mining concession granted in 2007 to Canada's Bear Creek Mining. Protesters blocked the bordering crossing with Bolivia and other highways. The government of incumbent President Alan GarcIa began responding only after the first flare-up of violence in late May, when protesters set fire to several government buildings and threatened to disrupt the June 5 presidential elections that Humala eventually won. (Humala took Puno department with almost 78% of the vote, his largest margin of victory among Peru's 26 administrative departments.) (See pictures of Peru's sacred glacier.)

The GarcIa government offered to partially meet the demands of the indigenous protesters and environmental activists, announcing that it would suspend mining concessions for 12 months. Protests leaders, however, rejected the offer and re-erected roadblocks on June 7, insisting on the elimination of Bear Creek's permit. The strike then spread from the four provinces around Lake Titicaca to the whole of Puno department, affecting other industries as well. "We have been clear from the start that we want this concession, which was illegally awarded, to be withdrawn," Walter Aduviri, head of the environmental front that led the initial strike, told TIME in a telephone interview prior to the violent incident at the airport.

The government finally decided to rescind the Bear Creek concession on June 24, but the move came just as 4,000 protesters were already marching on the Juliaca airport. Police officers fired on the protesters when they tried to take over the runway. Thousands returned to the airport the following day, taking over the terminal and occupying the runway. Protest leaders have not indicated whether they plan on lifting the strike, but demonstrators had left the Juliaca airport by Sunday morning and there were no reports of protests in other areas of Puno. President GarcIa on Saturday said there were "dark political interests" behind the protests that want to pressure Humala, who is just now beginning to form his Cabinet and the roadmap he will follow in his five-year term.

Humala, for his part, has refused demands from members of GarcIa's APRA party that he get involved in the conflict. "I call on the central government and leaders in Puno to put aside violent actions and look for a peaceful solution," Humala said on Saturday even as he refused to get into the direct negotiations with any party in the Puno conflict. Most analysts agree that any solution reached between the GarcIa government and the protesters will likely be temporary; and that Humala will inherit the mess upon his inauguration, facing intense pressure not only from the protesters but from corporations, both local and global, with huge investments in Peru. (See the Nobel prize winner that didn't become Peru's president.)

The government and mining and oil/gas companies estimate that there will be more than $50 billion in investment in new projects in the coming 10 years. Bear Creek is not the only company to be adversely affected by protests. In April, the government revoked the concession for a $950-million copper project being developed by Southern Copper Corporation. That move came after four people were killed in clashes with police officers. Last week, the GarcIa government also cancelled a $4-billion hydroelectric plant that would have been built in Puno's Carabaya province.

Meanwhile, according to Luque's office, nearly 100 protesters have been killed past three years in clashes with police officers, including 24 police officers and 10 indigenous protesters killed during a clash on June 5, 2009. The ombudsman's office catalogued 227 local protest movements in May, with Puno in second place nationally with 21 such conflicts. Hernando de Soto, Peru's best known economist, told TIME in an interview several weeks earlier that his Democracy and Liberty Institute estimates around 1,000 social conflicts simmering in the country.

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Stuck fliers' prank video prompts airport security questions

The video includes a scene in which two men have fun at an empty American Airlines gate at Dallas-Forth Worth International.Clip posted online shows two men stuck at Dallas-Fort Worth InternationalThey race through empty terminal corridors, pound on computer at gateThey also enter a closed restaurant, and one of the men appears to pour himself a beerAirport: Security was watching but did not feel the need to stop the men

(CNN) -- A viral video showing two men horsing around in an empty airport is getting a lot of laughs and attention online but also raising questions about security at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

The clip, called "STUCK," was posted this week on Vimeo.com by a user identifying himself as Joe Ayala.

"While on our way home from Formula Drift Palm Beach, Larry Chen and I found ourselves stranded over night in the Dallas airport as our flights home were canceled. The following is a brief summary of the events that took place that night," the user writes.

The video shows the men racing through airport's empty terminal corridors in airport wheelchairs while a janitor who is vacuuming gives them a puzzled look.

They also try out the public address system at American Airlines Gate A14 and pound the keyboard of one of its computers. One of the men even does a handstand in the background.

They throw soap at each other in a bathroom and spin on the moving handrails of escalators.

But in one of the video's most talked-about scenes, they enter a closed restaurant, and one of the men appears to pour himself a glassful of beer on tap, which he drinks in one gulp.

Ayala and Chen are automotive photographers who had $30,000 worth of camera equipment with them when they were stuck so they decided to make the most of it, according to Jalopnik.com, a website that covers the automotive industry and interviewed the men.

"It was definitely the most fun I've had in an airport," Chen told the site.

"I wasn't actually going out to steal beer," he said in reference to the restaurant scene. "I washed the cup and put it back in the fridge. I wanted to leave no trace. I didn't want to cause any trouble. Next time we go to that airport I'll get a beer and leave a $20 tip."

The incident took place on June 5 and involved those two men only, said David Magana, manager of public affairs at Dallas-Fort Worth International.

Although it may appear they didn't have any security around them, they were being watched, Magana said.

"It's important to note that security agents observed the two filmmakers at several points during the making of the video. Because the filmmakers were presenting no threat to themselves, to others or to flight safety, and were causing no damage, there was no imperative to curtail their activities," Magana said in a statement.

"DFW Airport, together with its security partners, maintains a high level of security at all times, and at no time did the filmmakers' activities present any level of danger or threat to flight safety. And by the way, they also picked up after themselves, including the restroom."

The video did point out the need to better secure the restaurant seen in the clip, and that issue is being addressed immediately, the airport said.

The two men do not face any legal trouble, Magana added.

Still, a member of airport's board of directors expressed unease about the prank to CNN affiliate KTVT-TV in Dallas-Fort Worth.

"It's not funny. It's not going to happen again as far as I'm concerned. It should not have happened because it gives the perception the airport is sitting out there unguarded and that's why I was concerned, and am still concerned," Betty Culbreath told the station.

CNN

Mexicans, Dominicans targeted at airport

A federal report obtained by The Star-Ledger newspaper says Mexicans and Dominicans were frequently stopped by screeners in 2008 and 2009 at Newark's airport.Star-Ledger: A federal report says some TSA officers were known as "Mexican hunters"An inquiry focused on behavior detection officers at the Newark airport, the newspaper saysThe TSA says it does not permit racial profile and its policies were "overstepped"The legal director of New Jersey's ACLU calls the report "alarming and astounding"

(CNN) -- Security screeners at Newark Liberty International Airport singled out Mexican and Dominican passengers for nearly two years, according to a federal report obtained by The Star-Ledger newspaper.

The racial profiling was so prevalent in 2008 and 2009 that some TSA employees at the airport referred to their colleagues as "Mexican hunters," a Star-Ledger story based on the 2010 internal report said.

A TSA spokeswoman described the situation in Newark as "isolated" and said the agency took action to fix it.

"While the actions referenced in the report were based on intelligence reports regarding false documentation, criminal or illegal activity and the possible impact on transportation security, TSA's policies were overstepped," spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said.

According to the Star-Ledger, the report said TSA agents stationed at the Newark airport would stop Mexicans and Dominicans, asking them additional questions, reviewing their passports and visas and searching their luggage. The report did not specify how many agents were involved, but "leaves no doubt that the process was widespread," the newspaper said.

"The report said Mexican and Dominican passengers were singled out for scrutiny of their travel documents as an easy way to drive up the number of referrals by Newark's (behavior detection officer) unit so that it would appear productive," the newspaper said.

Farbstein said the TSA does not permit racial profiling, and a manager accused of promoting profiling in the report is no longer in management with the agency.

"Eighteen months ago, TSA took immediate remedial action and retrained the entire behavior detection workforce at Newark," she said.

Four managers in the report were cited to be disciplined by the TSA, the Star-Ledger said. One manager who was demoted after the investigation told the Star-Ledger that he denied the accusation and had appealed the demotion decision.

Several officers quoted in the report said they were directed to use racial profiling, but others said they had never witnessed the practice or been told to use it, the newspaper said.

The Transportation Security Administration said the newspaper did not obtain the report through the Freedom of Information Act and declined to provide a copy to CNN. A story published by the Star-Ledger Sunday said the newspaper had obtained the report, but did not disclose how.

Ed Barocas, legal director of the American Civil Liberities Union in New Jersey, called the report "alarming and astounding."

"The possibility that TSA supervisors coached screeners to profile passengers based on race is deeply disturbing. ... We hope the TSA takes the proper steps immediately to ensure there is no racial profiling in our airports or that screeners are even given the perception that they should profile passengers based on race," he said in a statement.

There are about 3,000 behavior detection officers at 161 airports in the United States, and plans to expand the program are in the works.

In April CNN obtained a list of 70 indicators the officers use to identify people who might pose a threat to aviation. None of those indicators referred to or suggested race, ethnicity or religion.

At the time, the TSA told CNN no single behavior on the list would, by itself, ever be enough to draw increased security scrutiny. An officer would only select a passenger for closer examination if they showed several signs of stress, fear or deception, the agency said.

CNN's Ines Ferre, Mike Ahlers and Jeanne Meserve contributed to this report.

CNN

St. Louis airport closed indefinitely after severe storm

Tornado hits St. Louis airportSTORY HIGHLIGHTSThe airport's director says operations will not resume "until we know it's safe""The airport looks like a war zone," one witness saysFour people are transported to hospitals with apparently minor injuriesWitnesses say winds twist metal, break windows and blow off doorsIf severe weather happens near you, we want to hear your story. Share your photos and videos with CNN iReport, but please be careful.
See more about this story from CNN affiliates KSDK, KPLR.

(CNN) -- Thankful that only a few people were injured, officials at the closed airport in St. Louis awaited daylight to get a better look at significant damage spawned by a possible tornado.

A severe storm and reported tornado touchdown Friday evening shattered windows and sent debris raining down on passengers at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.

A van was left hanging precariously off the edge of a parking garage. A video posted on YouTube showed strong winds pushing a Southwest Airlines plane away from a walkway and passengers moving quickly away from tall windows.

The airport remained closed Saturday morning.

"It may be an hour by hour situation," said airport spokesman Jeff Lea, as crews survey the runways and terminal.

Five people were taken to hospitals for minor injuries and about a dozen others were treated at the airport for cuts and scrapes after the storm struck around 8:15 p.m. Friday, said Lea.

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Tornado causes injuries at St. Louis airport

By Jeff Roberson, AP

Several people at Lambert Airport in St. Louis were injured Friday after an apparent tornado touched down, spewing debris, bursting glass in the concourse and damaging a parking garage.

EnlargeCloseBy Jeff Roberson, AP

Several people at Lambert Airport in St. Louis were injured Friday after an apparent tornado touched down, spewing debris, bursting glass in the concourse and damaging a parking garage.

Broadcast reports, citing airport officials, said most of the injuries Friday night were believed to be minor.

Airport officials say the airport was shut down and planes were diverted to other locations.

Crews were assessing damage at all the terminals. Plate glass windows were torn out, largely in Concourse C, where the most of the damage appeared to occur.

Television footage showed pieces of twisted metal outside the terminal.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters

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Apparent tornado hits St. Louis airport

Tornado hits St. Louis airportSTORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: The St. Louis mayor says the airport is closed indefinitely"The plane was rocking back and forth," one witness says CNN affiliate KSDK: The tornado ripped off part of a roof at one concoursePassengers are hit with flying glass and debris, KSDK says (CNN) -- Heavy winds from a severe storm caused significant damage, shattered windows and sent debris raining down on passengers at an airport in St. Louis Friday night.

The Lambert-St. Louis International Airport is closed indefinitely while officials investigate the damage, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay told reporters.

"There was a reported sighting of a tornado. Although that has not been confirmed, that storm caused significant damage to the airport," he said.

The reported tornado twisted metal and blew out plate-glass windows in the airport's main terminal, CNN affiliate KSDK reported.

Four people were transported to nearby hospitals with injuries, Slay said.

Passengers were hit with flying glass and debris as winds ripped off part of the roof in the airport's C concourse, the station reported.

One witness described a chaotic scene outside the terminal as officials evacuated passengers from at least one aircraft.

"The plane was rocking back and forth," said Brett Knewitz of Albuquerque, New Mexico, who was on a plane that was about to take off from the airport when the storm hit.

Initially officials did not allow evacuated passengers into the airport, he said, because of concerns that the building's roof would collapse.Once he was allowed inside, Knewitz said he saw an injured gate agent.

"She was bleeding like crazy," he said.

Concourse C is used by American Airlines, AirTran and Cape Air, airport spokesman Jeff Lea said.

The National Weather Service said witnesses believe a tornado was on the ground for several miles and observed the twister from a tower at the airport.

KSDK reported that the storm also blew the steeple off a church and forced authorities to close highways.

CNN's Marlena Baldacci, Taylor Ward and Greg Morrison contributed to this report.

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Report on stowaway finds Charlotte airport security lapses

A traveler walks to security at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. STORY HIGHLIGHTSReport detailing death of stowaway finds not enough security at airportPolice: A number of security changes already in place, others to followReport follows death of teen who climbed into airplane wheel wellFamily of teen says more needs to be done to improve securityRELATED TOPICSCharlotte-Douglas International Airport (CNN) -- A report detailing the death of a North Carolina teenager who stowed away in the wheel well of a US Airways flight has found there are not enough security officers at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, one of the fastest growing airports in the country.

The report by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department found security staffing did not adequately reflect the size needed for such an airport, an issue of increasing concern among police and security agencies across the country as they attempt to balance budget shortfalls and tighter security requirements.

The heavily-redacted, six-page investigative report -- reviewed by the Transportation Security Administration and Charlotte authorities -- was prompted by the death 16-year-old Delvonte Tisdale, who authorities say stowed away November 15, 2010, on a US Airways flight bound for Boston from Charlotte.

Tisdale's body was later discovered along a flight path in Massachusetts. He was believed to have fallen out of the wheel well while the plane was preparing to land at Boston Logan International Airport.

"In my opinion, the current law enforcement agency at the (Charlotte) airport does not adequately reflect the type, size and functions of an organization that should be in place at a major metropolitan market," Maj. Glen Neimeyer of the police special investigations bureau wrote in the report first made public Tuesday.

Commentary: Stowaway is wakeup call about airport security

The report conceded that "any suggestions or recommendations provided will quickly translate into an unanticipated expense for the airport and ultimately the City of Charlotte. The decisions on whether, or what, to implement will ultimately come at cost." The report did not say how much it would cost to implement the proposed changes.

The report recommended assigning more police officers to the airport and assigning emergency medical personnel rather than relying on police as first responders. It also recommended increasing electronic monitoring in and around the airport.

The report found Tisdale did not go through any security checkpoints at the airport nor did he climb into the wheel well while the plane was parked at the gate. Though the report redacted much of the detail investigators discovered about how Tisdale managed to get on to the plane, it did say the plane pulled back from the gate and sat on the runway for some time before it took off.

An attorney for Tisdale's family said the report did not go far enough.

"You mean to tell me all you have is six pages of a report? To me, that only highlights the negligence of security there. There's not even enough security to document when things go wrong," Christopher Chestnut told CNN affiliate WSOC.

Charlotte police and the TSA, citing security, refused to comment on specific changes adopted by the airport.

Police spokesman Robert Tufano said Wednesday that a number of the recommendations made by the report have already been put in place by airport officials. He said others were expected to be "resolved in short order."

"I believe it would be fair to say the travelling public probably would not notice anything glaring as these changes are advanced," Tufano told CNN.

The airport -- a hub for US Airways -- was named in 2010 by The Airline and Airport News Network & Analysis as one of the fastest growing airports in the country. It is the eighth busiest airport in the nation, according to the Department of Transportation's Bureau of Statistics.

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Airport Screeners Head to Runoff Vote to Choose Union

Associated Press

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WASHINGTON -- Airport screeners will have to wait a few more weeks before finding out which union will represent them in collective bargaining talks with the government. 

After a six-week election, neither of the two unions vying to represent 44,000 workers at the Transportation Security Administration received a majority of votes cast when federal officials tallied the results on Wednesday. 

The vote came after TSA head John Pistole agreed in February to grant screeners limited collective bargaining rights for the first time since the agency was formed a decade ago. 

The Federal Labor Relations Authority says it will hold a runoff election to decide a winner between the top vote getters. The American Federation of Government Employees received 8,369 votes, or 43 percent, while the National Treasury Employees Union won 8,095 votes, or 41 percent. The choice of no union received 3,111 votes, or 16 percent. 

To win outright, one of the unions had to win 50 percent plus one vote of all votes cast. 

It was the largest union election for federal workers in history. The screeners who x-ray bags and shuttle airline passengers through rope lines had been among the few federal workers without union rights. 

Republicans have objected vigorously to the decision granting collective bargaining rights, arguing that unionizing would jeopardize national security. But Democrats and labor leaders say union rights have not hampered the effectiveness of federal security workers at other agencies. And Pistole says bargaining rights will help improve low morale at the agency. 

Pistole's decision allows for negotiation on a narrow range of issues including work shifts, transfers, vacation time and awards, but specifically prohibits bargaining on security-related matters like deployment, job qualifications, testing or discipline. Screeners also would be strictly prohibited from striking or engaging in work slowdowns. 

"No matter which union ultimately prevails, we hope and expect that they will join us to further improve TSA's performance of its critical security mission and support our frontline officers as they carry out this mission," Pistole said in a prepared statement. 

Leaders of both unions expressed confidence they would win the runoff, which is likely to begin next month and could be concluded in July. AFGE is the nation's largest federal employee union, representing 625,000 workers in the federal government and the government of Washington, D.C. NTEU is an independent union that represents 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments.

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Transportation Chief Criticizes Airport Pat-Down of 6-Year-Old Girl

FoxNews.com

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The U.S. transportation chief suggested Sunday that it was inappropriate for a New Orleans airport screener to frisk a 6-year-old girl -- an incident caught on camera and posted on YouTube earlier this month. 

The Transportation Security Administration has defended its actions after the girl's parents complained, though the TSA plans to review its policies. The Kentucky couple had said their daughter started crying after she received the pat-down. 

Asked about the incident on "Fox News Sunday," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said, "I wouldn't want my granddaughter treated like that." 

LaHood, though, deferred to the TSA on the issue, as that agency is part of the Department of Homeland Security. 

LaHood also commented briefly on an incident in which an Air France plane clipped a smaller plane while taxiing at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. 

"Human error was certainly a factor there," LaHood said.

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JFK Airport Has Hardly Avoided An Accident

An Airbus A380 collided with a small passenger airliner at JFK airport. The collision of A380 caused a spin in the smaller plane and it moved violently on the runway of JFK airport. Its video has been released on internet. The A380 belonged to Air France; it was a 585 seat plane. The video released of collision shows how the larger aircraft shattered the fin of smaller aircraft. The smaller aircraft was of Comair CRJ; this plane had capacity to accommodate 62 passengers. When Airbus collided with it, the plane moved to 90 degrees from its actual location. This collision has also damaged Airbus A380 and it is being told that one wing of this plane has been destroyed in this collision.
The incident happened around 2009hrs of local time. Investigations have been started to find out the reasons of this collision. Authorities of JFK are fully determined to find out the basic reasons of this collision because their reputation has come at stake after the accident. Though no passengers have been reported to get injuries in this accident, but every one on board has told about how did it go the impact of this collision.
From the point of view of status, A380’s total cost is 375.5 million dollars. It can accommodate 853 passengers at once. It has 49% more space than its competitor Boeing 747-400. Its total space is 5,146 square foot while total space of Boeing 747-400 is 3,453 square feet. Airbus A380’s maiden flight happened on 27th April 2005 in France. It was included in international airline companies in 2007.

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Super jumbo jet clips another plane at JFK airport

By Daniel Acker, Bloomberg

An Air France Airbus A380 approaches John F. Kennedy International Airport on Nov. 20, 2009. The giant jet clipped a smaller plane on the tarmac Monday night.

EnlargeCloseBy Daniel Acker, Bloomberg

An Air France Airbus A380 approaches John F. Kennedy International Airport on Nov. 20, 2009. The giant jet clipped a smaller plane on the tarmac Monday night.

There were no injuries when the Air France super jumbo jet touched the other plane at 8:09 p.m., Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Jim Peters said.

Air France Flight 7, bound for Paris, was taxiing on a runway when its left wingtip struck the tail of Comair Flight 6293, which had just landed from Boston and was taxiing to its gate at Kennedy, one of the nation's busiest airports, Peters said.

Both jets were being towed to a ramp area for inspection, Peters said. The extent of the damage was unknown.

The FAA didn't immediately say how many people were on the double-deck Airbus A380, which can carry 525 passengers in a three-class configuration or more than 850 in a single-class configuration. Air France didn't immediately return a telephone message seeking comment.

The Comair CRJ 700 Regional Jet was carrying 62 passengers and four crewmembers, said Betsy Talton, a spokeswoman of Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines Inc., for which Comair operates regional flights. All the passengers were taken off the plane and into a terminal, she said.

The most serious safety scare for the world's largest and newest jetliners occurred last year, when a Rolls-Royce engine on a Qantas A380 disintegrated shortly after takeoff from Singapore, prompting Qantas to temporarily ground its fleet. A preliminary report blamed the massive engine failure on an oil leak.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters

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Air France jet clips smaller plane at New York's JFK airport

Jumbo jet clips plane at JFK AirportSTORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: NTSB will investigate incidentAn Air France jet clipped a Delta Connection plane, a Delta official saysA CNN reporter on the Air France plane says it stopped after a slight rumbleA Port Authority spokeswoman says there were no injuries on either plane New York (CNN) -- The National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday that it will investigate what happened Monday night when a massive Air France jet clipped a smaller regional aircraft at John F. Kennedy Airport.

The incident, caught on amateur video, shows the Air France Airbus 380 clipping the smaller plane while taxiing to the runway for takeoff.

CNN Correspondent Jim Bittermann, who was on the Air France flight headed to Paris, said that he felt a slight rumble -- akin to hitting a patch of rough pavement -- as his plane was moving on the ground Monday at about 8:15 p.m.

The pilot then stopped the aircraft, which is regarded as the world's biggest passenger jet, and eventually fire department crews surrounded it and the other plane.

The tail of Comair Flight 6293, a Delta Connection flight that had recently arrived from Boston, was struck by the Air France aircraft while waiting to park at the New York airport, said Delta spokeswoman Betsy Talton.

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JFK airport shuttle security lapses cited

The lack of security on the AirTrain shuttle system at JFK airport has raised concerns. STORY HIGHLIGHTSThe unmanned, unpoliced AirTrain system is raising concernsThe lack of security was discussed at a New York homeland security hearing"It's a bad situation," Port Authority union officer saysRELATED TOPICSJohn F. Kennedy International AirportPort Authority of New York and New JerseyAir Travel New York (CNN) -- A number of security lapses in an airport shuttle system in New York is raising concerns among some Port Authority officers and state senators.

"Among the cops it's commonly referred to as a possible weapons delivery system," said one Port Authority Police official of the AirTrain shuttle system that ferries thousands of passengers to and from John F. Kennedy International Airport. The official did not want to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue.

The lack of security on the system -- an eight-mile fully automated, unmanned railroad -- was discussed Friday at a state homeland security hearing to discuss vulnerabilities that still remain 10 years after the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington.

"There's no scanning of bags, there's no scanning of passengers," said state Sen. Greg Ball, who is also the chairman of the New York State Homeland Security Committee. "We should have uniformed personnel on that transportation corridor, we don't."

Police Benevolent Association Vice President Robert Morris described it simply as "a bad situation," pointing out that the airport shuttle trains enter the international arrivals building of the airport directly underneath departures where airlines such as El Al operate.

Cleveland terminal, planes evacuated after screening glitch

"Port Authority's own security study prior to the deployment of that system was for 18 police officers a day to police the system. Three tours of duty a day, 365 days a year," Morris told the panel. "In the last 12 months we've had 40 tours, which is about two weeks' worth of coverage with one officer."

The hearing, requested by Ball, took place following a complaint in March by the New York division of the Police Benevolent Association, a nationwide union representing police officers. The union cited a lack of security on the airport shuttle in their complaint. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is responsible for security at New York City airports, bridges and tunnels.

The Port Authority said in a statement Friday that there is no lapse in security.

"The way the PAPD is deployed, as well as cameras and the entirety of our security apparatus, means the traveling public should feel safe within all of the Port Authority facilities," the statement said.

Bobby Egbert, spokesman for the Port Authority Police Benevolence Association, acknowledged Saturday that the Port Authority is a huge organization with many responsibilities. When it comes to transporting people and developing commerce in the bistate region, he said the agency does a great job.

"The problem is it doesn't take public safety and security concerns seriously," he said.

According to Egbert, the biggest problem with safety on the AirTrain system is a lack of communication, noting specifically the lack of a central radio system in the new JetBlue Terminal Five.

Morris also noted the lack of an operable radio system in the terminal, saying officers instead are issued cell phones -- a slower form of communication when officers need to quickly call for backup or relay information.

While officers in the terminal do carry radios on their belts, they "might as well be carrying a brick," Morris said Friday.

Egbert pointed to the example of Steven Slater, the JetBlue flight attendant that pulled the emergency slide of a plane and ran from the airport.

"That's how he got away," said Egbert. "The two cops on duty had no idea what was going on."

While Slater's stunt didn't injure anyone, Egbert believes his escape exhibits the real safety threat to people in the airport and terminals surrounding AirTrain.

Ball's office said another hearing will be held in Albany next month to follow up on some of the concerns detailed in Friday's meeting.

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