@CBSNews
Senior Transportation & National Correspondent. Formerly on the Congress beat & CBSNewspath. One time On Your Side Reporter. Proud USC Trojan.
#fighton
Airlines to Biden: Drop the Mask Mandate.
10 CEOs of US passenger and Cargo airlines send letter to President Biden calling for an end to the onboard mask mandate and predepature testing rules
.
@cbsnews
: US officials are confident Ukrainian Flt 752 was shot down by Iran. US intelligence picked up signals of the radar being turned on & satellite detected infrared blips of 2 missile launches, probably SA-15s, followed shortly by another infrared blip of an explosion.
Pretty remarkable stat: between
@united
@Delta
and
@AmericanAir
yesterday there were a total of FOUR canceled flights. That’s a 99.99+% completion rate on a day the FAA said would be the busiest in terms of number of flights in the air.
#update
CBS News has confirmed Jonathan Dunn, (now fmr) Delta FO facing a felony charge for allegedly threatening to shoot the captain during a flight was also the USAF LT Col who made headlines for unsuccessfully challenging DOD’s vaccine mandate to the US Supreme Court in 2022
Our
@CBSEveningNews
report on the (now former) Delta First Officer and federal flight deck officer who is facing a felony charge for allegedly threatening to shoot the captain during a mid flight dispute in Aug 2022:
The force of the depressurization on Alaska 1282 ripped open the cockpit door and slammed it into the front lav door per the NTSB. It took multiple attempts by an FA to force it closed. The FO lost her headset. The QRC was sucked out of the cockpit. Damage thru out cabin
The House passed the President’s $1.9T American Rescue Plan aka Covid Relief on a party-line vote 220-211 (Dem Jared Golden of Maine was the lone dem to vote no). No Republicans voted yes, as excepted.
Vice President announces additional travel suspensions for the UK and Ireland. American citizens can still travel but will come through certain airports and will be screened, then asked to self-quarantine for 14 days. Effective midnight Monday night
Forgive me but allow me to clear up some misreporting or misunderstanding what’s happening THE FAA IS NOT CLOSING AIRPORTS AND IS NOT HALTING ALL FLIGHTS TO ANY AIRPORT. FLIGHTS ARE ARRIVING AND DEPARTING. THERE IS A DELAY PRORAM IN EFFECT. So traffic is reduced.
.
@cbsnews
has confirmed—The Capitol Police today asked the National Guard troops protecting the grounds and the inauguration to not take their rest breaks from the cold inside the Capitol and moved thousands to a nearby parking garage.
A truth check here, the first "political prisoner" mentioned during the "Justice for J6" rally--Jonathan Mellis is being held on a 10 count indictment that includes allegedly assaulting a police officer with a dangerous weapon.
Congressman Evans renewing his call for the Postmaster General to be fired. We are reporting to on the new slower delivery plan for First Class Mail that began today. Sunday a holiday shipping surcharge kicks in.
.
@united
is apologizing for a "tragic accident that should never have occured" on flight 1284 last night where a passenger was ordered by a flight attendant to put a bag containing her dog in the overhead bin. The dog died inflight.
FAA is now investigating after the captain of American Eagle (Envoy) Flight 3556 became incapacitated shortly after taking off from ORD Saturday night. The captain died later at a hospital. The copilot safely landed the plane at ORD. 57 passengers & crew
.
@SenTedCruz
calls on White House to stop “hiding the truth from the American people” & allow reporters access to the situation at the border. “The press and the American people deserve...themselves with the help of reporters who are free and independent from your administration”
NTSB says today it learned the Cockpit door is designed to open during rapid decompression however no one among flight crew knew that. NTSB says Boeing will make some changes in how that’s communicated.
The currently thinking is the plane was mistakenly targeted. Remember it took off just hours after Iran launched its missile attack while the world waited to see if the U.S. would respond militarily.
PLEASE watch our
@CBSThisMorning
story: What MPD Ofc Michael Fanone experienced on 1/6 and hear why he says officers feel abandoned by lawmakers + how he's finding bipartisan support and friendship
@RepKinzinger
and
@RepSwalwell
in a pursuit of the truth.
Pilots reported pressurization warnings on three occasions in the month leading up to the newly built Boeing 737 Max9 losing the plug door. A day earlier, the NTSB says, Alaska pulled the plane’s ETOPs cert meaning it couldn’t fly long distance over water ie to/from Hawaii.
.
@United
hasn’t bought an
@Airbus
plane in 21 years…today UA321 will mark the first flight on its new A321neo aircraft. Biz seat has a wireless cell charger in the armrest and a privacy divider. Bigger bins should hold 200 bags (1 per passenger) and in the back self snacks
#breaking
@CBSNews
has learned at least 1 major US airline is "seriously considering" dropping its social distancing policy and returning to making all seats available for purchase on all flights. This after passengers express outrage over number of fellow passengers on flights.
.
@SenSchumer
tweets “If this is true, it's outrageous. I will get to the bottom of this.” Guard spokesman says there is work underway to get them moved into the Capitol Visitors Center. Important to note after their shift the troops do have hotels to sleep in.
U.S. is tracking a high-altitude balloon flying over the Western part of the country, U.S. officials told
@CBSNews
. Military aircraft spotted the balloon and determined it is not a threat, but its origin and purpose is still unknown. The balloon is drifting east in the jet stream
.
@ntsb
says the Cockpit voice recorder was completely overwritten. Investigators have nothing from it. They only last 2hrs and by the time it was pulled it was overwritten. It’s the 10th time in the less than a decade this has happened in an ntsb investigation.
The letter is signed by the CEOs of Alaska, American, Atlas, Delta, FedEx Express, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Southwest, United, UPS Airlines and the CEO of Airlines for America—the trade association representing the carriers.
The first
@UPSAirlines
shipment of
@pfizer
#coronavirus
vaccine has touched down at
@UPS
Worldport in Louisville. The boxes of vaccine will be unloaded sorted and fly out to 30+ cities tonight for delivery tomorrow morning.
When you buy a ticket you agree to a set of rules-including follow instructions of the flight crew. It is 100% within the captain’s right to divert the aircraft if he/she believes there is an issue in the passenger cabin. Beyond that it is illegal to interfere with a flight crew.
Wow. I’m on a plane full of patriots flying from DC to Phoenix and we started chanting “USA” ...and the Captain came on said told us he’d drop us off in Kansas if he had to if we didn’t obey their every single rule.
American Airlines is everything but American.
@AmericanAir
The children of USCP Officer Billy Evans holding stuffed animals at their father’s memorial service in the Capitol Rotunda is heartbreaking. His son is wearing a police hat.
Airline source familiar w/Cruz’s reservation tells me Senator Cruz was originally booked a roundtrip to/from Cancun leaving yesterday & returning Saturday 2/20 w/his family. The return flight was changed *this morning* to return to IAH this afternoon. 1st reported by
@ByERussell
United pulled its 5 A321neos out of service because the “No Smoking” signs don’t turn off. FAA rules require they be able to be operated by a member of the crew…even though smoking has been banned since 1988 so there’s no reason to turn off the sign.
United Statement:
$8.25 for two weeks of work. This is a pay stub for a government worker deemed essentially who had been working throughout the shutdown. This employee is “lucky” many colleagues got pay stubs for $0.00.
“Presidents are not kings, and Plaintiff is not President,”—Judge Denies Fmr President Trump's effort to block release of documents to Jan 6 Committee. Allows Nov 12 Transfer to House Committee, appeal likely before Friday.
When you follow your dreams they can really take off…
Kevin Ray quit his job and started watching planes full time. How is planespotting a job? His
@airlinevideos
became a YouTube hit. From
@cbssaturday
:
NORAD confirms intercepting balloon. Fighters caught up with it over Utah between 43-45k feet. Deemed not a threat to air traffic.
Source describes the payload as ~2 foot cube under a Mylar balloon. Continues to move east fast thanks to a strong jet stream. NORAD statement:
U.S. is tracking a high-altitude balloon flying over the Western part of the country, U.S. officials told
@CBSNews
. Military aircraft spotted the balloon and determined it is not a threat, but its origin and purpose is still unknown. The balloon is drifting east in the jet stream
“Now is the time for the Administration to sunset federal transportation travel restrictions – including the international predeparture testing requirement and the federal mask mandate – that are no longer aligned with the realities of the current epidemiological environment."
The US Capitol Police union tells
@CBSNews
“our covid cases have spiked. We now have 38 total since Jan 6.” About 150 National Guard troops deployed to DC since 1/6 have also come down with Covid.
The pilot of Kobe's helicopter circled over Glendale, CA for about 12 minutes, presumably due to deteriorating weather before continuing under Special VFR--basically saying he was going to assume the risk & fly w/lower visibility & lower cloud ceiling than normal VFR conditions.
@SecretaryPete
Buttigieg says he’s spoken to
@SouthwestAir
CEO Bob Jordan and informed him
@USDOT
will be reviewing what went wrong here and the airlines compliance with its customer service plan (below). Tells me this was an unacceptable meltdown.
I asked
@SecretaryPete
Buttigieg, the highest ranking openly gay member of the Biden Administration about the deadly shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs. Watch here:
Federal officials were briefed on this intel this morning. A source familiar with the briefing adds missile components may have been found near the crash site.
Nearly ALL
@Delta
pilots vote to authorize a strike. 96% of
@Delta
’s
@ALPAPilots
union represented pilots voted, and 99% of those voted to authorize a strike over stalled contract talks. This will be one to watch.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz flew to Cancun, Mexico with his family in the midst of the winter storm disaster gripping his state per source familiar and are the pictures circulating on social media. He looks to be returning today.
The House is now voting on the $1.2 Trillion bipartisan Infastructure package the senate passed August. I spent 6 years covering Infastructure, this level of investment is historic. After hearing this is Infastructure week every week…
.
@CBSNews
has obtained a photo of
@SouthwestAir
1392 that shows damage to one of the engines of the 737 that may be related to the body found on the
@AUStinAirport
runway tonight. One of the pilots reported seeing a person as they touched down. Person was killed.
United CEO Scott Kirby chartered a private jet to flying from New York to Colorado as his airline was hobbled with massive delays and hundreds of daily cancelations this week. He’s now apologizing. His statement below
(Kirby paid for the flight not UA):
Stealing the show at
@jbletlow
ceremonial swearing in—her kids Jeremiah, 3, & Jacqueline, 1. Rep Letlow (R-LA) won the special election to fill the seat her husband won in November. He died from Covid before taking office.
.
@SenDuckworth
wants to make it easier for people to ride mass transit by giving $10B to transit systems to improve access for disabled riders. We talked to her about the ASAP Act here for
@CBSNews
.com
Just blocks from White House a modern day soup kitchen opened for furloughed govt workers & those working w/o pay due to govt shutdown. Airports across the country are open food pantries for TSA/FAA workers. 800,000 govt employees caught in the middle of politics stalemate.
.
@AlaskaAir
is going to hand out yellow cards to passengers who refuse to wear masks on flight. Such passengers could find themselves banned from future travel.
What we would call a programming note to share. I’m leave the transportation beat and heading to cover Congress. It’s an exciting new adventure. I look forward to working with my fellow
@ABC7News
alum
@NikolenDC
and the rest of our fantastic Hill team.
Kinda fitting that State 48 was the 48th to be called by
@cbsnews
. Arizona goes blue, narrowly. Georgia and North Carolina remain too close to call. Biden leads in GA, President Trump in NC.
CBS News projects Joe Biden wins Arizona, after counties reported more vote tallies tonight. The current CBS News electoral vote estimate is Biden 290 and Trump 217.
The Senate has confirmed
@PeteButtigieg
as Secretary of Transportation with a vote of 86-13; the former South Bend mayor is the first openly LGBTQ cabinet secretary.
.
@CBSNews
has obtained that appears to show a near collision between a helicopter and a drone off Hollywood, Florida. The chopper passes just below the drone. The FAA is investigating.
"We urge you to ensure vaccine protocol is in place for domestic air travel so that Americans can be confident they are safe while traveling."
@SenFeinstein
,
@RepDonBeyer
,
@RepSwalwell
&
@RepRitchie
call for FAA & CDC to mandate proof of vaccine or negative Covid test for flights
A programming note, 3 yrs ago today I walked into the
@CBSNews
DC Bureau to start a 30 day try out as Transportation Correspondent. It’s been quite an adventure logging hundreds of thousands of miles across much of the country. Grateful to my amazing colleagues. More to come!
A passenger on
@FlyFrontier
flight from Denver opened a cabin door after landing at
@Reagan_Airport
deploying exit slide. Airport says the man went down the slide but was immediately stopped & taken into custody by gate 7. The other passengers deplaned like adults via air stairs.
.
@SenDuckworth
is asking for DOJ Civil Rights Division to investigate the 12/5 traffic stop where Army Lt Caron Nazario was pepper sprayed and held at gunpoint by Windsor, VA PD.
The is a first from airlines--coming out against a mask mandate. It also comes as there's concern about another looming spike in covid cases. The CDC mask mandate for mass transit was extended 30 days until mid-April earlier this month.
In a court filing today DOJ says 81 US Capitol Police Officers and 58 Metropolitan Police officers (DC’s city police) were injured responding to the attack on the Capitol January 6th. One USCP officer was killed in the riot. 139 injured officers is higher than previously known.
This is why your commercial airlines have two pilots.
The co-pilot, also a captain at envoy, showed remarkable calm declaring that emergency. Exactly as pilots are trained to do.
During
@MayorBowser
and
@DCPoliceDept
Chief's media briefing today we learned 56 officers were injured on Wednesday at the Capitol. One officer beaten and tased, investigators believe the attackers tried unsuccessfully to get the officer's gun.
Since I started in news in 1999, I've missed all but a couple of Thanksgivings due to work. I know how so many of us feel today missing family & friends. Here's what I've learned--the meal will taste as good in a few months and the time with family will be as valuable...
My friend and long time
@CBSNews
transportation safety analyst Mark Rosenker has died. Mark was the 11th Chairman of the
@NTSB
and a retired USAF Major General. He lost his brave battle with brain cancer Saturday morning. Mark was 74.
.
@AlaskaAir
banned 14 passengers on Thursday’s flight 1085 from
@Dulles_Airport
to
@flySEA
who were “non-mask compliant, rowdy, argumentative and harassed our crew members.”
Alaska Statement👇👇
There are NO gov't rules/mandates/standards for social distancing on flights. Each airline has been left to figure out its own policy. Its confusing for flyers, crew and carriers alike.
Silver Airways will be the first US Airline to fly the ATR-600 turbo prop, they've ordered a bunch and the first two are sitting, grounded, in a hanger at FLL because the FAA certification process can't be finished due to the shutdown.
I should have said its the 1st time Airline CEOs have publicly called for the end of the mask mandate.
@AirlinesDotOrg
& other trade groups asked the WH to end it on March 18th or w/i 90 days in Feb.
In Dec some airline CEOs expressed support for masks during Senate appearance
It appears ATC staffing issues at ZDC and ZJX (which essentially handle flights en route between destinations) is resulting in delays at EWR, LGA, PHL and TPA this morning. Likely shutdown related. Working on more.
An announcement was just played on the West Front of the Capitol announcing a potential security threat. Building on lockdown. Capitol Police told us to stay locked down in our media workspace
.
@united
flew a 787 Dreamliner with an all woman crew to the world's largest airshow in Oshkosh, WI today. Along with the pilots and crew were nearly 100 women from Airport Ops, Inflight Services, Flight Ops, TechOps, and Network Operations... Cool.
Y’all
#breakingnews
. This morning the grocery store had paper products. Like all the paper products. This concludes your moment of normalcy for today.
.
@SouthwestAir
: We are deeply saddened to confirm there is one fatality resulting from this accident. The entire Southwest Airlines Family is devastated & extends its deepest, heartfelt sympathy to Customers, Employees, Family Members, and loved ones affected by this tragic event
@United
Airlines town hall with employees today was “sobering.” Employees were warned the airline does not believe enough people have taken exit packages to avoid lay-offs and/or furloughs and “we are looking—at this point—at layoffs in the tens of thousands.”
Taking a couple weeks away from work and disconnecting (mostly). We’ll have a few things on
@cbsnews
while I’m off and I’m sure the occasion piece of news here. Back at it in September.
Ground stops have been lifted. So today is going to operate a bit like a weather day in the northeast and Florida. The cause is unique but how this plays out is not. There will be delays. But planes are taking off and landing.
.
@USDOT
to “examine”
@SouthwestAir
holiday cancelation meltdown. Agency says it is “concerned by Southwest Airlines’ disproportionate and unacceptable rate of cancellations and delays as well as the failure to properly support customers experiencing a cancellation or delay.”
.
@CBSNews
lost it’s spirit animal today. Maria Mercader embodied the best of us. A friend to all, a fierce advocate & supporter. A fighter. She stared down cancer time & again w/a dignity that left me in awe. She taught us to celebrate today because tomorrow 🤷🏼♂️. 💔