Briefly, Jan 25

Ethiopian Air Flight 409

Sadly, last evening, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 caught fire (from early reports) and crashed shortly after takeoff from Beirut, Lebanon.  Airsafe.com has a good summary, as of Monday afternoon.  It appears as though none of the passengers or crew survived.  The investigation will be ongoing.

On the Hill This Week

As was the case last week, congressional committees continue to follow up on their understanding of the NW253 incident on Christmas Day.  But also, the confirmation process of a nominee to the FAA and the reauthorization process of the NTSB will be moving forward.  This week (via GovExec), they are:

  • Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee – Hearing [ 09:30 am, 01/26/2010 ]
    Full committee hearing on “Intelligence Reform: The Lessons and Implications of the Christmas Day Attack,” focusing on the attempted bombing incident on Flight 253 to Detroit on December 25. (Part Two)
  • House Homeland Security Committee – Hearing [ 10:00 am, 01/27/2010 ]
    Full committee hearing on “Flight 253: Learning Lessons from an Averted Tragedy.”
  • Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee – Hearing [ 02:30 pm, 01/26/2010 ]
    Full committee hearing on the nominations of Michael Huerta, to be deputy administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration; David Matsuda, to be administrator of the Maritime Administration; and Timothy McGee, to be an assistant secretary in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, with responsibility for environmental observation and prediction.
  • House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee – Hearing [ 10:00 am, 01/27/2010 ]
    Aviation Subcommittee hearing on “Reauthorization of the National Transportation Safety Board.”