Airborne 10.01.26: Pilot Stabbed-9/11 Retry?, SR-71 Return?, Starliner Comeback?
Also: Windshield Shatters, TBM Cold-Weather Upgrade, Alaska Air National Guard, VL3 In Britain A FlyDubai 737 MAX 8 headed for Israel made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia after one pilot stabbed the other in the cockpit—an attack Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called an attempt to crash the aircraft. Netanyahu described a dramatic series of events that had been relayed to him by one of the passengers on the plane, saying the flight had gone into a spin and began to dive during the attack. Then a passenger and a member of the crew broke into the cockpit and subdued the attacker. Multiple reports say NASA has removed SR-71 tail number 844 from static display at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. where it has been since 1999. Sources familiar with the matter indicated that NASA had been exploring whether the SR-71 could potentially return to flight, although the agency said they have no additional information to share regarding the aircraft. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman has been promising a new generation of high-speed X-planes. Starliner is moving toward a December 2026 or January 2027 flight to the International Space Station. The mission will put propulsion and thermal improvements through another round of testing. NASA plans to use the results to support future crewed missions. NASA and Boeing are reshaping Starliner's path back to human spaceflight, beginning with an uncrewed mission designed to test changes made after its 2024 crewed flight. NASA plans to exercise options for fifth and sixth Starliner missions to the International Space Station. All this -- and MORE in today's episode of Airborne-Unlimited!!!
Oct 5, 2026 · byAero-News Network
