Senate to vote on FAA funding for air traffic control

On April 27, CharterX Industry Headline News reported that it was likely that the United States Senate was likely to vote on Federal Aviation Administration funding on April 28, which happened in an 88-0 vote [yes, some Senate folks were missing], to move a FAA funding bill closer to the desk of President George W. Bush, who will be forced to veto or to sign a final bill--soon. Today's vote centered on FAA reauthorization funding, long overdue, which would fund the agency through Sept. 30, 2011.

FAA funding will provide $800 million over the next three years to modernize the nation's air traffic control system. The majority of such funding, from the Senate vote, will be paid for by private general aviation in the way of increased excise jet fuel taxes increasing to 36 cents per gallon of fuel from the exiting 21.9 cents per gallon of fuel.

Obama's jet clips wing of 2nd plane

According to an article in the Chicago Sun-Times relating to private chartered jet travel:

Flying back home from Nevada after a long day of campaigning, presidential hopeful Barack Obama was safely on the ground when his chartered plane clipped the wing of another plane at Midway Airport.

No one was hurt in the incident early Saturday morning, but the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration want to know how it happened.
Both planes sustained minor damage.

Obama, though, apparently didn't even notice what happened -- nor did anyone else on the plane.

"No one on board even felt it," said Ben LaBolt, an Obama campaign spokesman.
In advance of the Nevada caucus Jan. 19, Obama on Friday made two appearances in Nevada -- a rally with Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano and an event with a culinary workers union.
He left late Friday on a Gulfstream II jet, along with 12 other people, including the plane's crew.
LaBolt declined to identify the flight crew but said the campaign had flown with them before.
Back to Nevada today

The plane landed around 2:30 a.m., "safely, without incident," said city Aviation Department spokesman Gregg Cunningham.

It was taxiing to a general aviation parking area for private planes near the south end of the airport, off 63rd Street. At that point, the plane's crew was under its own direction and no longer under the FAA's air traffic control, FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham-Cory said.

The plane's left wing then hit the right wing of a parked Cessna 208. No one was aboard the Cessna at the time.

Cunningham said neither plane was allowed to move from the spot of the collision until 9:15 a.m. Saturday.

The investigation could take weeks or months, Cory said.

Obama heads back to Nevada today.