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Newark Airport briefly shut down due to ‘aircraft emergency’
By Caitlin McCormack
Newark Liberty International Airport briefly shut
down Wednesday evening due to a reported “aircraft emergency” — effectively grounding all flights for about an hour.
The major airport issued a travel advisory, writing in a statement on X that all flight operations were “temporarily suspended while an aircraft is removed from the taxiway due to an earlier incident.”
The New Jersey travel hub was expected to be closed from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, but reopened just after 7 p.m.
A ground stop was originally in place from 5:42 p.m. to 7 p.m. for an “aircraft emergency” that was caused by an engine issue on the JetBlue flight, which was headed for West Palm Beach, Florida, the airline confirmed in a statement.
The plane was taking off from Newark Airport, but turned around and landed back on the tarmac just 40 minutes into the journey, according to FlightAware.
In a preliminary statement, the FAA confirmed that JetBlue Flight 543 “landed safely” after crews “reported smoke in the cockpit and evacuated passengers via slides” around 6 p.m.
Video taken by other travelers stranded on the taxiway captured a fleet of emergency response vehicles parked on the tarmac.
Another video taken by a passenger on the JetBlue
flight showed passengers deplaning as firefighters directed them back toward the airport.
The evacuation had caused the airport to temporarily shut down operations. Departing flights out of Newark still faced roughly hour-long delays after operations resumed, according to the FAA.
JetBlue said that they “will work closely with the appropriate federal authorities to investigate what occurred.”
https://nypost.com/2026/02/18/us-news/newark-airport-suddenly-shut-down-over-aircraft-emergency/
US Marines, Japanese responders practice aircraft mishap response on Okinawa
By Brian McElhiney
CAMP KINSER, Okinawa — U.S. Marines, airmen
and Japanese emergency responders practiced their skills and response times through a simulated aircraft crash at this base Thursday, including simulated casualties nearby.
The 15th annual Bilateral Aircraft Mishap Functional Training Exercise tested emergency responders through each phase of an emergency response, from the initial call and casualty care to extinguishing the fire aboard the metal mockup jet.
Marine Corps Installations Pacific hosted the exercise alongside Okinawa’s director of crisis management Teruhiko Moriwaki. About 110 U.S. military members and 140 Japanese responders participated, installations command spokeswoman 1st Lt. Kelsey Enlow told Stars and Stripes after the exercise.
“As we continue to train together, we continue to learn more about each other’s capabilities and how we will fill each other’s knowledge gaps to prevent disaster and loss of life in any situation,” Camp Kinser Fire Department Chief Ulysses Taormina told reporters before the exercise.
The annual drill was first held in 2007, three years after a Marine CH-53D Sea Stallion crashed onto the grounds of Okinawa International University, just outside Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. The incident injured three crew members but caused no civilian deaths or injuries. The crash sparked protests and heightened local concerns about aircraft safety.
Since that time, precautionary landings of U.S. military aircraft have required the U.S. and Japan to work together, Moriwaki told reporters before the exercise. He did not mention specific incidents.
“I believe the results of training have been fully utilized,” he said.
The U.S. service branches on Okinawa rotate as hosts for the annual event. The Marine Corps last led the event in 2023 at Camp Hansen, installations command protection director James Cobb told Stars and Stripes before the exercise.
The U.S. Navy held the exercise at White Beach last year, and the Air Force at Kadena Air Base in 2024.
The roughly 70-minute exercise began at 10 a.m.
with a metal mockup of a jet being set on fire in a large cement-paved lot.
The mock emergency call was narrated and described throughout the training. Okinawa Prefectural Police arrived six minutes after the initial call to respond to casualties and set up a perimeter. The scenario involved seven aircraft crew members and two Japanese civilians, Enlow said.
The Naha City Fire Department arrived soon after to extinguish the fire and carry the casualties about 100 feet away from the scene for triage care. U.S. military fire departments arrived last to assist.
U.S. participation included Kinser, Camp Foster and Kadena fire departments, Kinser Provost Marshal’s Office, Kinser Camp Guard, Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear Defense and representatives from the Red Cross, Enlow said by email Thursday after the event.
Stars and Stripes reporter Ryan Breeden contributed to this report.
https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/2026-02-19/aircraft-crash-simulation-okinawa-marine-corps-20799275.html
NTSB Final Report: Quad City Challenger
(Pilot) Lost Control Of The Airplane As It Turned To The Left Despite The Application Of Full Right Rudder
Location: Crystal Mountain, Michigan Accident Number: CEN25LA383
Date & Time: September 16, 2025, 16:28 Local Registration: N65176
Aircraft: Quad City Challenger Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Defining Event: Loss of control in flight Injuries: 1 None
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Personal
Analysis: The pilot was performing a pre-buy flight in the amateur-built airplane. The takeoff roll was normal until the airplane accelerated between 25 to 50 mph, when the airplane required right rudder to maintain straight flight. After liftoff, without pilot input, the airplane veered left of the runway. The pilot applied right rudder and was able to get the airplane back over the runway.
However, he lost control of the airplane as it turned to the left despite the application of full right rudder. The airplane continued to the left until it impacted terrain. The pilot reported having completed a preflight inspection and high-speed taxi prior to the flight, and he did not note any problems. He reported that after the taxi, the owner placed a flight manual into the airplane that he thought may have jammed the rudder. Postaccident examination did not locate a flight manual in the wreckage or surrounding area, and the owner stated that a firefighter had retrieved the manual but didn’t know where in the wreckage that the firefighter had retrieved it. The pilot later thought the vertical stabilizer had more play than expected but reported that the owner told him it was normal.
A postimpact examination did not reveal any anomalies in the airplane’s aileron and elevator controls, and damage to the vertical stabilizer precluded a thorough inspection of the rudder system. The airplane’s trim tabs were not installed and were not required to be. The owner had only flown the airplane once in July 2025 and reported that the airplane required constant right rudder to maintain straight flight. The owner reported informing the pilot that the airplane required right rudder. The pilot reported that he was not informed that the airplane needed right rudder and that the trim tabs were not installed.
According to the kit manufacturer, extra rudder input would be required when climbing the airplane with a high angle attack and high-power setting. The pilot had logged 22 hours in a different Challenger II in September 2024.
In an article published by the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), Before You Fly: Thoughts on your first flight and the EAA Flight Advisor Program, they advise pilots that the “Statistics show that 20% of all homebuilt accidents happen during the first two flights and are usually caused by pilot error. Those pilot errors are almost always the result of a pilot flying an aircraft for which he or she wasn't qualified or with which he wasn't familiar.
The same problem exists during the first flight of any unfamiliar aircraft, whether it is a homebuilt, vintage or ultralight. The first flight in an airplane might as well be a test flight because, for that pilot, it is a test flight.”
Probable Cause and Findings: The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be -- The pilot’s failure to maintain aircraft control during initial climb.
FMI: www.ntsb.gov
Today in History
41 Years ago today: On 19 February 1985 Iberia flight 610, a Boeing 727, impacted a tv antenna on a mountain during the descent towards Bilbao Airport and crashed, killing all 148 occupants.
| Date: | Tuesday 19 February 1985 |
| Time: | 09:27 |
| Type: | Boeing 727-256 |
| Owner/operator: | Iberia |
| Registration: | EC-DDU |
| MSN: | 21777/1487 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1979 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 13408 hours |
| Cycles: | 12347 flights |
| Engine model: | P&W JT8D-9A |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 148 / Occupants: 148 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed, written off |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 30 km SE of Bilbao Airport (BIO) - Spain |
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD/LEMD) |
| Destination airport: | Bilbao Airport (BIO/LEBB) |
| Investigating agency: | CIA |
| Confidence Rating: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Narrative:
Iberia flight 610, a Boeing 727, impacted a tv antenna on a mountain during the descent towards Bilbao Airport and crashed, killing all 148 occupants.
Flight IB610 departed Madrid at 08:47 for a scheduled flight to Bilbao, where it was scheduled to land at 09:35. The Boeing 727, named "Alhambra de Granada", climbed to the cruising altitude of FL260. At 09:09 the crew were instructed to descend to FL100. Seven minutes later the copilot contacted Bilbao Tower. The controller then cleared the flight for an ILS approach: "Iberia 610, you can continue descent, for an ILS approach to Bilbao, runway 30, wind is 100 degrees 3 knots, QNH 1025 and transition level 70." This was confirmed by the crew. The controller subsequently offered them a direct clearance to the approach fix, which is located at 13 DME from the airport. The captain declined and decided to fly the standard approach procedure.
At 09:22 flight 610 reported over the Bilbao VOR at 7000 feet, starting the standard approach procedure. The airplane further descended to 5000 feet, which it reached three minutes later. The crew switched the Altitude Alert System to 4300 ft (the minimum sector altitude is 4354 feet) and continued the descent. The altitude alert horn sounds 900 feet prior to reaching the preset altitude (approach mode) and 300 feet below that altitude (deviation mode). Since the flight had 700 feet to go, the horn would only sound at around 4000 feet. Since the crew descended below the minimum sector altitude, the altitude alert horn sounded at 4040 feet. The crew interpreted this being the approach mode alert, and continued their descent. Fifty-seven seconds after passing through the minimum sector altitude, the airplane struck the base of a structure of antennas located close to the top of Mount Oiz (3356 feet high). The left wing broke off and the remaining fuselage crashed onto the hillside, cutting a swath through the trees.
CAUSE: "Their confidence on the automatic capture performed by the Altitude Alert System, the misinterpretation of its warnings, as well as a probable misreading of the altimeter made the crew to fly below the safety altitude, colliding into the television antennas' base, thus losing the left wing, falling to the ground with no possible control of the aircraft."
