Transportation

A blanket and pillow can transform a long, uncomfortable flight into a sleepfest, but not all airlines still hand them out. When they do, are they clean and safe to use?

By Patrick J. Kiger

The Boeing 737 first flew into the world a half century ago. Here's the scoop on Boeing's fastest-selling airplane.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Your pilot apologizes for your plane leaving late but then assures you she can make up the lost time in the sky. Is she pressing extra-hard on the accelerator or what?

By Nathan Chandler

Ever sat on an airplane and wondered how your laptop works at 30,000 feet?

By Patrick J. Kiger

The Dubai police force got the world's first legal personal drone. Are these flying motorbikes coming to streets near you?

By Cherise Threewitt

With 36,000 workers, it has its own fire department, banks, day care facilities, medical clinic and water treatment plant.

By Patrick J. Kiger

HowStuffWorks explains how physics helps animals get airborne.

Pilots on international flights use aviation English, a stripped-down, specialized version of the language, to communicate with air traffic controllers.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Commercial flight is extremely safe. But could it be even safer if airplanes had shoulder harnesses instead of lap belts?

By John Donovan

Train crashes are in the news lately, but are our fears justified?

By Stell Simonton

The Department of Homeland Security announced it is extending the REAL ID full enforcement date by 19 months to allow states time to get up and fully operational after the COVID-19 pandemic shut down many licensing offices.

By Cherise Threewitt

Camera-equipped commercial drones are cheaper and require less training. Is it time to say goodbye to your local eye-in-the-sky traffic reports?

By Patrick J. Kiger

Predicting turbulence isn't an exact science, but airline pilots use a variety of tools both high-tech and low before asking you to buckle up.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Dutch researchers are proposing banked, continuous runways to handle traffic more efficiently and take up less space.

By Patrick J. Kiger

It used to be that air travelers complained about not having enough legroom. But with airlines jamming more seats into planes, there’s less room for their heads, too.

By Patrick J. Kiger

In 2015, the U.S. population numbered 320 million, but less than 10 percent of those people rode the rails. So who does?

By Julia Layton

As "Sully" debuts in U.S. movie theaters, we ask aviation folks how exactly a pilot can successfully and safely land a plane on water.

By Kate Kershner

Wrecked aircraft ruins rest in remote worldwide spots. Who are the legion of aviation archaeologists dedicated to tracking down and preserving them?

By Patrick J. Kiger

What's to blame for instances of air rage? A new study suggests dividing classes on a plane increases tension and likelihood of problems.

By Christopher Hassiotis

Choosing your seatmates through social media? Facial recognition technology to match you and your luggage? The airline industry has the ideas... but will it adopt them?

By Patrick J. Kiger

Using low-tech solutions for high-tech problems, falconry may prove beneficial in combating all the wayward drones flying where they ought not to fly.

By Christopher Hassiotis

This hybrid airship isn't exactly your great-grandfather's zeppelin.

By Patrick J. Kiger

There are so many tweaks we wish airlines would implement, especially if future seat configurations mean stacking passengers with butts suspended above heads.

By Julie Douglas

Sure, flight-simulation video games and drone piloting both involve computer screens and handheld controllers, but do these similarities make gaming a useful training platform for real-life, high-stakes military operations?

By Kate Kershner

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's an unmanned aerial vehicle traveling faster than the speed of sound!

By Chris Opfer