Transportation
Many of us take public transportation or fly in airplanes on a regular basis, but have you ever wondered how all of these things work? This collection of transportation articles help explain how people get from place to place.
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Investigations into unruly-passenger incidents by the FAA have soared 168 percent through June over 2020's numbers. What's going on in the unfriendly skies? And what is the TSA doing to protect flight crews?
By John Donovan
It can definitely be done - we saw Capt. Sully Sullenberger successfully land an Airbus A320 without any engines, in the Hudson River no less. But just how far a plane can fly without its engines depends on a few different factors.
By Mark Mancini
Ever sprinted through one of these behemoth airports desperate to make a flight? Here are the world's seven largest airports, not by passenger volume, but by sheer size alone.
By Dylan Ris
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Fear of flying? Here are 13 airports where location, terrain, weather and design limitations make takeoff and landing a challenge for pilots and a nail-biter for passengers.
Measuring how fast an aircraft travels depends on whether you factor in the speed of the wind behind it.
Airlines are flying planes with no passengers, due in part to the worldwide outbreak of coronavirus, but also for economic reasons that have nothing to do with disease.
Pilots on international flights use aviation English, a stripped-down, specialized version of the language, to communicate with air traffic controllers.
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With 36,000 workers, it has its own fire department, banks, day care facilities, medical clinic and water treatment plant.
Ever sat on an airplane and wondered how your laptop works at 30,000 feet?
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?
The Boeing 737 first flew into the world a half century ago. Here's the scoop on Boeing's fastest-selling airplane.
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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?
Cleaning an airliner for the next flight is a complex undertaking that must be carried out rapidly. And it's even more important now during the coronavirus pandemic.
Although it doesn't happen often, large passenger jets crash for many reasons, from mechanical failure to pilot error.
The first commercial jetliners had square windows. So why did engineers change the design to the rounded windows we know today?
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We may fantasize about soaring through the sky, but humans aren't aerodynamic creatures. Could human flight be possible with personal jet packs?
The loops, rolls and rocketlike maneuvers these stunt pilots perform are astounding. What's the history behind aerobatics and how do they perform those tricks in the sky?
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.
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
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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?
There are so many tweaks we wish airlines would implement, especially if future seat configurations mean stacking passengers with butts suspended above heads.
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.
Commercial flight is extremely safe. But could it be even safer if airplanes had shoulder harnesses instead of lap belts?
By John Donovan
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Train crashes are in the news lately, but are our fears justified?
Without the system that pumps unused air from an aircraft's engines into the cabin, passengers and crew would be unable to breathe at 30,000 feet. But how does that system work?