FAA

With our wars winding down and the domestic use of drones ramping up, the multibillion-dollar industry wants to upgrade its image as makers of assassins in the sky.

After all, these "unmanned aerial vehicles" can also play important roles as sophisticated map makers, aerial photographers, search and rescue aids and scientific tools.

Privacy advocates, however, are gravely concerned about another obvious domestic use: midair snoop.

LOS ANGELES -- Alec Baldwin's dustup with American Airlines continued for a second day Wednesday, with the airline taking to social media to maintain it was following federal regulations when it booted an "extremely vocal customer" from a flight for refusing to shut off his cellphone.

The airline, which earlier cited passenger privacy in declining to discuss the matter, said on its Facebook page it decided "to provide the actual facts of the matter" after Baldwin stated publicly he had gotten kicked off the flight.

OGDEN -- The city's planned crime-fighting blimp could begin patrolling Ogden's airspace in time for Christmas, the police chief says.

CAHOKIA, Ill. -- A mysterious plane crash that killed two men near Belleville, Ill., last year was caused by pilot error during challenging weather, according to a new report released by the National Transportation Safety Board.

SEATTLE -- The Federal Aviation Administration has suspended an air traffic controller at Boeing Field in Seattle for falling asleep during his morning shift Monday.

The controller was monitoring local traffic in the airport tower cab while two other controllers worked arriving and departing aircraft, the agency said in a news release issued Tuesday.

WASHINGTON -- Last year alone, more than 100 incidents occurred at Los Angeles International Airport in which the safety of planes was put at risk by people pointing at them with lasers, and nearly as many incidents took place at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, federal officials said Wednesday.

Overall, the number of incidents nationally in which people pointed lasers at planes and helicopters nearly doubled last year, from 1,527 incidents in 2009 to 2,836 incidents in 2010, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

Many of the incidents involve airliners in the midst of takeoffs or landings, critical phases of flight in which pilots need to be at their most alert. Pointing lasers at cockpits can temporarily blind pilots or even permanently damage their eyesight. In some instances, pilots have had to relinquish control of their aircraft to another pilot.