FAA Investigates Near-Collision Claim: The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a claim by an Alaska flying instructor that a C-17 assigned to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson overtook her single-engine Cessna while flying a practice mission near Wasilla last month, reported the Anchorage Daily News. Instructor Heidi Ruess, with Arctic Flyers, said the cargo airplane came within 100 feet of her aircraft on Sept. 20. The military denies that the C-17 came any closer than 500 feet, according to the newspaper.
A-10 Thunderbolt II attack planes in the Middle East are flying with fresh modifications as the Air Force looks to make the plane more versatile amid America’s ongoing blockade of Iranian ports and a tenuous ceasefire in the U.S. air war against Iran.