The EA-18G Growler officially arrived at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, last June 3, 2008, ushering in the next generation of naval electronic attack aircraft. The event marked the beginning of the much anticipated transition from the Vietnam-era EA-6B Prowler.

Presiding over the event were the Honorable Donald Winter, Secretary of the Navy; Jim Albaugh, executive vice president of The Boeing Company; US Rep. Rick Larsen; Captain Bradley Russell, commodore of Electronic Attack Wing, US Pacific Fleet; and Oak Harbor Mayor Jim Slowik.

As a more advanced and user-friendly aircraft, the Growler will require less manpower, cutting the four-man crew of the Prowler to only two.

The Navy has placed an order of approximately 85 Growler aircraft. VAQ-132 will be the first deploying squadron to receive the EA-18G, in 2009.

American Airlines started charging fees to most coach customers $15 to check a first bag. United Airlines and US Airways also followed, and will plan to charge of $15 a bag, too. US Airways’ enforced fee will be effective on July 9, 2008, while United Airlines’ will be on August 18, 2008. Delta Airlines will not charge for the first bag checked, but will require passengers to pay $25 for a second bag and $80 each for three to five checked bags. As of July 1, Southwest Airlines will be the only US carrier to allow two checked bags for free. The $25 fee for checking a second bag was already implemented by most US carriers and passengers are paying more for hefty bags as well.

The added surcharges are part of a menu of new fees aimed at helping the struggling airline industry cope with record fuel prices. For many, the added charges are leaving a bad taste.

Airlines stressed out that the increased fees are necessary to compensate for skyrocketing fuel prices. The said fee will definitely discourage people from traveling especially those who flies three or four times yearly.

SANTIAGO, Chile – A single-engine plane went missing for four days in Southern Chile was found Wednesday with nine survivors among the 10 people aboard.

Air Force Commander Gaston Elshols said the only person aboard that died the crash was the pilot, Nelson Bahamondes, 65.

Deputy Interior Minister Felipe Harboe said Bahamodes maneuvered the plane to prevent the impact of the crash in the heavily forested area. The cause of the accident is still unknown. He said four survivors had already been rescued to the nearby town of Puerto Raul Marin for medical care. Regional Governor Sergio Galilea said none of the survivors is seriously injured.

The Cessna Caravan disappeared Saturday during a flight from Puerto Montt to La Junta. Authorities mounted a large air and ground search operation until the wreck was sighted shortly afternoon on Wednesday from a helicopter.

The Cessna belonged to Patagonia Airlines. All the passengers were Chileans, including three people evacuated last month from the town of Chaiten.

A British warship which sank during the American Revolution was discovered at the bottom of Lake Ontario. Considered as one of the “Holy Grail” shipwrecks in the Great Lake, the warship was surprisingly well-preserved deep in the cold water.

The wreck founders regard it as a war grave and have no plans to raise the ship or remove any of its artifacts and they said that the ship was still considered the property of the British Admiralty.  The 80-foot sloop of war is the oldest shipwreck and the only British warship still fully intact ever found in the Great Lakes, said shipwreck enthusiasts Jim Kennard and Dan Scoville. 

The HMS Ontario which was lost during a gale in 1780, barely left any traces together with 130 people onboard.  Kennard and Scoville, in order to locate the HMS Ontario, used side-scanning sonar and an unmanned submersible.  Kennard and Scoville, however, declined to give the vessel’s exact location.  They only said that it was found off the southern shore.  The shipwreck is up to 500 feet deep and cannot be inaccessible by anyone except for experienced divers.

Canadian author, Arthur Britton Smith, who chronicled the history of the HMS Ontario in a 1997 book, “The Legend of the Lake”, when shown the underwater video of the find said: If it wasn’t for the zebra mussels, she looks like she only sunk last week.  He said the dark, cold freshwater acts as a perfect preservative.  At that depth, there is no light and no oxygen to hasten decomposition and little marine life to feed on the wood.

On October 31, 1780, the HMS Ontario went down with a garrison of 60 British soldiers, 40 crew mostly Canadians and about 30 American war prisoners.  The warship had been launched only five months earlier and was used to ferry troops and supplies along upstate New York’s frontier.  During that time, the Ontario was considered the biggest British ship on the Great Lakes but it never engaged in battle, said Smith.

For decades, explorers have been searching for the Ontario and there were many false finds over the years, said Eric Bloomquist, interpretative program manager at Old Fort Niagara.

After locating the wreck with the sonar, the explorers used the submersible to confirm their find, documenting their discovery with more than 80 minutes of underwater video.  The ship was identified for its rare feature, the two crow’s nests on each mast and another was the decoratively carved scroll bow stem.  The explorers also found two cannons two anchors and the ship’s bell.

The clincher was the quarter galleries on either side of the stem – a kind of balcony with windows typically placed on the sides of the stern-castle, a high, tower-like structure at the back of a ship that housed the officer’s quarters.

One of the explorers, Kennard, said that they will not be returning to the site as they have gathered enough video.  Kennard hoped to make a documentary about the discovery.