British police said they stopped a United Airlines pilot from flying while intoxicated earlier this week, pulling him from a Boeing 767 aircraft at London’s Heathrow airport and charging him with being on duty while his blood-alcohol level was over the limit.

Scotland Yard said the Erwin Vermont Washington, 51, was taken off the plane just before take-off Monday, Washington, of Lakewood Colorado, has been released on bail.

United spokeswoman Megan McCarthy sait that “the pilot has been removed from service” during an investigation.

“United’s alcohol policy is among the strictest in the industry, and we have no tolerance for violation of this well-established policy,” she said.

Approximately nine people have gone missing after a US Coast Guard plane and a Marine chopper collided around California’s Pacific Ocean coastline.

The mid-air collision took place around the eastern sea line of San Clemente Island off the coast of Southern California, late on Thursday. A Coast Guard C-130 surveillance-air hauler reportedly smashed into an AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter belonging to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is stationed at the Marine Corps Base Camp, Pendleton.

A US Federal Aviation Administration official confirmed the crash and noted that another pilot near the crash site reported having observed a ‘fireball’ at the time.

The US Navy and Coast Guard have dispatched search and rescue missions to the suspected collision zone for the seven-crew members of the four-engine C-130 Hercules and the chopper’s two-member squad.

There has been no further information on the cause of the accident so far.

Ten V-22 Ospreys were launched into Afghanistan from the amphibious assault ship Bataan on Friday.

The Ospreys, in the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, flew to Camp Bastion. It was the first unit to bring the Ospreys into Afshanistan, according to a statement from the Navy. There are more than 2,200 Marines and Sailors in the unit.

The Ospreys, which formed the bulk of VMM-263 (Reinforced) with the 22nd MEU will join Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 261 as part of MEB-Afghanistan’s aviation combat element, Marine Aircraft Group 40, according to the Marine Corps.

The Osprey has overcome controversy after a history of crashes. Thirty Marines and civillians died during its development.

Two of the first six aircraft crashed in 1989 during testing. A July 1992 accident during a landing at Quantico Marine Corps Air Station killed seven people.

USS New York (LPD 21), the fifth San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock, built with steel salvaged from the World Trade Center, was commissioned in a ceremony held in the shadow of the city for which it is named.

The ship is named New York in honor of the state and the courage and heroism of New Yorkers during and after the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, a former New York senator, was the keynote speaker for the ceremony.

“This ship carries with it searing memories of September 11,” said Clinton. “Lives cut short, families ripped apart, a nation attacked. And in that steel, burned but unbroken, lives the spirit we saw on 9/11 and the days that followed, the bravery of the rescuers, the resolve of the survivors, the compassion of this city, the patriotism of this great country.”

Thousands of veterans and invited guests witnessed the ceremony, which was also broadcast live in Times Square and on the Navy.mil website. The commissioning was the culmination of a week-long celebration of the Navy and Marine Corps team and the ship in New York City.

New York is an amphibious transport dock designed to transport Marines and their equipment. It will be used to support the nation’s maritime strategy, to include humanitarian assistance and maritime security operations. The ship’s homeport will be in Norfolk, Va.

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