More than 80 percent of Alaska’s communities lie off the road or ferry system, accessible only by air, according to Alaska Dispatch.

Airport and aviation infrastructure are vital to many rural communities in providing much-needed goods and services.

On Tuesday, the Department of Transportation (DOT) released its annual “Alaska Airports and Aviation” report for 2011, which summarizes the numerous initiatives that the Statewide Aviation Division will undertake in the coming year, including 18 airport improvement projects costing more than $100 million, as well as numerous safety and education initiatives.

Additionally, Steve Hatter, deputy commissioner of aviation with the DOT, said that rural Alaskans have an “enplanement” rate — the frequency with which they fly in an airplane — eight times above the national average for rural America. Rural Alaskans also ship nearly 40 times more freight than other rural Americans.

The DOT, which operates 254 airports of the more than 700 total airports around Alaska, said that aviation accounted for about 10 percent of all employment in the state and 8 percent of gross state product.

The DOT is also undertaking numerous safety initiatives in 2012, the foremost of which is the continued development of the NextGen satellite communication program, which the Federal Aviation Administration hopes will improve safety for aviators around the U.S.

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If you or someone you know has had his or her safety compromised on a commercial or private aircraft, the aviation lawyers at Nurenberg, Paris, Heller & McCarthy may be able to help.

A 57-year-old man from Massachusetts is accused of killing his daughter in a plane crash, according to the Concord Monitor. The Hillsboro pilot was indicted by a Massachusetts grand jury on Friday with involuntary manslaughter in connection with a 2011 New Year’s Day plane crash.

The pilot was flying a fixed-wing, Cessna airplane without sufficient experience or licensure.

“[He] was neither licensed nor qualified to fly that twin-engine plane without an instructor on board, and he was repeatedly warned as such, yet he nevertheless chose to fly the plane at night with a passenger on board,” the Assistant District Attorney said.

His daughter, the mother of two sons, was killed because of her father’s “wanton or reckless conduct.”

On the day of the accident, the pilot took off from Dillant-Hopkins Airport in Keene about 4:30 p.m., and around 6 p.m., the plane hit some trees and landed in a shallow marsh about 100 yards short of the runway, according to a report by the National Transportation Safety Board.

His daughter was pronounced dead at the scene.

Emergency responders found her in the upside down plane, its wings sheared off, officials said.

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If you or someone you know has had his or her safety compromised on a commercial or private aircraft, the aviation lawyers at Nurenberg, Paris, Heller & McCarthy may be able to help.

A Southwest worker at Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., died after a collision that occurred on the airport’s airfield, reports the Digital Journal.

The collision occurred between a baggage cart and mobile lounge on Thursday at approximately 7 a.m.

The employee was driving the baggage cart when a collision occurred with one of the people movers that carry passengers to the some of the airport gates not connected to the main terminal.

After the accident, the Southwest employee was immediately airlifted to Inova Fairfax Hospital. The airline learned the next morning that he had passed away.

“We continue to work with the local authorities and the airport to investigate the accident. The Southwest Airlines Family is greatly saddened by the passing of our Southwest Family Member, and we extend our heartfelt sympathies and support to his entire family at this time,” said a Southwest spokesperson.

Dulles is one of few airports in the world that still uses Plane Mates (people movers) to transport passengers between terminals.

No charges have been filed at this time. Currently authorities are conducting an investigation into the accident.

Do you think this accident could have been prevented?

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If you or someone you know has had his or her safety compromised in an airplane-related accident, the aviation lawyers at Nurenberg, Paris, Heller & McCarthy may be able to help.

In the past five years, one in 49 million commercial flights has crashed, a 93 percent decline from 1994-1998, according to Bloomberg Businessweek. It’s been a decade since passengers have died in the crash of an airliner carrying more than 100 people.

It’s a dramatic turnaround. From July 1994 to January 1997, an airliner crashed at least once every three months, killing a total of 805 people. “It was overwhelming,” says a former vice-president for flight operations at Continental Airlines. “They were falling out of the sky.”

After TWA Flight 800 exploded over the Atlantic Ocean in July 1996, killing 230 people, the federal government intervened, but not with sweeping laws or regulations. Instead, a series of seemingly mundane, incremental changes, many recommended by the industry itself and put in place at little cost, have gradually made skies safer.

In 1997, President Bill Clinton created a commission that called on the federal government and the airline industry to reduce the accident rate by 80 percent over 10 years. Groups used to working against each other—the Federal Aviation Administration, commercial airlines, manufacturers, and labor unions—formed the Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST) to analyze accident data and suggest improvements.

CAST has made 185 recommendations since it first met in 1998 and continues to debate improvements.

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If you or someone you know has had his or her safety compromised on a commercial or private aircraft, the aviation lawyers at Nurenberg, Paris, Heller & McCarthy may be able to help.

While lawmakers finalize a longer bill, the House approved an extension of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) funding Tuesday that avoids a shutdown of the beleaguered agency, according to The Hill.

If the extension is approved by the Senate before Jan. 31, the measure will be the 23rd short-term extension of the FAA’s funding since 2007.

The short-term extensions are harmful to the maintenance of the national aviation system, supporters of the FAA funding say, but lawmakers argue that this short-term measure will be the last one.

“If we want to see Americans back to work, we’ll pass this legislation by the 17th of February, and then we’ll come back in the next week or two, and we will pass a long-term infrastructure transportation measure,” the House Transportation Committee Chairman said.

The latest extension is necessary for lawmakers to finalize a deal on a multi-year measure.

The compromise bill would fund the FAA for four years.

Do you think the FAA should receive another extension?

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If you or someone you know has had his or her safety compromised on a commercial or private aircraft, the aviation lawyers at Nurenberg, Paris, Heller & McCarthy may be able to help.

Returning to their Versailles, Indiana, home after a flight from Chicago, two people died when their 1968 Cessna 177 Cardinal crashed in a wooded field on Saturday at 8:41 p.m. about nine miles northwest of Madison Municipal Airport in Madison, Indiana, according to Examiner.com.

A husband and wife, both 55-years-old, died in the crash. They owned a soybean farm in Jennings County, and she was a former high school teacher.

The aircraft was apparently ablaze before it crashed, according to a resident about a mile from the site of impact, who told a reporter, “I looked up in the sky and saw a big ball of fire. I just saw it fall straight down and explode as it hit the ground. I didn’t know what it was. I had no idea. I just saw a big orange circle in the sky and saw it fall.”

Indiana State Police were notified of the crash at 8:45 p.m. on Saturday and secured the area, which showed multiple parts of the plane scattered in small pieces over a wide debris path.

A team from the Federal Aviation Administration arrived by 1:00 a.m. Both the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating this fatal incident.

What do you think happened in this Indiana small plane crash?

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If you or someone you know has had his or her safety compromised on a private aircraft, the aviation lawyers at Nurenberg, Paris, Heller & McCarthy may be able to help.

The Alabama State Trooper Aviation Unit rescue team dangled from a 100-foot line extended from a helicopter to remove a woman and her two young children from a Jeep stranded in the middle of a rain-swollen river on January 13, according to The Gadsden Times.

The unit rescued the woman and her two children, ages 2 and 4, after they and a friend were stranded in a Jeep Wrangler in Little River Canyon National Preserve in northeast Alabama.

They were in the park’s back country and had tried to cross the rain-swollen river the night before, when the vehicle was swept downriver about 7:30 p.m. Jan. 12.

The Jeep hit submerged rocks and came to rest about 30 to 40 feet off shore in swiftly moving chest-deep water, reports a news release from the troopers.

The four stayed in the Jeep overnight until the next morning at daylight, when the friend swam to shore to seek help. Temperatures were in the 20s with wind chills in the single digits.

Once rescue squad officials assessed the situation, they immediately called for the aviation unit, “We knew we were going to have to have them.

“They are providing a tremendous service not just for our area, but statewide. They are very well trained.”

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If you or someone you know has had his or her safety compromised on a commercial or private aircraft, the aviation lawyers at Nurenberg, Paris, Heller & McCarthy may be able to help.

Today two people were killed after a light aircraft crashed into Long Mountain in Leighton, close to Welshpool, reports the BBC.

One of these people was one of the founders and the manager of Mid Wales Airport, near Welshpool, which was built on his land in the early 1990s.  He was a businessman and a farmer.

Following the air crash, Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service sent three engines to the scene, and police and the Welsh Ambulance Service were also there.

A local farmer said that the plane crashed into a field around a mile from his house.

“Part of it is in the field and part of it is in the woods, so it’s obviously broken up quite a bit.”

Mid Wales Airport would not comment, but it closed for the day after the tragedy.

The Air Accident Investigation Branch is investigating.

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If you or someone you know has had his or her safety compromised on a commercial or private aircraft, the aviation lawyers at Nurenberg, Paris, Heller & McCarthy may be able to help.

Two people were injured Wednesday morning, January 11, near Fitchburg (Massachusetts) Municipal Airport, according to the Worchester Telegraph.

The pilot crash-landed his troubled plane and avoided hitting any buildings. No one on the ground was harmed, but the pilot and his passenger were injured.

“The pilot looked for an area to mitigate any harm or damage,” said officials.

A 56-year-old male flight instructor from Framingham and a 48-year-old male passenger from Acton were practicing touch-and-go landings at the airport. The instructor was at the controls when he experienced engine trouble.

The pilot told police that when he realized the plane was going to crash, he tried to find an open area in which to land and that the plane may have hit a small stand of trees before bouncing to the ground.

The passenger is believed to have suffered a leg injury. He was found on the ground after the crash holding his knee. The pilot is believed to have suffered a minor back injury.

Both men were taken to Health Alliance Leominster Campus soon after the 9:30 a.m. incident.

The plane, a Cessna 150, sustained heavy damage.

A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said an investigator has been dispatched to Fitchburg. The crash is also being investigated by the state police, the National Transportation Safety Board, and the Fitchburg Police Department

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If you or someone you know has had his or her safety compromised on a commercial or private aircraft, the aviation lawyers at Nurenberg, Paris, Heller & McCarthy may be able to help.

Last week a hot air balloon hit electrical wires and crashed in flames, killing 11 people, reports Bloomberg.com.

Police said that the pilot and all 10 of the passengers on board are believed to be from New Zealand.

After a 45-minute flight near Carterton, about 50 miles northeast of the capital, Wellington, the balloon struck power lines and caught fire.

After the flames erupted, a male and female jumped from the basket to their deaths. Then the craft made a sharp descent and crashed to the ground, killing all of those still on board.

The investigation “is not a quick process and will take some time to complete,” said the Wairarapa Area Commander Inspector.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission and Civil Aviation Authority are among those involved in examining the New Zealand crash.

“Experts will be looking to learn any lessons from the investigations, which have begun today which can help improve safety for others in the future,” the Transport Minister said.

The balloon accident may damage New Zealand’s tourism industry. Tourism is one of the country’s biggest export earners, partly through highlighting outdoor activities such as bungee jumping, ballooning, and skiing.

The balloon accident is the biggest loss of New Zealand life in an air accident since 1979, when an Air New Zealand sightseeing flight over Antarctica crashed and killed all 257 passengers and crew.

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If you or someone you know has had his or her safety compromised on a commercial or private aircraft, the aviation lawyers at Nurenberg, Paris, Heller & McCarthy may be able to help.