December 7
A PNG Magistrate has found Cairns pilot Peter McGee and TAA Citation jet owner Andrew Reid from QLD's Gold Coast guilty of air safety breaches after an unauthorised landing on the island of Bougainville at an apparent 'no-go zone' airstrip back on September 30^th

 
The Million Dollar plus C550 corporate jet remains impounded by PNG authorities
 
"..while the men may believe a letter from the so-called government of Me'ekamui authorised the landing, the only legal approval could come from Papua New Guinea's Civil Aviation Authority"

December 5
Aircraft that finish up "in-the-drink" fascinate the news media - these images are from a story aired on OZ prime time TV over the week-end about an unlucky "election promotion" flight in the USA that finished up ditching in the brine
 
Images captured from local TV news - "Re-elect George W. Bush" was painted on the side of the fuselage - aircraft was a Convair 340 that suffered an engine failure shortly after take-off from Opa-locka Airport bound for Nassau in the Bahamas

December 6
Branson's Virgin Atlantic Airways has announced the launch site for the GlobalFlyer solo non-stop world record attempt will be from Salina Municipal Airport in Kansas USA
 
"If I run out of fuel in the last thousand miles I will be able to glide to a safe landing in any airport in Western USA. If I had chosen a West Coast airport I would risk ditching in the Pacific if I run out of fuel near the end"
 
The Rutan designed GlobalFlyer is expected to depart in January 2005 with 18,000lbs of fuel on board - more than 4 times the weight of the 3,577lb aircraft