LAistory is a series that takes us on a journey to what came before to help us understand where we are today. So far we've been to Val Verde (the "Black Palm Springs"), Thelma Todd's Roadside Cafe, a house in Beverly Hills, Echo Park's Bonnie Brae House, and the long-gone Marineland of the Pacific. Now we're taking to the skies and flying back to the Golden Era of air travel right here in Glendale.........

At least four people were critically injured after a twin-engine Cessna 310 airplane crashed in the 500 block of West Cypress in Compton this afternoon. The plane crashed into two homes on a residential street about a quarter-mile from Compton/Woodley Airport, according to ABC7. Two of the injured were flying in the plane and the other two were on the ground. The flight originated in San Diego and was bound for Hawthorne. AP Photo/Dan Steinberg......

Photo by El A'shantiq via Flickr Late Monday night at LAX, an Australian-bound Qantas Boeing 747 blew four tires while attempting to take off. The pilot aborted the takeoff after a warning light went on, braking suddenly, damaging the tires as the plane came to a rest to the side of a taxiway. It is unknown what caused the light Rescue crews took everyone off the plane and Qantas provided hotels for passengers as......

Music Center fountain, by ellwoodite via LAist Featured Photos Pool on Flickr A bomb scare closed the short-term parking structure at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank this morning after a small suitcase was found without its owner, according to officials at the airport. The suitcase was detonated by the bomb squad and the parking lot re-opened after being closed for an hour. An inert World War II-era grenade left on top of a vehicle parked......

Bargain airliner Skybus is adding a route into Burbank's Bob Hope Airport starting Monday. The airline has two US hubs, and has been operating flights to and from the one in Columbus, Ohio for some time now, and is now linking BUR with its other hub in Greensboro, North Carolina. The big draw with Skybus is that they sell ten seats on every flight for $10 each (plus all those pesky fees and taxes, of......

The Lakers aren't the only team with a new big man. The Los Angeles Times just added local icon Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to their roster of bloggers. Among his early advice to readers? Shoot the skyhook: "The 50-plus player can still run with a younger crowd at the park or fitness club, but it's best to avoid knocking around in the mosh pit under the basket. One trick the guys won't see coming? The skyhook .........

Tuesday, a 16-year-old California teenager was arrested in Nashville after a Southwest Airlines flight Los Angeles. The AP reports that "Authorities searched the teen's home in California and found a mock cockpit... The teen's parents were reportedly unaware he was traveling to Nashville." Rumors floated around the media saying the teen planned to crash the plane into a Louisiana Hannah Montana concert. The 16-year-old was taken into custody by airport police without incident on Tuesday......

News on Heath Ledger's untimely and tragic death is still developing. Keep checking our sister site Gothamist for updates. OMG, girls, have you heard? Caroline on Crack is holding the best contest evarrrrr over at her site -- head over now for your chance to win a date with one of L.A.'s most eligible bachelors, Andy Sternberg, our very own News Editor! I can say with utmost confidence that he is totally not a......

The 80th Annual Academy Awards are scheduled to take place Feb. 24 at Hollywood & Highland's Kodak TheatreAuthorities have released the names of the victims in yesterday's deadly airplane collision in the skies above Corona. According to KNBC.com, "one of the victims -- Earl Smiddy, 58, of Moreno Valley -- was on the ground when he was hit by falling debris. The other victims were identified as Anthony Joel Guzman, 20, of Hesperia; Scott......

Two Sunday afternoon small-aircraft flights turned deadly yesterday when the planes collided mid-air over Corona, sending bodies and debris flying through the air and onto parking lots below and killing five people. The owner of one of the planes, a Cessna 172, was not piloting the aircraft, and knew about the crash from having seen the television news. William A. Reinke from La Habra did not offer any information to the media regarding who was......

Photographs from my plane ride back to Los Angeles....

This shot was captured on a flight from JFK to LAX a few days ago. It's always a reminder of how small we really are when we have the chance to see things from so high above. Bonus props to the folks at the Crenshaw Christian Center who maybe had their name included on the parkling lot asphalt so that the man upstairs would know where to look in case of an emergency...or apocalypse.......

5. Airbus was actually going to dis LAX until a few weeks ago because the airport was so far behind on the infamous ~$50 million modifications needed to accommodate the 8-story tall village-in-the-sky. So while 550 Lufthansa passengers will arrive simultaneously (9:30 a.m. PDT Monday) at New York's JFK, the LAX-bound A380 is practically a test flight, with only handful of Airbus techs and some heavy equipment (although it's rumored that Samuel L. Jackson......

An Iraqi national named Fadhel Maliki was detained this morning while trying to board a plane at Los Angeles International Airport. He is suspected of trying to smuggle metal objects hidden in his rectum. The hole truth is unknown at this time, but some details are starting to leak out. Airport officials reacted swiftly, and there were no reports of any major backup for other travelers still at the airport. Passengers on the plane......

Attention LAXers, BURbankinos, ONTarioids, John Wayne SNAholes and LGBeachettes… !! Six airlines announced yesterday that they will be adding iPod connections to their fleet of big Tylenols. For those flying the friendly skies on United, Continental, Delta, Emirates, KLM and Air France you will soon have the power to run and charge your iPod while in flight, as well as watch videos on the seat-back display of the fidgety, sweaty guy in front of......