Pilot flying Tommy Lee is detained

A pilot ferrying rocker Tommy Lee in a helicopter was detained -- and later released -- by Los Angeles police after they said he interfered with one of their airships Sunday morning in Northeast Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Police were assisting firefighters around 10:15 a.m. Sunday when a helicopter flew under them at tree-top level, said LAPD spokeswoman Karen Smith.

"It obviously caused them great concern," said Smith, adding that the pilot of the errant helicopter failed to heed instructions from the Van Nuys tower.

The LAPD air unit caught up with the pilot at Van Nuys Airport and after questioning him, detained him on suspicion of flying under the influence. Smith said the pilot was later released because of a lack of evidence. Lee, who gained fame as the drummer for the rock band Motley Crue, was a passenger in the helicopter.

--Andrew Blankstein

Plane crash victim said to be aviation website chief [UPDATED]

Coroner's officials were working this morning to confirm the identities of two men killed in a plane crash Wednesday at the Santa Monica Airport, but friends said one of the men was Paulo Emanuele, general manager of the website www.airliners.net.

The red, two-seat Marchetti SF-260 airplane that crashed on the west end of the runway is registered to Malibu-based Wingspan Inc., but Assistant Chief Ed Winter of the Los Angeles County coroner's office said officials believe neither of the men was the registered owner.

An announcement went up on the aviation-interest website about 8:45 p.m. Wednesday night, telling visitors that Emanuele's "plane took off out of Santa Monica Airport at 5:00 PM and lost power. Paulo attempted to return to the airport, but the plane crashed on the runway."

Virgin America comes to O.C.

Virgin America announced today that it will begin flying this spring out of John Wayne Airport in Orange County, the ninth destination airport the airline will service.

The San Francisco-based airline will have five daily flights from San Francisco International Airport to Orange County starting April 30. Virgin America officials said introductory fares will start at $59. Virgin America, which launched in 2007, will also offer connecting flights from Orange County to Seattle, Boston, New York and Washington Dulles.

Orange County "is an enormously important travel market for us," said David Cush, Virgin America President and CEO, in a statement. He said that Virgin America, with its low fares, cabin mood lighting, and touch-screen seat-back entertainment, is "a perfect match for Orange County’s discriminating travelers."

The last time John Wayne Airport had a new airline was in 2003 with Midwest Airlines, which has since discontinued service, said Jenny Wedge, spokeswoman for the airport.

Southwest Airlines announced a few weeks ago that it will start service between Orange County and San Francisco. Other airlines that fly direct between Orange County and San Francisco are United Express under United Airlines and Delta Connection under SkyWest Airlines.

-- My-Thuan Tran

Los Angeles gives up operating Palmdale airport

More than seven weeks after United Airlines canceled its flights out of Palmdale, Los Angeles World Airports announced today that it plans to surrender its federal certification to operate Palmdale Regional Airport as a commercial facility.

Mike Molina, a LAWA spokesman, said maintaining the certificate no longer made sense given the current economic recession and the difficulty developing air service in the high desert city, where eight airlines have come and gone since 1971. United departed Dec. 7 after operating at Palmdale for 18 months.

Should the opportunity arise to provide air service in the future, Molina said that Los Angeles World Airports can easily reapply to the Federal Aviation Administration for permission to operate at Palmdale.

Read The Times' full story on the Palmdale airport.

-- Dan Weikel

Photo: United cancels flights out of Palmdale and plans to surrender its federal certification. Credit: Nam Y. Huh / Associated Press

Long Beach officials to consider privatizing airport

The Long Beach City Council on Tuesday is expected to go into closed session to consider the possibility of privatizing its airport, according to City Manager Pat West.

In an interview, West said investment firms including JP Morgan & Co. and Merrill Lynch have expressed interest in taking over the 60% of the airport’s runways and facilities that are not already leased. Financial arrangements for such a deal would be made under the auspices of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Privatization Pilot Program, West said.

At least one council member, however, has publicly criticized the idea of letting go of the facility and suggested the city, which faces a $15.7-million budget shortfall in the coming year, should instead focus on reduced spending.

-- Louis Sahagun

San Francisco airport to offer carbon credits to travelers

Worried about how that next airplane trip will affect the environment? The San Francisco Chronicle reports that a new experimental carbon credit program being offered by San Francisco International Airport may be just the ticket.

The paper reports that SFO would be the first airport in the nation, possibly the world, to offer the credits. At the very least, officials hope it will get people thinking. More from the Chronicle:

"The general idea, officials said, is that a traveler would approach a kiosk resembling the self-service check-in stations used by airlines, then punch in his or her destination.

The computer would calculate the carbon footprint and the cost of an investment to offset the damage. The traveler could then swipe a credit card to help save the planet.

Travelers would receive a printed receipt listing the projects benefiting from their environmental largesse."

--Andrew Blankstein