There were a lot of great travel stories to cover this week. Passengers on a South African flight saw one of their plane’s engines plummet to the ground, Russian flyers staged an insurrection when they were told their flight would be delayed, and the largest airport in America shut down. Keep reading to see how some of my favorite bloggers covered these stories and more.

Plane Lands without Engine

Who said you need an engine to land a plane? My cohorts over at Standard Upright Position covered a story in which a plane departing from Cape Town, South Africa dropped its right engine to the ground, prompting an emergency landing. No one on board or down below was hurt, and the airline says the engine had “done what it was supposed to do if a foreign object was sucked in and caused dangerous vibrations that might damage the wing: shear off its engine.”

Russian Passengers Revolt

Just when you think air travel has gotten bad over here, you hear another crazy story coming out of Russia. In the past, there have been reports of drunken flight attendants attacking passengers, drunken flight attendants getting a little to friendly in the aisles, and young travelers clinging to the wings of planes. Most stories have a bit of dramatic flair to them, and this one is no different. As reported by Gadling (via The Moscow Times), Russian passengers started a minor riot when they were told an already delayed flight would be further delayed. Blockades and beatings followed as the passengers decided they simply weren’t going to take it any more.

US Airways Tops Complaint List

In the spirit of full disclosure, I should point out that I have been engaged in an ongoing battle with US Airways over a flight my cousin took from Germany to Philadelphia to Dallas. That said, The Consumerist reports that US Airways received more complaints than any other airline in September. The rate was 2.13 complaints for every 100,000 passengers, which may not seem like a lot, but it’s important to realize that those were just the folks that took the time to complain. There may be many more out there who just keep their frustration to themselves.

Hartfield-Jackson Airport Shuts Down

Atlanta’s Hartfield-Jackson is the busiest airport in the United States, so when something goes wrong there, passengers all over the country can be affected. Friday morning, an electrical fire cut power to one of the airport’s concourses, shutting down gates in the process. No injuries were reported, but Delta alone had to delay 120 flights either departing from or arriving in Atlanta. Visit MSNBC for the full story.

You Say You Want a Boarding Revolution

United had been toying with the idea of dual boarding. The practice makes use of more than just one of the plane’s doors to speed up the boarding and deplaning processes. United put this plan into action and things did speed up. Unfortunately, they ran into some trouble when the secondary jetway hit another plane. There’s a great post on JetWhine about the merits of dual boarding and what airlines can do to avoid the problem United ran into. If you have ever wanted to get on or off a plane faster, you will appreciate JetWhine’s “News Flash United Airlines Has a Good Idea!”

Have a great weekend!