Runway

Two planes nearly collided at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport this week as one aircraft took off just above another that had landed, federal officials said. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the near-collision, which occurred at the intersection of two runways at 7:20 p.m. Sunday. The investigation of the "runway incursion" is focusing on possible mistakes by air traffic controllers in the tower, not pilot error, said a spokesman with the Federal Aviation Administration.

In sleek suits and fedoras worn at a deft tilt, members of Mantazia are all elegant business as they seize the runway. Vintage disco, Kraftwerk's robotic "Trans-Europe Express," adds an aura of foreign intrigue while each man plants a toe and swivels 360 degrees in unison with the others.The men are "working it" at a Sunday evening fashion show sponsored by the Flair Modeling Agency at the Forum in Northwest Baltimore.With deadpan macho finesse, the men toy with props: cell phones, cigars, the business page.

The pilot who died when his single-engine aircraft crashed Sunday night at the Ocean City Airport has been identified as the operator of a charter fishing boat, said a spokesman for Ocean City police.Officer Jay Hancock, the spokesman, said Linwood Ashley Martens, 62, of the 400 block of 14th St. reportedly was practicing landings and take-offs in his Cessna and trying to land about 10 p.m. when the aircraft crashed in a marshy area several yards parallel to the runway.The runway lights were operating but heavy fog might have prevented Martens from seeing the runway, Hancock said.

I'm thinking of changing my hairstyle and have been looking through magazines to get ideas. All I find are crazy looks that no woman I know would wear in real life. I makes me mad. Why do designers do this?For an answer I checked with Manhattan's Bumble & Bumble, hairstylists who have done shows for designers such as Miuccia Prada, Gianni Versace and Alexander McQueen. Owner Michael Gordon urges you to bear in mind that what you see on the runway (and in the fashion pages) are uncut hairstyles.

Residents of Glen Burnie, Linthicum, Millersville and Crownsville may notice a shift in aircraft noise patterns during the next two months because of construction work on a runway at Baltimore-Washington International Airport.Routine maintenance on Runway 15R/33L, which began Aug. 15, is expected to take 70 days. It will require alternating full and partial closings of the runway.During the five phases of construction, which include pavement work, minor flight delays and changes in air traffic patterns will occur.

A freshman forward on the Coppin State basketball team was slightly injured yesterday after a Continental Airlines plane overshot a runway at Washington's National Airport and stopped 200 feet short of the Potomac River.Rafi Reavis, a 6-foot-8 freshman from Dade City, Fla., was removed from National Airport on a stretcher and taken to National Hospital Medical Center in Arlington, Va. Reavis complained of chest pains after the incident on a Boeing 737 jet carrying 74 passengers and a crew of five that was traveling from Tampa, Fla., via Greensboro, N.C. A hospital spokeswoman said Reavis likely suffered a stress reaction and was released in good condition.

AlliedSignal Aerospace had a busy day yesterday at the Farnborough Air Show in England, announcing a pair of developments that benefit its Communications Systems operation in Towson.A precision runway monitor system developed at the Joppa Road facility won final acceptance from the Federal Aviation Administration for use at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport.And the British military agreed to purchase customized friend-or-foe identification transponders for certain long-range support helicopters.

A two-engine airplane crashed into a chain-link fence Wednesday after skidding across the runway at Lee Airport in Edgewater, county police said.David Matthew Yocum, 44, was trying to land the plane in a rainstorm on the airport's east runway just before 10 p.m. As he was braking, the plane's wheels began to slip across the water on the runway, police said.Mr. Yocum turned the plane and tried to stop again but crashed into the fence before he could, police said. No one was injured.I= Lee Airport is in the 300 block of Solomon's Island Road.

It was a cold and stormy day. Arctic winds cutting between warehouses just off the river in New York tore at the silk scarves and cashmere wraps of the fashion crowd pushing to get out of the chill and into the Barry Bricken show.It was the first full-tilt runway show for the Baltimore-bred Barry Bricken, and the first time top American menswear designers had shown their fall lines collectively. A new experience all around. Runway hype is not a guy thing. In the men's fashion world, clothes are usually sold in a showroom environment, where buyers can feel the goods and check the guts of a garment.

.TC New York -- Men, bless them. When they do fashion, it's nothing like the three-ring circus of the semi-annual women's collections, which are held in tents filled to bursting with paparazzi, star-watchers and crazy couture. American menswear designers, with a few Europeans tossed in, held their first collective fashion showings in Manhattan this week in the cluster of sound stages and recording studios along 54th Street. It all came together in the mix -- centralized, organized and energized.

3 more probable flu cases in Md. State health officials reported Wednesday three new probable cases of swine flu in Maryland. The cases, which include two children from Prince George's County and one child from Anne Arundel Count, bring the state's tally of probable cases to 18. Maryland also has four confirmed cases of the virus, known as H1N1, which has spread rapidly across the country since an outbreak in Mexico last week. Nationwide, at least 1,487 probable and confirmed cases have been found in 44 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Kent Island plane mishap is investigated Authorities are investigating an airplane accident in which a pilot giving a flight lesson lost control of a small Cessna while landing at a Kent Island airport and skidded off the runway, Maryland State Police said. No injuries were reported. State police at the Centreville barracks said the accident occurred about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Bay Bridge Airport in Stevensville in Queen Anne's County. Police said the pilot, Matthew Parrish Partovi, 42, of Annapolis, was teaching David James Miller, 23, of Queenstown.

Christian Siriano's days of making sacrifices in the name of fashion may be coming to an end now that he has been named the top designer of this season's Project Runway. In last night's finale, the outspoken 22-year-old Annapolisnative - who works out of a cramped New York apartment and does without a real bed (all to afford more clothes) - took home the $100,000 prize to start his own fashion line. Siriano, a graduate of the Baltimore School for the Arts and the fan favorite on the Bravo series, beat out former Ralph Lauren designer Jillian Lewis and Los Angeles drape artist RamiKashou for the final prize.

Two planes nearly collided at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport this week as one aircraft took off just above another that had landed, federal officials said. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the near-collision, which occurred at the intersection of two runways at 7:20 p.m. Sunday. The investigation of the "runway incursion" is focusing on possible mistakes by air traffic controllers in the tower, not pilot error, said a spokesman with the Federal Aviation Administration.

Despite recently losing commercial service once supported by federal subsidies, Hagerstown Regional Airport marks the completion today of a $62 million project that extended its runway by 1,500 feet. The lengthened 7,000-foot runway will allow fully loaded regional jets and charter planes to fly to places such as St. Louis or Atlanta, the airport's director, Carolyn S. Motz, said yesterday. "Now we can do what they do at Reagan National, what any airport that has 7,000 feet of runway does," Motz said.

Designer Vera Wang unveiled her spring collection under the Fashion Week tents at Bryant Park on Friday, displaying metallic printed skirts and boldly colored dresses. But for those who can't afford $1,500 dresses - or higher-priced items from Wang's runway line - the bridal-gown-guru-turned-top-ready-to-wear designer also has launched a more affordable option. Simply Vera Vera Wang officially debuted last week at Kohl's department stores. The clothes, from $34 to $200, shuttle Wang into the ever-growing group of designers who have partnered with discount chains to sell luxury-style clothing to everyday people.

Under the glare of bright lights, camera flashes and critical eyes, big-named designers such as Carolina Herrera, Oscar de la Renta and Anna Sui will unveil their spring collections tomorrow - the sixth day of New York's Fashion Week. But the frenetic day of runway shows will end where many of the industry's most savvy say contemporary fashion begins: At the Marc Jacobs show. No matter what his freshly envisioned clothes actually look like - glamorous or grunge, romantic or retro - the 44-year-old designer Jacobs will unveil a fashion vision tomorrow night that is almost certain to define the direction for spring and set trends for future seasons.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING TODAY'S SUN COLUMNISTS Ravens quarterback Steve McNair has some of the same qualities as Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, but it's unclear if he can make the same kind of plays in key games. Sports baltimoresun.com/preston Cleared for takeoff Most of the preseason prognosticators are ready to hand the Lombardi Trophy to the New England Patriots, the Indianapolis Colts or the San Diego Chargers. But not so fast. Sports baltimoresun.com/schmuck OTHER VOICES Rashod D. Ollison on Regina Carter.

To accommodate corporate jets migrating away from major airports to regional ones, Carroll County commissioners adopted a contentious plan yesterday to build a new, expanded runway at the Carroll County Regional Airport in Westminster. The $56 million plan calls for relocating and extending the airport's main runway, giving larger jets the necessary space to take off with full tanks of fuel and more passengers. The plan would rebuild the 5,100-foot runway 250 feet west and 600 feet north of its present location.

Opponents of the proposed Carroll County Regional Airport expansion have ramped up their efforts to derail the project in advance of this week's scheduled vote by the county commissioners. One citizens' group sent a letter to the commissioners urging a six-month delay of the decision date, while another met with county officials last week to discuss its concerns. The commissioners are expected to vote Tuesday on one of four options for the airport expansion. "We'll deliberate," said Commissioner Michael D. Zimmer.