Washington, D.C.

Few glitches reported in new baggage regimen

Airline passengers and officials said Thursday they had seen few delays in the days since tougher baggage screening rules were implemented, but the real test for the system is not expected until this weekend, when travelers return to the airports in force.

Midnight on New Year’s Eve marked the congressionally mandated deadline to screen 100 percent of checked airline baggage for explosives — about 2 million bags per day.

Some passenger groups and aviation officials feared gridlock and massive delays because of the screening requirement, but Transportation Security Administration spokesman Nico Melendez said things were going “extremely well.”

New York

State police limit cars linked to fatal accident

The New York State Police announced Thursday that it had parked all the Ford Crown Victorias in its fleet that lack a safety feature that might have saved the life of a trooper killed last month when his patrol car exploded.

The State Police was installing such shields in its fleet, but the Crown Victoria used Dec. 19 by Trooper Robert Ambrose did not have one when its rear end was rammed by a sport utility vehicle while the trooper was investigating a minor accident on the shoulder of the New York State Thruway near Yonkers.

Both cars caught fire, killing Ambrose, 31, and two others.

Louisiana

Father witnesses crash of daughter’s plane

The crash of a small plane that killed a man and a 13-year-old girl was witnessed by the girl’s father, who was flying nearby in a second aircraft, authorities said.

The single-engine plane went down about 2 p.m. Thursday about four miles north of Shreveport’s Downtown Airport, authorities said.

The father, William Ledger, made an emergency landing after seeing the crash.

Officials said pilot John Jordan, 48, of Bossier City, was found dead at the scene. Passenger Erika Ledger, of St. Amant, was pronounced dead at LSU Hospital in Shreveport.