Three climbers died while descending from the summit of Mount Everest, Nepalese officials said on Monday.

Eberhard Schaaf, 61, from Aachen, Germany, who was climbing with the Eco Everest Expedition to remove decades-old garbage from the mountain, died on Saturday along the normal Southeast Ridge Route on the 29,035-foot peak.

Shriya Shah, a 32-year-old Nepal-born woman living in Canada, and a Korean, Song Won-Bin, also died while climbing down from the summit at the weekend, Tourism Ministry official Gyanendra Shrestha said.

"Schaaf died at the South Summit of Sagarmatha due to altitude sickness," said Ang Tshering Sherpa, chief of the Asian Trekking company that organized the expedition, referring to the Nepali name of the mountain. South Summit is about 28,697 feet high.

"If the family wants the body to be brought down we will try, but it is very difficult to do so from that altitude," Sherpa said.

Over the weekend, a 73-year-old Japanese woman improved her own record and climbed the peak for a second time at the weekend becoming the world's oldest woman to scale the giant peak.

Related: 73-year-old smashes own record as oldest woman to climb Mount Everest

Two Sherpas have died so far this season -- one after falling into a crevasse and the other reportedly from altitude sickness, according to National Geographic magazine.  At least 236 people have died climbing Everest since 1950.

The deaths mark an already controversial season on Everest. On May 5, Himalayan Experience announced that it was canceling its expedition because of safety concerns. Minimal snowpack and warm temperatures, among other factors, had led to dangerous conditions, including rock fall and avalanches, the company said.

Michael Fagin, who provides forecasting services for Everest teams and runs everestweather.com from Redmond, Wash., said the spring had been very dry and windy. In the past week, winds had reached up to 80 mph; climbers on Everest prefer them under 30 mph.

Eric Simonson, Himalayan program director of International Mountain Guides, told msnbc.com last week that to cancel an Everest expedition so early was "quite unprecedented," but added it is unreasonable to expect every team to agree on how to handle difficult conditions.

"They’re betting on there being a problem and all the other expeditions that have stayed are betting on our ability to mitigate that problem. I don’t think it has to reflect poorly on anyone."

Related: Climber's sky-high dreams dashed far below Everest summit

Last week, the National Geographic-North Face expedition, led by accomplished mountaineer Conrad Anker, canceled its plans to summit via the West Ridge due to icy conditions, but will still attempt to reach the peak via a different route.

About 300 climbers remain on the mountain at different camps waiting for a window of good weather to try to climb the peak before the onset of annual monsoon rains next month, which effectively ends the climbing season in the Himalayas.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Rebecca Ruiz is a reporter at msnbc.com. Follow her on Twitter here.

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The Federal Aviation Administration has proposed fining US Airways $395,850 for allegedly permitting hazardous materials on some of its flights without proper packaging and without notifying the airline's pilots.

In inspections conducted in 2010 at US Airways' facilities at Hartford’s Bradley International Airport, FAA says it found that the airline had accepted an undeclared shipment of 10 disposable cigarette lighters filled with flammable gas. The lighters were found in checked baggage belonging to a passenger.

The airline also "offered an improperly packaged shipment containing wet cell batteries filled with alkali, a corrosive, for transportation by air on a US Airways passenger-carrying flight," according to a statement released by FAA on Thursday.

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The inspection found violations on 12 flights to or from the Hartford airport between Feb. 26 and May 12, 2010.

FAA also alleges that US Airways pilots were not provided with the required information regarding 23 shipments of hazardous materials.

"US Airways responded promptly to the FAA regarding this matter in June 2010 and initiated a comprehensive review of our hazardous materials handling procedures and systematically evaluated our cargo operations to ensure we operate at the highest level of safety," Bill McGlashen, a spokesperson for US Airways, told msnbc.com.

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Joe Martinet

Climber Joe Martinet en route to the base of the Lhotse Face on Mount Everest in late April.

For six months, starting last September, Joe Martinet went to the gym twice a day for six days a week. He spent hours on a steep treadmill, wearing climbing boots and a 25-pound backpack. Then he hit the StairMaster and lifted weights.

When Martinet, 37, wasn't at the gym, he biked or ran near his home in Reston, Va. On the weekends, he'd drive 100 miles to Shenandoah National Park and scramble up one of the peaks, the tallest of which exceed 4,000 feet.

Martinet, a mountain climber who has scaled Alaska's Denali (20,320 feet), was training to summit Mount Everest this month.

His body wasn't the only thing Martinet, who develops satellite and cellphones, dedicated to his quest to summit the world's tallest mountain: a guided trip through Himalayan Experience cost about $55,000. 

On May 5, nearly a month into his expedition, Martinet's Everest dreams ended long before he ever got the chance to summit.

Himalayan Experience's lead guide Russell Brice announced that day that it was no longer safe to climb the peak, in what was described as a "somber" conversation in an account posted on the company's   website. Minimal snowpack and warm temperatures, among other factors, had led to dangerous conditions, including rock fall and avalanches. 

"[The decision] was almost a blindside," Martinet told msnbc.com. "To me, it wasn’t an option in my mind. When it hit, I was amazingly frustrated ... I’m frustrated I never got to try and find out if I was good enough."

Martinet will not receive a refund, though the company has said members of this year's expedition can receive a discount if they choose to try again in 2013.

Still, Martinet considers Himalayan Experience a top-caliber climbing outfit. Martinet heard and saw two separate mini-avalanches and could hear the ice crack and groan as it moved in a particularly treacherous section. "It was really dangerous this year from what they explained to us," he said.

Two Sherpas have died so far this season -- one after falling into a crevasse and the other reportedly from altitude sickness, according to National Geographic magazine.  More than 200 people have died climbing Everest since 1950.

The cancellation of the Himalayan Experience expedition, however, is the first time that a guided trip on Everest has been abandoned at this point in the two-month climbing season, according to professional guides.

Teams typically begin an expedition in April and spend a few weeks moving between camps in order to acclimate to thinning oxygen levels. No one has reached Everest's peak yet this season, but guides are hopeful that improving conditions will lead to several hundred summits by the end of May, which marks the start of monsoon weather.

"It was kind of unusual and kind of shocking to us that [Brice] pulled out," Todd Burleson, president of Alpine Ascents International, told msnbc.com. Burleson first summited Everest in 1992; his company is currently leading eight clients, who paid $65,000, up the mountain.

Since the Himalayan Experience trip was canceled, Burleson said, more snowfall has helped stabilize fragile ice and rock in the Khumbu Icefall, a specific area of concern for Brice. Sherpas and guides have also established safer routes through the treacherous section known as the Lhotse Face.

Multiple attempts to reach Brice and Himalayan Experience were unsuccessful, but the company listed a number of reasons for the controversial decision on its website.

Of particular concern, it said, were how the team's Sherpas were reacting to the conditions. They felt temperatures were too warm in the early morning, when climbers would be moving through the precarious icefall. The team was also frightened by the rockfall on the Lhotse Face, which had caused accidents. "A few more warm days like today in combination with big gusts of wind will see these rocks flying again," the site read.

Michael Fagin, who provides forecasting services for Everest teams and runs everestweather.com from Redmond, Wash., said the spring had been very dry and windy. In the past week, winds had reached up to 80 mph; climbers on Everest prefer them under 30 mph. Since Everest does not have a weather station, Fagin relies on several forecast models. The recent snowfall and an expected break in the winds should lead to a summit window soon, Fagin said.

Eric Simonson, Himalayan program director of International Mountain Guides, said that to cancel an Everest expedition so early was "quite unprecedented," but added it is unreasonable to expect every team to agree on how to handle difficult conditions.

"They’re betting on there being a problem and all the other expeditions that have stayed are betting on our ability to mitigate that problem. I don’t think it has to reflect poorly on anyone."

Simonson said his team hopes to establish the summit route by May 18. "If the weather complies," he said, "we could be seeing summits shortly thereafter."

Mark Jenkins, a writer for National Geographic magazine, is attempting to climb Everest as part of a joint expedition between National Geographic and The North Face. His team, Jenkins said in an e-mail from Everest's Base Camp to msnbc.com, is looking to summit before or May 25 depending on the weather, and that other teams were eying May 19.

"At this point," Jenkins said, "I believe we have a strong team and a fair chance at the summit. We’ll see."

On Wednesday afternoon, the National Geographic-North Face expedition, led by accomplished mountaineer Conrad Anker, canceled its plans to summit via the West Ridge due to icy conditions, but will still attempt to reach the peak via a different route.

Last year, a total of 537 climbers reached the peak from two routes. Simonson expects that at least 400 or 500 will try to summit in the next two weeks.

Martinet doesn't want Brice's concerns about safety to bear out for fear that tragedy could strike the teams still on the mountain. But it remains difficult for him to consider the alternative: he could still be on Everest, climbing his way to glory.

"There's no way for someone like me to go back next year," Martinet says. It would mean saving up another $50,000, convincing an employer to give him two months off and accept a time-consuming training schedule.

For the coming weeks, Martinet, who was laid off from his job just before he left for the expedition, plans to spend time with his wife and plot his next trip. He's considering Peru after meeting fellow climbers on Everest who had specific recommendations.

"I don’t know what it’s going to turn into yet," Martinet says of the experience. "It’s not settled for me yet. I hope it doesn’t haunt me."

He is, though, left with some good memories of Everest: "It was just a great place to be as a climber. To meet Conrad Anker, to be hanging out at Base Camp. To be in that environment and go through the Khumbu Icefall was phenomenal, I loved it. It was what I had gone for -- I wish I could have done more."

Rebecca Ruiz is a reporter at msnbc.com. Follow her on Twitter here.

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A Congressional report released today accuses the Transportation Security Administration of wasting hundreds of millions of dollars on screening technology and equipment that was not efficiently deployed at airports.

The report blasted the TSA for purchasing more explosive trace detectors (ETD) than necessary in order to receive a bulk discount and for warehousing 35 percent of security equipment for more than one year, among other claims.

The total value of equipment in storage is an estimated $184 million. The excessive number of ETD machines, which cost $30,000 each, amounted to nearly $44 million. The delay in deploying stored screening equipment resulted in depreciation estimated at $23 million. 

The report also alleges that TSA may have broken the law by "knowingly providing [a] materially false warehouse inventory report to Congressional staff."

 "The timely and effective deployment of screening technologies is essential to securing commercial aviation aircraft and maximizing taxpayer investment," said the report. "Committee staff uncovered that TSA continues to struggle to deploy and redeploy its screening technologies in a timely and efficient manner."

The is the second joint report criticizing the TSA published by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in the past six months. Committee chairs Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) and Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) are both outspoken critics of the TSA.

Related: Congressional report calls for drastic changes at TSA

The Department of Homeland Security, the agency that oversees TSA, has released a document in response to the report, arguing that security equipment is stored when airports are unable to install new technology and must await necessary infrastructure and staffing. It also says that TSA purchases technology in bulk in order to reduce overall cost. The recent acquisition of 2,000 ETD machines, for example, saved $3.5 million, according to DHS.

Having additional machines in storage also allows the agency some flexibility in responding to fluctuating threat assessments and security needs, according to DHS.

"To fulfill its security responsibilities, TSA rapidly deploys technology to respond to changing threat information, and stand up operations in locations affected by natural disasters and other crises," TSA spokesperson Sterling Payne said in a statement. "These factors and others require the agency to have a steady inventory of technology available to prevent supply disruptions from compromising aviation security."

In addition to slamming the agency for its equipment spending and deployment practices, the report called into question the TSA's use of advanced imaging technology (AIT) in full-body scanners. The report said that the machines were deployed "despite lingering passenger health concerns and uncertainty that AIT would have detected the weapon used in the December 2009 Underwear Bomber incident ..."

Citing U.S. officials, Reuters reported Tuesday that airport body scanners, which use light doses of radiation to scan through a passenger's clothes, ought to be able to detect "anomalies" — such as an underwear bomb — which could then be further examined in a hands-on, pat-down search.

Among many recommendations, the report suggests TSA require screening technologies be "reviewed and approved by an independent group of scientists;" cease all equipment purchases without a "bona fide" need; perform an internal review and cost-benefit analysis of all purchases and equipment deployment; limit excessive equipment storage times; and adjust TSA policy to "ensure compliance with Congressional oversight."

Rebecca Ruiz is a reporter at msnbc.com. Follow her on Twitter here.

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Reuters contributed to this report.

The Federal Aviation Administration has not adequately responded to whistleblower allegations and should be subject to more rigorous oversight, according to an investigation conducted by the Office of Special Counsel, an independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency. 

Special counsel Carolyn Lerner wrote in a letter to the White House and Congress on Tuesday that a "series of complaints suggests deficiencies in the FAA's oversight function." Among the complaints were concerns about air traffic controllers asleep on the job in the New York area and operational runway errors at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

The FAA has one of the highest rates of whistleblower filings per employee of any executive branch agency, according to Lerner's letter.

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The Office of Special counsel received 178 of these disclosures since 2007, 87 of which concerned aviation safety. All but five of those referrals were substantiated by the Department of Transportation, the agency that manages the FAA.

While noting that the U.S. aviation system is the "safest in the world," Lerner wrote that the FAA took inadequate steps or failed to address whistleblower concerns in some cases.

"These disclosures paint a picture of an agency with insufficient responsiveness given its critical public safety mission," Lerner wrote.

Whistleblower allegations included the following complaints:

• An air traffic controller reported that controllers in the New York area slept in the control room, played video games and watched movies while on duty and used "careless and casual language" when communicating with pilots, which led to a near-crash;
• Aircraft at New Jersey’s Teterboro Airport were cleared to depart without necessary distance from the wake turbulence of heavy jet aircraft approaching Newark Liberty International Airport
• Inconsistent requirements for distance between landing and departing aircraft leads to confusion and operational errors at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. In addition, faulty wind instruments are being used at the airport.

The Department of Transportation said that it takes all whistleblower complaints "seriously," according to a statement from the agency.

"We are confident that America's flying public is safe — thanks in part to changes that DOT and FAA have already made in response to these concerns and other whistleblower disclosures," the statement said. "DOT is committed to continuing to review its policies and practices to implement improvements where necessary."

In 2009, the FAA established an office dedicated to making sure whistleblower cases were reviewed and investigated independently. 

"Preventive measures could be far more effective if the Department of Transportation listened to its own employees' alarm bells, and was more prompt in its corrective actions after those alarms were sounded," Lerner wrote.

Rebecca Ruiz is a reporter at msnbc.com. Follow her on Twitter here.

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Courtesy Virgin Atlantic

Virgin Atlantic has just unveiled "Little Richards," ice cubes in the likeness of its president Sir Richard Branson.

If you didn't think Virgin Atlantic cabins, with their mood lighting and retro sensibility, could get any more psychedelic, think again.

The airline has just unveiled "Little Richard" ice cubes, which are molded in the likeness of the company's president, Sir Richard Branson. The details are striking in their resemblance, down to Branson's signature wavy hair and Cheshire grin. The airline said that it took six weeks to create the mold using photographic techniques and laser scanning technology.

When Branson announced the cube's debut on Wednesday on Twitter, he joked, "When I said let’s put the idea on ice, this isn’t what I had in mind @virginatlantic!"

Rather than a tribute to the airline's fearless leader, the cubes are a stunt to promote Virgin Atlantic's new onboard bar, which the airline says is the longest of any carrier. The bar is eight feet long, accommodates eight passengers and is a feature of the airline's new upper-class cabin. The bar is already on flights between JFK and Heathrow and will be added to more routes soon. The ice cubes will begin popping up in drinks this month.

This isn't the airline's first attempt to brand the new upper-class cabins. In March, the airline launched a red lipstick; a spokesperson for the company told TODAY.com that, “Red lips signify jet-set glamour and style synonymous with the Virgin Atlantic brand.”

Matt Eastwood, chief creative officer at the advertising agency DDB New York, called the ice cube-campaign "brilliant" since it quickly becomes a conversation starter.  "Is it the most amazing idea I've ever seen? No. But it's smart, simple and very true to the brand character," Eastwood told msnbc.com. "And, best of all, it provides a quick, inexpensive media hit for the brand."

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Rebecca Ruiz is a reporter at msnbc.com. Follow her on Twitter.

A federal grand jury indicted three U.S. airport workers Tuesday on charges of conspiracy to smuggle methamphetamine and heroin into the country.

Carlos R. Springer, 41, of Hampton, Ga.,  Kelvin Rondon, 27, and Luis Marroquin, 35, both of Atlanta, are accused of conspiring to bring more than $500,000 worth of drugs into the U.S. on a Delta Air Lines flight from Mexico earlier this year.

On January 13, a Delta Air Lines agent at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson airport found an unclaimed piece of baggage at the luggage carousel corresponding to Delta Flight 364, which had arrived from Mexico City, according to a statement released by the United States Attorney's Office Northern District of Georgia.

Customs and Border Protection agents discovered packages of methamphetamine and heroin inside the bag. An investigation found that Springer and Marroquin had sent "coded incriminating text messages" around the time of the flight's arrival.

The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison and a fine of up to $10,000,000.

“We will continue to work with airline security teams and our law enforcement partners to prosecute those who attempt to use their airport credentials and access as a means to engage in illegal drug trafficking,” United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said.

Last week, two former and two current Transportation Security Administration employees were indicted following a bribery scheme in which they permitted cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana to pass through the security checkpoint at LAX.

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Television producers at the Discovery Channel, Channel 4 in the UK and Pro Sieben in Germany recently crashed a Boeing 727 in the name of science.

The plane's pilot ejected from the aircraft minutes before the jet, guided remotely, went down in an isolated part of Mexico's Sonoran Desert, according to a press release from the Discovery Channel.

"Rather than carrying passengers, the plane was packed with scientific experiments, including crash test dummies," the statement said. "Dozens of cameras recorded the crash from inside the aircraft, on the ground, in chase planes and even on the ejecting pilot's helmet."

Scientists and veteran crash investigators will review the results of the crash. Laurie Goldberg, executive vice president of public relations at the Discovery Network, told msnbc.com that the company is not releasing the names of the experts at this time.

The goal of the experiment, according to Discovery, is to learn more about how to improve survival chances when a crash occurs.

Intentionally crashing a plane is an atypical way of testing for safety. Laura Brown, a spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration, told msnbc.com that the agency has in the past conducted "drop tests," which involves dropping a plane fuselage (the body minus its wings) from a certain height.

The FAA, which was not involved in the Discovery Channel experiment, requires that manufacturers build planes to certain safety specifications, and create their own tests accordingly. Brown said that manufacturers, for example, frequently test wing structure and strength by bending it until the snapping point.

Such tests are a lot less dramatic than crashing a plane, but still effective in keeping passengers safe.

Boeing 727s were "the best-selling airliner in the world during the first 30 years of jet transport service," Boeing said on its website. The jet was produced from 1960 through 1984.

The crash will air later this year on the Discovery Channel program "Curiosity."

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