Business news for Tue, 18 Dec 2007 & with word aircraft. 3 news.

A teenager who suffered a ruptured appendix at sea, hundreds of miles from help, got an unusual rescue when the Navy airlifted her to an aircraft carrier for emergency surgery.

Best and worst of a prime year for business news BUSINESS dominated the news in 2007, perhaps more than in any year since the dotcom bubble burst in 2000 (in 2001 the terrorist attacks of September 11th eclipsed the admittedly high level of interest in Enron's collapse a month later). Here are the business.view Oscars, our list of the highest highs and lowest lows: Corporate aircraft in a supporting role: Citigroup's jet, which figured heavily in a scandal featuring a top Citi executive, Todd Thomson, and a top business journalist, Maria Bartiromo. This is a return to form for the aircraft: John Reid, a former Citi boss, married the stewardess a few years ago, provoking ribald jokes along the lines of "Before landing, please return the flight attendant to the upright position." ...

Spirit AeroSystems is on the verge of acquiring four Airbus aircraft plants in Germany and England, according to reports from several European newspapers. Airbus chief Thomas Enders said the company could decide by Friday to sell three plants in Germany and one in Britain to Spirit, Reuters reported, citing Saturday's Internet edition of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung. The Airbus plants are at Varel, Nordenham and Augsburg in Germany and Filton in Britain. Spirit spokeswoman Debbie Gann said Monday that the company wouldn't comment on the story. Airbus has not commented on the reports. An Airbus spokeswoman in the United States could not be reached.