Tattle: Olsen, Adlon, Spector were on problem plane

HERE'S SOMETHING it would be nice to know

before

you got on a Boeing 757: Every once in awhile there's a problem with the window heating system.

It's been enough of a problem that Boeing knows of 29 incidents over eight years involving the window heating system on its 747s, 757s, 767s, and 777s.

The airplane manufacturer issued safety bulletins to airlines between 2004 and 2007 requiring them to check for a loose screw holding the wires connected to the heating system.

Planes made since 2005 have used a different wiring system that Boeing believes has solved the problem, spokeswoman Sandra Angers said.

In 2008, the FAA proposed a rule that gave airlines a choice of regularly inspecting the heat terminal blocks on the big jets or replacing them. But FAA records show airlines strongly criticized the proposal and it hasn't been made final.

So the airlines criticize airplane-safety regulations, the coal-mining companies criticize mining-safety regulations and the oil companies criticize drilling-safety regulations.

How's that working out so far?

So, why, you ask, is this story in Tattle?

Because Sunday night United Airlines Flight 27 (a 757) en route from New York to Los Angeles with 112 people aboard made an emergency landing at Dulles International Airport in Virginia due to a cockpit fire, possibly caused by the plane's faulty window heating system.

Among the plane's passengers were Ashley Olsen, her boyfriend Justin Bartha ("The Hangover"), actress Pamela Adlon ("Californication") and Jarrod Spector (Broadway's "Jersey Boys").

The fire was extinguished before the plane landed and no injuries were reported, FAA spokeswoman Holly Baker said.

* In other aviation news, a service vehicle at Maine's Bangor International Airport has struck and killed two dogs owned by John Travolta.

The city says the accident happened after an airplane carrying members of Travolta's family landed last week and the dogs were being walked.

Travolta, an accomplished pilot, often flies to Bangor while en route to his home on Islesboro, off the Maine coast.

Tattbits

* TMZ.com reports

that mistress to the stars Rachel Uchitel will bare all - well, almost all - for Playboy magazine.

A source close to the mag told TMZ that should Rachel change her mind, she has the right to pull out any time.

That's the same deal Tiger had with Rachel.

* Former "Calorie Commando"

TV chef Juan Carlos Cruz pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges involving an alleged plot to hire two homeless men to kill his wife.

It seems that instead of cutting her calories, he allegedly wanted to cut her throat.

Bail was set at $2 million, and a preliminary hearing was scheduled for June 23.

The former Food Network host could face life in prison if convicted.

* Want to know

what inspires Ke$ha? She told "Extra," "Usually when I listen to music, I lock myself in my room, get naked and put on my mom's old records like Bob Dylan, the Stones, David Bowie and Queen."

Wow, another thing Ke$ha and Tattle have in common.

* At the Tony's this

year, there's going to be a lot of blue on the red carpet. Manhattan's Midtown North and Midtown South police precincts are being awarded a Tony Award for Excellence in the Theatre, the Tony committee that administers the awards announced yesterday.

The awards are in recognition of the precincts' work in the city's theater district, the committee said.

On May 1, police dealt with a potential car bomb that had been parked outside the theater where "The Lion King" plays.

In December, a plainclothes officer killed a suspected scam artist near a landmark Broadway hotel after a gunfight.

* Demi Moore's agent, Luke

Janklow, confirmed yesterday that the actress is working on a memoir and is meeting with publishers in New York.

Darn it would be nice if someone besides a celebrity could get a book deal.

Perhaps a writer.

* Italian composer Ennio Morr-

icone and Bjork (Iceland's second greatest export behind volcanic ash) have won the 2010 Polar Music Prize, the prize committee said yesterday.

They will be invited to accept the award, which includes $130,000 each in prize money, at a ceremony in Stockholm later this year.

The Polar Music Prize is Sweden's biggest music award and is typically shared by a pop artist and a classical musician. It was founded by Stig Anderson, manager of Swedish pop group ABBA, in 1989.

* Greece's deputy tourism minister, Angela Gerekou, resigned yesterday after tax officials said her husband, the popular (in Greece) singer Tolis Voskopoulos, owes millions of euros in unpaid taxes.

The finding was a major embarrassment for the cash-strapped government's war on tax evasion.

Gerekou, of course, claimed she had no involvement in the tax affairs of her husband, but the finance ministry confirmed that Voskopoulos faces criminal prosecution for unpaid tax and fine debts of $6.8 million.

That reminds Tattle: We owe the city about $300.

Daily News wire services contributed to this report.

E-mail gensleh@phillynews.com.