Latest Posts  

GoAir Balked Landing (Passenger Video)

New

Passenger videos often appear scarier than the circumstances warrant, amplified by a lack of aviation experience to know how dangerous the situation actually is. This one is the clear exception to the rule. This video was taken on Monday on GoAir flight G8-811D, a scheduled commercial flight from Nagpur to Bangladore with 180 passengers on…

Read more… 15 Nov 19

Some Jokes Are Not That Funny

I originally saw the headline on BBC news: Southwest Airlines pilots livestreamed plane toilet on hidden camera. A Southwest Airlines flight attendant has filed a lawsuit accusing two pilots of livestreaming a plane’s toilet on hidden camera. The cabin crew member had been asked to the flight deck while the captain used the lavatory, standard…

Read more… 8 Nov 19

When Pre-Flight Prep Becomes Criminal

The accident took place on the 9th of September 2017 shortly after take-off from Manchester City Airport, a municipal airfield near the Manchester Ship Canal in the north of England. Manchester City Airport opened in 1930 and has not changed much since then: the control tower, terminal building and hangar are all the original buildings…

Read more… 1 Nov 19

Ghost Planes and Spooky Things

I noticed yesterday that the nights were getting longer and there’s a distinct chill to the air. Rudy then mentioned Samhain, the Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season, coinciding (not coincidentally) with All Saints’ Eve and Halloween. And what better time to share aviation’s best spooky story, the ghosts of flight 401.…

Read more… 25 Oct 19

Engine Out Over Europe

On the 23rd of August 2019, The Aviation Herald reported that a Smartwings Boeing 737-800 suffered an engine failure in flight. The Boeing 737, registration OK-TVO, departed Samos, Greece at 06:27 UTC for scheduled passenger flight QS-1125 to Prague in the Czech Republic with 170 passengers on board. About 15 minutes into the flight, flying…

Read more… 18 Oct 19

Misdiagnosis: Convair Crash at Wonderboom (part 2)

Last week, we went through the flight and crash of a Convair 340/440 at Wonderboom Airport in Pretoria. As a quick recap, as the Convair rotated the left engine caught fire. The flight crew declared an emergency but they lost control of the aircraft while still turning back as the fire melted through the aileron…

Read more… 11 Oct 19

Accident Reports

Final Report: Convair Crash at Wonderboom, Pretoria

Last year, I wrote about the fatal Convair Crash at Pretoria which took place in June 2018. The final report came out in August which gives a lot more information…

NTSB Summary: Assumptions Can Be Fatal

Yesterday the NTSB released a Safety Recommendation Report regarding the recent Boeing 737 MAX crashes and subsequent grounding of the aircraft. I am particularly interested in this report in the…

Demystifying

Thermal Image of 757 Landing at Gatwick

This thermal imaging footage of a Boeing 757 coming into land at Gatwick airport dates from 2013 but I first saw it today on r/aviation and found myself mesmerised as…

What Is Going On With The Boeing 737 Max 8?

The news is dominated right now with the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max 8 after a second fatal crash of a passenger jet which could be related to the…

History

Alcock and Brown: Part 3

Last week, we looked at the teams and the aircraft who were competing to be the first to fly across the Atlantic. Alcock and Brown arrived in St. John’s, Newfoundland…

Alcock and Brown: Part 2

In part 1, I introduced Jack Alcock and Teddie Brown along with the context under which they raced to become the first to fly across the Atlantic in less than…

Fun Stuff

Air Canada flight 759, Sabotage and More Fire Fighting

There’s a lot of good content out there this week, so much so that I couldn’t resist putting together a round-up post sharing the best of it with you. This…

2019 Valdez Fly In and STOL Competition

Every May in Valdez, Alaska there is a fantastic aviation competition which requires astounding performance and precision from both from the aircraft and from the pilot. The Valdez STOL competition…