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MH370: The Truth Behind the Headlines

New

Malaysia Airlines flight 370 has been in the headlines again and for the first time in quite a while, I’d like to talk about the real news behind the news. Some of the mainstream papers have been less than clear about what the new data is, let alone its importance. Also, somewhat frustratingly, the key…

Read more… 18 Aug 17

Shaking All Over: AirAsia flight D7237

On the 25th of June 2017, Air Asia flight D7237, an Airbus A330 registration 9M-XXE, suffered an in-flight engine fault ninety minutes into a scheduled flight from Perth to Kulala Lumpur. There was a loud sudden noise and then the aircraft began shuddering violently. The pilot spoke to Berita Harian after the incident and the…

Read more… 11 Aug 17

Fatal Go Around at Tatarstan Part Two

Last week, we left off as the flight crew of flight TAK363, a Boeing 737-500 inbound to Kazan Airport in Tatarstan, broke off their approach for a go around. The first officer had finally made visual contact with the runway but much too late. Captain: “Where do you see it? I don’t. Where is it?”…

Read more… 4 Aug 17

Fatal Go Around at Tatarstan

On the 17th of November in 2013, the Boeing 737-500 registered in Bermuda as VQ-BBN departed Kazan Airport for scheduled flight TAK 363 to Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport (the largest airport in Russia and, as of 2014, the largest airport in Eastern Europe). The aircraft departed normally at 11:22 (UTC) and landed at Domodedovo at 12:43.…

Read more… 28 Jul 17

A Serious Runway Incursion: Embraer 195 vs Airbus 320

There was a serious runway incursion at Brussels Airport on the 5th of October 2016, when an Embraer ERJ-195LR crossed in front of the path of a landing Airbus A320-214. The Belgian Air Accident Investigation Unit released their report last week and it’s a good study on how minor inconveniences can pile up into creating…

Read more… 21 Jul 17

Maybe an Origin Story

It was a lazy evening in 1980 and I was bored at my dad’s house, when I put on his television and flicked through the 150 channels he had, looking for something to watch. I paused at a scene which showed a bunch of good looking guys in pilot gear playing baseball. They were arguing…

Read more… 14 Jul 17

Accident Reports

He's a Terror in a Twin

Sometimes it’s obvious how an accident report is going to end from the very first sentence. NTSB Identification: CEN15FA400 “The airplane owner, who was a noninstrument-rated private pilot and did…

The Database Error And The Turkish Airlines Airbus

On the 4th of March 2015 a Turkish Airlines Airbus A330-303 left the runway when landing at Kathmandu. The headlines called it a database error. When I read the accident…

Demystifying

The 1% rule and air disaster avoidance

I asked my friend, Robert Dawson, to help me understand the numbers behind risk assessment and the 1% rule. Robert writes fantastic science fiction and poetry, however I contacted him…

Airplane Pens

This is a bit of a short post today to make up for all the heavy posts recently. Me, I’m enjoying the long weekend and a bit of sunshine… This…

History

Amelia Earhart Captured By Japanese

On Wednesday, the news hit the headlines that a newly discovered photograph could show Amelia Earhart in Japanese custody. The photograph, apparently taken by a US spy in the 1930s,…

Sutlej Missing Over Indian Ocean

On 25 March 1986, three Antonov An-32 transport planes departed Muscat, the capital of Oman, in a staggered formation for the Indian Air Force base at Jagmagar. Initially, the Indian…

Fun Stuff

This Week's Most Amazing Stories

This has been an amazing week for aviation news with unbelievable stories and videos seemingly coming from all directions. Anna and I have been posting every day to the Fear…

Fascinating Aviation Articles on the Internet

How Aviation Became Firefighters’ Best Friend—And Then Their Worst Enemy This fire, now known as the Saddle Fire, raged across the state throughout summer 2016. Before it burned out it…