On August 25th, a FILair flight flying from Kinshasa Ndolo crashed into a building only a few kilometers from its destination of Bandundu. All three crew members and 16 passengers died in the crash. Of the two passengers rescued, one died later of his injuries. The aircraft was a Czech-made LET-410 twin similar to the…
Read more… 22 Oct 10
On the 3rd of October, a twin engine Cessna 310 took off from Airport-in-the-Sky (KAVX) on Catalina Island with two passengers. Within minutes, the pilot lost control of the aircraft and they “impacted terrain” (official term for crashed) about 600 feet southeast of the runway. I initially saw the photograph as Stern.de‘s Photograph of the…
Read more… 15 Oct 10
I have been collecting my essays, articles and blog-posts into a single volume to see if it would read well as a book. This is part of the introduction: how I ended up studying for my Private Pilot’s Licence out of a grudge rather than actual interest. It didn’t take long before I was hooked!…
Read more… 8 Oct 10
On the 30th of March 2008 a Cessna Citation 500 took off from Biggin Hill. Shortly after take-off, one of the pilots reported engine vibration and declared their intent to return to Biggin Hill. They never made it to the airfield. The Citation crashed into a house and the two pilots and three passengers died…
Read more… 1 Oct 10
The NTSB are investigating a near miss between an Airbus 320 with 90 passengers and a Beech 99 cargo plane who had less than 100 feet separation when they passed each other at 1,500 feet. The Airbus heard the other aircraft (that really is damn close) but the pilot of the Beech was apparently unaware…
Read more… 24 Sep 10
Mike Newman was piloting a glider at the Shoreham Airshow last weekend when the unthinkable happened: he crashed the glider in front of his audience while in the circuit to land. Shoreham air show crash pilot escapes as stunt glider smashes into runway | Mail Online This is the moment when a stunt glider slammed…
Read more… 17 Sep 10
On the 9th of August 2023, a VX4 crashed at Cotswold Airport in Gloucestershire during a test flight over the runway. The VX4 is a prototype air taxi, designed and…
The Cessna 185 Skywagon is a high wing, single engine aircraft: basically a Cessna 180 with six seats, a strengthened fuselage and a slightly more powerful engine. It’s a popular…
My friend Maria at Daedalean wrote this article about how they are using AI to help pilots detect gliders. I thought it was fascinating and Daedalean gave me permission to…
On the 5th of January 2024, Alaska Airlines flight 1282 had just taken off when it lost a door plug, leaving a gaping hole on the left side of row…
This video of a mid-air wheel exchange goes viral once a year or so, but I never get tired of watching it. Last week, it showed up on Reddit and…
This week, we have a guest post by J.B. Rivard who wrote an article for the American Aviation Historical Society (AAHS) and used one of my articles as a reference.…
I’m in Dresden at the moment and I’m afraid I haven’t had a free moment to write you a new article. Luckily, lots of other people are on the internet…
Long-term readings of Fear of Landing know that my favourite aerobatics show of all time is Kyle Franklin’s Ben Whabnoski Comedy act. Just in case some of you haven’t seen…