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Fear of Landing Turns Twenty
It’s a curious thing to realize you’ve been doing something for decades without ever quite intending to. Last month, I realised that I created Fear of Landing exactly twenty years ago. The original hook was a crazy dream: fly into every British island with a strip. The kind of plan usually reserved for people who…
Read more… 13 Mar 26
Hot Air Balloon Rescue in Texas
On the morning of Saturday the 28th of February 2026, a brightly coloured hot air balloon launched near Longview, Texas. There were two onboard. I’ve not seen anything that mentions the weather. It would be very interesting to know more about what the wind was that morning. So far, the only data I’ve seen is…
Read more… 6 Mar 26
Lasers, Laptops & Live Rounds: Aviation’s Wild Start to 2026
I couldn’t pick just one incident. American Airlines 737 plane found with apparent bullet hole after flight from Miami to Colombia Ground crew at Jose María Córdova International Airport in Medellín, Colombia discovered puncture damage consistent with a bullet strike in the right aileron of an American Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 registered in the…
Read more… 28 Feb 26
TNflygirl and the Beech Debonair
On the 7th of December 2023, a Beech 35-C33 Debonair crashed into terrain. The private pilot and the passenger, the pilot’s father, were both killed on impact. The private flight departed Knoxville Downtown Island Airport for a 430-nautical-mile flight to Saline County Regional Airport in Arkansas to pick up some avionics equipment. It was a…
Read more… 20 Feb 26
At All Costs
On the 11th of December 2024, the passenger in the right seat of a 1973 Grumman AA-5 was recording a video as they approached Pearland Regional Airport in Texas. The passenger shared later how things started to go wrong. “First the headsets went out, then the radio, then the avionics,” they wrote. “We knew we…
Read more… 13 Feb 26
Air India flight 132 Fuel Switch Problem Doesn’t Solve the Mystery of Flight 171
On the 2nd of February 2026, Air India flight 132 departed London Heathrow for a scheduled passenger flight to Kempegowda International Airport. The 9 hour 45 minute flight in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner was uneventful and landed safely at Bengaluru (Bangalore) at 11:54 local time the following day. The eventful part happened before the flight, documented…
Read more… 6 Feb 26
Accident Reports
Ferry Tank Failure: Successful SR22 Ditching in the Pacific
In 2015, I shared a video of an SR22 whose pilot successfully deployed his Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) off of the coast of Maui, Hawai’i. I wrote at the time…
The Man in the Right Seat at Prestwick
On the 23rd of April 2024, a Piper Archer II crashed in South Ayrshire, Scotland, after losing power. There were two on board. Both suffered serious injuries and the light…
Demystifying
Meowing on Guard (an attempt at an explanation)
Last week a video went viral and it’s been fun to see the mainstream media coverage try to cover two pilots who were heard making animal noises on the radio. …
Trump Threatens to Ground Canadian Aircraft Over Gulfstream Certification
The US President, Donald Trump, posted the following to Truth Social last night. Based on the fact that Canada has wrongfully, illegally, and steadfastly refused to certify the Gulfstream 500,…
History
Four Point Two Stars Where You Only Stop If You Have To
I always look up airports when I’m writing about them, partly out of habit and partly because I’m afraid I’ll miss an important detail. When I was writing Any Landing…
Gladys Ingle Inflight Wheel Change: Emergency Action or Stunt?
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…
Fun Stuff
Aviation Stories You Might Have Missed
I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season. This week, I’ve put together a compilation of interesting items in the press that you might have missed while enjoying…
Nathan Pyle Strange Worlds
Thank you so much for all the kind words. I don’t quite have the wherewithal to respond to each of you individually but I very much appreciate all of you…
