Category: Accident Reports –  Page 6

Turning Back with Runway Ahead

The aircraft was a Grumman American AA-5, a four-seater light aircraft developed by American Aviation, which was bought out by Grumman shortly after production started. Registered in the UK as G-BBSA, the Traveler was forty-seven years old. This was one of the original AA-5 Travelers, which ceased production after only one year to be replaced…

Read more… 9 Jun 23

Flash Airlines flight 604: the Investigation

Last week, we looked at the sequence of events which led to Flash Airlines flight 604 crashing into the Red Sea a few minutes after take-off. This post assumes you’ve already read the previous post. Once it became clear that the Boeing 737-300 had crashed, rescue teams were dispatched. They found the floating remains within…

Read more… 12 May 23

Flash Airlines flight 604

On the 3rd of January 2004, Flash Airlines flight 604 crashed into the Red Sea shortly after take-off from Sharm el-Sheikh International in Egypt. The Boeing 737-300 registered in Egypt as SU-ACF, was destroyed on impact with no survivors. At the time, this was the deadliest air disaster that Egypt had ever suffered, although it…

Read more… 5 May 23

Parachuting to Safety: The Pricey Plunge of the Cirrus SR22

The Cirrus SR22 is famous for its whole-plane ballistic parachute system, which can be deployed upon losing control of the aircraft, saving the lives of the pilot and passengers. A used SR22 will likely cost you over a quarter of a million dollars to purchase and a new aircraft can run a cool million. On…

Read more… 21 Apr 23

When Technology Fails: An Airbus A319’s Mid-Air Mystery

On the 6th of August 2021, an Airbus A319-131, registration G-DBCF, departed from Edinburgh for a scheduled passenger flight to London Heathrow. There were 101 passengers and five crew on board. The captain had over 16,000 flying hours, with 4,476 on type, and was the Pilot Flying. As the aircraft picked up speed for departure…

Read more… 31 Mar 23

The BEA Weighs In: Ethiopian Airlines flight 302

In March 2019, the Ethiopian Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (EAIB) requested that the French Bureau d’enquêtes et d’Analyses (BEA) support their investigation into the crash of Ethiopian Airlines flight 302. Specifically, they asked the BEA to recover the data from the Flight Data Recorder and the Cockpit Voice Recorder recovered from the wreckage and offer their…

Read more… 24 Feb 23

Accident Reports

Farewell Flight Turns Fatal in Cairns

On the 12th of August in 2024, a pilot fatally crashed a Robinson R44 into the top of a hotel building in Cairns, Australia. The pilot held a commercial helicopter…

No Masks, No Oxygen, No Chance

On the 4th of June 2023, a Cessna Citation 560 aircraft crashed in Montebello, Virginia, killing the pilot and three passengers. The NTSB released their report on the 14th of…

Demystifying

How to tell a Russian Su-27 from a British Typhoon

This is not an article that I ever thought I would feel compelled to write! However, given the confusion over a photograph chosen in a regional English paper, apparently it’s…

How to tell an F-16 Fighting Falcon from a Eurofighter Typhoon

There are a number of reasons why you might need to quickly point out the differences between a General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon and a Eurofighter EF2000 Typhoon. You might…

History

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…

The Disappearance of the Hawaii Clipper May Not Be as Mysterious as Was Thought

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.…

Fun Stuff

How the B-52 Lands in Crosswinds

I’m here, defeated but not yet horizontal, the victim of a relentless summer cold that feels like the universe’s revenge for something I can’t even remember. If I don’t make…

Friday Lightness: A Short Respite from Crash Reports

It seems a good time for something a bit more lighthearted. After weeks of analyzing serious incidents and technical failures, I thought I could a moment to appreciate aviation humuor…