Category: Accidents and Incidents
King on a Hot Tin Roof
On Monday the 16th of June 2025, a twin-engine plane crashed onto the roof of a hangar. The aircraft was a 50-year-old Beechcraft King Air E-90, registered in the US as N1UC (serial number LW-140) with a valid airworthiness certificate until June 2031. At the time of the accident, the King Air had 10,922 total…
Read more… 20 Jun 25
Dreamliner Crash in Ahmedabad: Air India flight 171
Yesterday, the 12th of June 2025, Air India flight 171 crashed after departure from Ahmedabad Airport in India. Air India flight 171 was a scheduled passenger flight from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, UK which crashed just 45 seconds after departure, impacting a medical school dining hall in the Meghani area of the city. Ahmedabad Airport,…
Read more… 13 Jun 25
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 May, leading to a very Citation-heavy month this month on Fear of Landing! The Cessna Citation 560, also known as the Citation V, is a…
Read more… 30 May 25
Citation II Crashes in San Diego Residential Area During Low-Visibility Approach
Yesterday, the 22nd of May 2025, a Cessna S550 Citation II crashed in San Diego, on approach to the Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport. Some of the media have reported that a “small plane” crashed, so to be clear: this was a business jet about the size of a large lorry, not a single-engine Cessna 172. The…
Read more… 23 May 25
Hand on Thrust, Brain on Autopilot
On the 28th of June 2024 a Boeing 777-236, registered in the UK as G-VIIT, rejected a take-off after reaching V1 during the take-off roll on 26L at London Gatwick Airport. In order to understand what happened that day, we need to understand V-speeds: relative speeds which need to be calculated for every flight. The…
Read more… 16 May 25
Challenger 300 Fatal Upset Wasn’t Turbulence
On the 3rd of March 2023, a passenger in a private jet died after severe injuries in the cabin, which were originally reported as caused by severe turbulence. This was quickly picked up by the mainstream media and, for the next few weeks, news and oped articles focused on the ongoing issues of changing weather…
Read more… 9 May 25
Accident Reports
Fowl Play in South Africa
On the 19th of January 2025, a Robinson R44 Raven II helicopter registered as ZS-RJC departed Chief Dawid Stuurman Aerodrome (formerly Port Elizabeth Airport) in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province.…
Following the story of the Fokker F27
Last week I wrote about the Fokker F27 mk 500 Friendship that came off the runway at take-off at Bournemouth Airport. Rudy commented on his experience flying the F27 in…
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
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…
Flights of Fantasy: Aviation April Fools Worth Celebrating
I’m going to admit that I’m not a great fan of April Fools’ pranks, especially not attempts to trick people into believing something and then pulling the rug out from…
Gene on King on a Hot Tin RoofSo the timeline is a little hazy... if the engine failed just before the threshold, surprising the pilot, and they…
Mike on King on a Hot Tin RoofBoth pilot seat cushions are missing and replaced with feces. -- the remainder of the reddit quote 
Rudy Jakma on Dreamliner Crash in Ahmedabad: Air India flight 171PS with thanks to contributor David Provan for pointing to the electric airconditioning and pressurisation system of the B 787.…
Mendel on Citation II Crashes in San Diego Residential Area During Low-Visibility ApproachThe NTSB preliminary report is out. It confirms that there was only one pilot, and states: The pilot was based…
David Provan on Dreamliner Crash in Ahmedabad: Air India flight 171The 787's "Bleedless System" is well covered by: https://www.transglobaltraining.com/boeing-787-bleedless/. Impresses the hell out of me, too.