On the 7th of September 2010, a Tupelov Tu-154M (registration RA-85684) suffered a complete loss of electrical power during a cross-country flight to Moscow. The Tupolev Tu-154 is a three-engine Soviet jet originally developed to meet Aeroflot requirements for a medium-range airliner. Production started in 1970; the last TU-154 was manufactured in 2013 by Aviakor…
Read more… 4 Aug 23
On the 9th of February 2020, Utair flight 595 was coming in to land when it unexpectedly struck a snowbank. The aircraft, a Boeing 737-500 registration VQ-BPS, was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Moscow to Usinsk. The captain was an experienced pilot with almost 18,000 hours, 7,600 of which were on this aircraft type.…
Read more… 21 Jul 23
We so often focus on human error when it comes to aviation. This week, let’s focus on a case where everyone pulled together in a crisis to ensure a safe landing of a Super DC-3 that had suffered a power out on take-off. In the world of aviation, discussions often revolve around human error. Today,…
Read more… 14 Jul 23
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
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
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
It was a quiet winter evening in the English village of Cley next the Sea, population 400. 2014 was just one week old and everyone was just getting back into…
Last week, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Commission, formed by the Government of Nepal to investigate the accident of 9N-AME on the 24th of July 2024, released their final report. There’s…
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…
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…
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.…
It seems like a good time for a bit of lightness as a break from fatal crashes. Luckily, I have just the thing: some reader contributions along with a personal…
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…