Category: Accidents and Incidents – Page 10
DHL 737 crashes short of Vilnius runway
On the 25th of November 2024, a Boeing 737-400 crashed on final approach to Vilnius airport with one fatality. The 31-year-old cargo aircraft, registered in Spain as EC-MFE, was operated by Swiftair on behalf of the German logistics group DHL for a routine cargo flight from Leipzig, Germany, to Vilnius, Lithuania. There were four crew…
Read more… 13 Dec 24
“Totally a visibility issue.”
On Sunday, the 27th of November 2022, a single-engine aircraft made national US news when it crashed through power lines in Gaithersburg, Maryland, coming to rest on a lattice tower. I wrote about the incident at the time as Mooney crashes into power lines but that piece was focused on the crash and the rescue.…
Read more… 6 Dec 24
A Concorde Close Call — Not!
One of the great things about doing a month of guest posts is that I get to talk to interesting people and ask if I can share their work with you. Mike Riley is the perfect example. Mike Riley went from soloing a glider at 16 to flying the Concorde until his retirement in 1997.…
Read more… 29 Nov 24
Catalina Night Departure: NTSB Preliminary Report Released
On the 8th of October 2024, a Beechcraft Baron crashed shortly after taking off from Catalina Airport at night, killing all five occupants. I wrote about it on the 18th: Night Flight from Catalina: Beechcraft Baron Incident but here’s a quick recap. Earlier that day, three people from a Santa Monica flight school had flown…
Read more… 8 Nov 24
Night Flight from Catalina: Beechcraft Baron Incident
On the 8th of October 2024, a Piper Arrow departed from Santa Monica Airport in Southern California, landing at Catalina Airport, the small airport in the centre of Santa Catalina Island. Catalina Island is a small rocky island with rough terrain about 25 miles off of the coast of Los Angeles. The islands there are…
Read more… 18 Oct 24
Overrun in Ireland
On the 19th of February 2023, a private pilot arranged to meet with a flight instructor at Birr Airfield to fly a Cessna 172 Skyhawk. That morning, the flight instructor arrived early. He was rostered to do a local flight with a new club member. He held his commercial licence but was presumably new to…
Read more… 4 Oct 24
Accident Analysis
KLM 1673 Veers Off the Runway with Full Right Rudder
On the 28th of November 2004, a Boeing B737 ran off the runway at Barcelona Airport. The weather had been good at Barcelona that evening. The flight crew agreed to land…
Social Media Influencers Weigh Down Aircraft
The fatal crash at Scottsdale Arizona took place directly after take-off. The passengers were a self-proclaimed crowd of social media influencers. The jet-setting influencer who had organised the flight, had…
Demystifying
Someone has to write the TAF
It turns out that there a person sitting there deciding what the weather is going to do. Which seems obvious, except that I had somehow never asked msyelf who “someone”…
The Pilots, the Probes, and the AF447 Verdict
On the 21st of May 2026, the Paris Court of Appeal convicted Airbus and Air France of involuntary manslaughter for their roles in the crash of Air France flight 447,…
History
The CIA's Shark Screen
Today we have a guest post from the CIA! In their archives, researching something completely different, I found the answer to a question I never thought to ask. I immediately…
The First Jet to Land on an Aircraft Carrier (Deliberately)
“The Vampire was the first jet to land on a moving aircraft carrier deliberately.” This quote from Airshow Luke, our MC at the Legacy of Liberty airshow, made me almost…
Fun Stuff
Petrified, Petrified, Petrified
There’s been some interesting reporting in the UK media about a “near disaster” over Canary Wharf involving the captain having to intervene (the horror!) after air data systems failed on…
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…
