Category: Accidents and Incidents –  Page 10

Preliminary Details of a Helicopter Crash in New Jersey

I don’t normally write an article based on a preliminary report; however, this one made me sit back in my chair. On the 4th of June 2022, a Bell 407GXP helicopter, registration N98ZA, crashed near Fairfield, New Jersey. The Bell 407 is a single-engine helicopter with a four-blade “soft-in-plane” design rotor, which means that it…

Read more… 17 Jun 22

Bird Opens Cargo Door on A320

On the 20th of June in 2011, an Airbus A320-212, registration CS-TKJ, taxied to runway 05 at Aeroporto de Madeira for a scheduled morning flight from Funchal to Copenhagen with seven crew members and 105 passengers on board. A plane spotter taking photographs of aircraft at the threshold of runway 05 took a photograph of…

Read more… 10 Jun 22

Passenger In Control

Everyone is talking about the passenger who safely landed a Cessna 208 Caravan at Palm Beach International Airport after the pilot slumped over the controls, incapacitated. The Cessna Caravan is a single-engine high-wing aircraft first produced in 1984. This one, registration N333LD, was recently listed as for sale on Aircraft.com, which gives us a bit…

Read more… 13 May 22

Alitalia flight 404: The result of a dozen small decisions

Last week, we looked at the key events that led to the Alitalia flight 404 crash. A few points from the previous post: Maintenance replaced both radio receivers in the aircraft and the crew were aware they needed testing. On approach, the two receivers gave conflicting results. At least one of the receivers appears to…

Read more… 15 Apr 22

Alitalia Flight 404: “Catch the glide!”

On the 14th of November 1990, Alitalia flight AZ404 crashed into high ground upon approach to Zürich. The accident was investigated by the Federal Aircraft Accidents Inquiry Board in Switzerland and was supported by the United States National Transport and Safety Board. One aspect that makes it interesting is that the two boards came to…

Read more… 8 Apr 22

Vintage Plane Crash Possibly Done For Video Views

I’m not much one for April Fools Day, I have to admit, but it seemed a good opportunity to look at the controversy surrounding a young man who is accused of faking an engine failure and crash in order to get more views on YouTube. The accident took place on the 24th of November 2021…

Read more… 1 Apr 22

Accident Reports

The Fenestron Factor: Cabri G2 Crash in Gruyéres

The Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board (STSB) has released the final report for the Cabri G2 light helicopter crash in Gruyères, Switzerland in 2022. I wrote about it at the…

Cessna 172M forced landing after go-around in New South Wales

On the 15th of October 2023, a private pilot rented a Cessna 172M from Air Gold Coast for a private flight from Gold Coast Airport, Queensland, to Murwilumbah, New South…

Demystifying

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…

Extreme Turbulence in Singapore Airlines flight 321

A few days ago (21st of May 2024), Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 encountered heavy turbulence on a passenger flight from London-Heathrow to Singapore. There were 229 on board, including eighteen…

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

Terminally Early: The Berlin Viewing Platform

Mistakes were made. All of them were mine. Before I left for Dresden, I planned out my full itinerary. Berlin is a much busier airport than Tallinn, so I needed…

A Few Good Stories

I’m in Dresden at the moment and I’m afraid I haven’t had a free moment to write you a new article. Luckily, lots of other people are on the internet…