Category: Accidents and Incidents –  Page 3

ATC controller keeps cool: “That was a really bad experience.”

William and Cecilia Reid were travelling from their home in Clarksburg, West Virginia to Lake Placid New York in their Beechcraft Debonaire in order to visit family. It was the 1st of October 2016. They were climbing to 9,000 feet when something when something went terribly wrong. Cleveland Center suddenly got the following blood-chilling call.…

Read more… 21 Jun 19

Fatal Crash at Lukla

Exactly two months ago in Nepal, a Let L-410 Turbolet veered off the runway while taking off from Tenzing-Hillary (Lukla) Airport and crashed into two helicopters. On the 14th of April 2019, there were three crew on board the L-410. The first officer, who appears to have been the pilot flying, was killed in the…

Read more… 14 Jun 19

The Perplexing Disappearance of Varig flight 967

On the 30th of January 1979, Varig flight 967 departed Narita International Airport (Tokyo) for a cargo flight to Rio de Janeiro–Galeão International Airport in Brazil. Half an hour after departure, it disappeared. Not very much is known about what happened but when people ask me how it can possibly be that MH370 has never…

Read more… 7 Jun 19

Boeing’s Updated MCAS Software

Yesterday, Boeing announced that it had completed its update of the MCAS software which was now with the FAA for certification. This seems like a good time to bump the conversation back to the front page, as there’s been some very interesting issues and articles posted into the comments of the previous articles. First of…

Read more… 17 May 19

Stall and Fatal Crash at Houston Hobby

On the 9th of June 2016, a Cirrus SR20, registration N4252G crashed during a go-around at William P. Hobby airport, killing the pilot and two passengers. I first heard of this accident as a result of the AOPA Air Safety Institute’s video series although it happened a few years ago. I recommend the video but…

Read more… 10 May 19

The Amazing Survival of Lauren Elder

It been forty-two years since Lauren Elder survived a plane crash in the “Nevada Triangle”, the region in the Sierra Nevada mountains that claimed Steve Fossett’s life in 2007. The Nevada Triangle runs from Las Vegas, Nevada to Fresno, California at its base and Reno, Nevada as the top point. Lauren Elder’s flight was on…

Read more… 26 Apr 19

Accident Reports

When Pre-Flight Prep Becomes Criminal

The accident took place on the 9th of September 2017 shortly after take-off from Manchester City Airport, a municipal airfield near the Manchester Ship Canal in the north of England.…

Misdiagnosis: Convair Crash at Wonderboom (part 2)

Last week, we went through the flight and crash of a Convair 340/440 at Wonderboom Airport in Pretoria. As a quick recap, as the Convair rotated the left engine caught…

Demystifying

Airbus A320 vs Grumman Avenger

I was offered the opportunity of a free week in Berlin, which is fabulous but I’ve been travelling so much, I haven’t had the time to write something new. What…

Thermal Image of 757 Landing at Gatwick

This thermal imaging footage of a Boeing 757 coming into land at Gatwick airport dates from 2013 but I first saw it today on r/aviation and found myself mesmerised as…

History

Wingless Flight in the M2-F1

Sometimes, the most interesting aircraft are the experimental ones that barely made it off the ground. Sometimes the most intriguing stories come out of things I don’t understand. ​ I…

Alcock and Brown: Part 3

Last week, we looked at the teams and the aircraft who were competing to be the first to fly across the Atlantic. Alcock and Brown arrived in St. John’s, Newfoundland…

Fun Stuff

Ghost Planes and Spooky Things

I noticed yesterday that the nights were getting longer and there’s a distinct chill to the air. Rudy then mentioned Samhain, the Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest…

Air Canada flight 759, Sabotage and More Fire Fighting

There’s a lot of good content out there this week, so much so that I couldn’t resist putting together a round-up post sharing the best of it with you. This…