Category: Accidents and Incidents – Page 3
Fatal Gulfstream G200 Crash in the Dominican Republic
On the 7th of June 2026, a Gulfstream G200 crashed at La Romana International Airport in the Dominican Republic, killing both pilots. The twin-engine business jet, registered in the US as N318JF, was owned by Aibonito Aviation, based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It had arrived in La Romana to refuel as a part of…
Read more… 12 Jun 26
Fuel Switches in the Cutoff Position on China Eastern flight 5735
On the 21st of March 2022, a Boeing 737 passenger airliner crashed into a mountain. This was China Eastern Airlines flight 5735 flying from Kunming to Guangzhou in the People’s Republic of China. All 132 souls on board perished in the crash. This was the first fatal crash of a Chinese mainline carrier in nearly twelve years.…
Read more… 8 May 26
Ferry Tank Failure: Successful SR22 Ditching in the Pacific
In 2015, I shared a video of an SR22 whose pilot successfully deployed his Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) off of the coast of Maui, Hawai’i. I wrote at the time that I would update once the final report came out. I am rather behind on my todo list, I’m afraid. The Cirrus SR22 is at…
Read more… 24 Apr 26
A Preventable Collision on Runway 4
On the 22nd of March 2026, a landing jet struck a fire truck that a controller had cleared onto the active runway at LaGuardia Airport in New York, the first fatal accident at LaGuardia in 34 years. Somewhat bizarrely, the previous accident, when USAir flight 405 crashed on take-off after ice buildup on the wings, occurred…
Read more… 27 Mar 26
The Man in the Right Seat at Prestwick
On the 23rd of April 2024, a Piper Archer II crashed in South Ayrshire, Scotland, after losing power. There were two on board. Both suffered serious injuries and the light aircraft, a 48-year old PA-28 registered in the UK as G-BVNS, will never fly again. The AAIB report makes a clear case for carburettor icing…
Read more… 20 Mar 26
Hot Air Balloon Rescue in Texas
On the morning of Saturday the 28th of February 2026, a brightly coloured hot air balloon launched near Longview, Texas. There were two onboard. I’ve not seen anything that mentions the weather. It would be very interesting to know more about what the wind was that morning. So far, the only data I’ve seen is…
Read more… 6 Mar 26
Accident Analysis
Why KLM Cut the Steering Cables on Two Perfectly Functional Boeing 737s
Last month, we looked at the night of 28th of November 2004 at Barcelona Airport. KLM 1673 ran off the runway at high speed, stopping just short of a canal.…
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…
Demystifying
How Important is Having a Sterile Cockpit?
This question was posted to r/flying by a private pilot who wanted to know: do airline pilots ever engage in small talk about irrelevant things during taxiing, run-up, takeoff, and…
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”…
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…
