Category: Accidents and Incidents – Page 4
Bomber 139’s Third Run: What the Investigation Found
In order to follow this analysis, you’ll need to have the details of the flight and the crash from last week’s article about the flight. When we last saw Bomber 139, they had just flown into a ridge and subsequently crashed on the high ground. Amazingly, the flight crew were able to walk out of…
Read more… 14 Nov 25
Bomber 139’s Third Run: Downhill to Disaster
On the 6th of February 2023, a Boeing 737-3H4 Large Air Tanker crashed into a ridge line of 222 feet elevation in Fitzgerald River National Park in Western Australia. There were two pilots on board. The captain was very experienced with multi-engine air tankers and held his United States Forest Service (USFS) Air Tanker Training…
Read more… 7 Nov 25
It’s clear, but just barely: Ground collision at Seattle
There was light snow and congestion on the morning at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on the 5th of February 2025. Visibility was good but the temperatures hovered just above freezing and the ramp was slippery with a mix of light snowfall and de-icing fluid. Delta Airlines flight 1921 was a Boeing 737-832 registered in the US…
Read more… 17 Oct 25
“A Group of Pissed Off Hornets”: An Instructor’s Snapchat Story of a Fatal Flight
I don’t like to be negative about flight instructors; it’s a difficult job that usually pays badly and requires superhuman levels of focus and patience. I had two amazing instructors who very much loved flying and were excited to share their passion with me. But of course the fatal accidents caused by bad instructors are…
Read more… 3 Oct 25
Best Speed across the Runway: VH-EWW at Gold Coast Airport
On the 6th of February 2024, a student pilot and instructor met at Gold Coast Airport in Queensland for a dual training flight. The clear lesson learned that day was a common one: if the approach is not stabilised, go around! But to be fair, the instructor did go around, just …a little bit later…
Read more… 12 Sep 25
Sky Diver Pulled from Aircraft After In-Flight Deployment
On the 1st of August 2024, the École de Parachutisme Sportif de Vannes Bretagne organised a parachute drop for 14. The sky diving centre is a non-profit operating their aircraft under AIR OPS. The aircraft was a Cessna 208 Caravan, a single-engine turboprop, registered in France as F-HVPC and owned by the sky diving centre. It…
Read more… 29 Aug 25
Accident Analysis
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…
Fatal SR22 Stall on Final at Barwick LaFayette
On the 20th of March, 2025, a Cirrus SR22 crashed in LaFayette, Georgia during an instructional flight, killing both the pilot and the flight instructor. It was a good flying…
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…
