Category: Accidents and Incidents –  Page 49

Details of the Engine Fire at Las Vegas

On Tuesday there was an engine fire at McCarran International Airport which has made headline news in the US and the UK. A key reason that this incident is so incredibly interesting is because, despite the fire burning hot enough to melt windows on the aircraft, there were no serious injuries and no loss of…

Read more… 11 Sep 15

All Boozed Up and Ready to Fly

It was 05:17, just a few minutes past dawn, when the police saw the flight crew board the aircraft. The take-off time for the charter flight taking holiday makers from Oslo to the sunny island of Crete was 05:45. There were five crew members: two pilots and three cabin crew. Four of them were drunk.…

Read more… 21 Aug 15

Just a little slip: a tragedy of errors for G-EUOE

The AAIB have released their report on the incident involving Airbus A319-131 G-EUOE at London Heathrow Airport on 24 May 2013. This is one of those reports where I find I’m clenching my teeth as it becomes clear how much has gone wrong. This incident begins the night before on the 23rd of May. The…

Read more… 7 Aug 15

Straight-Talk about Malaysia Airlines flight 370 and the flaperon

In light of the news this week (which is great news for unravelling the mystery of what happened to Malaysia Airlines flight 370), I thought it might be useful to try to explain some of the issues being talked about in the press. I know there’s a lot of news coverage at the moment; still,…

Read more… 31 Jul 15

Why Planes Crash: Case Files 2002 is DONE!

I did it! It’s taken a lot longer than I expected, but the second book in the Why Planes Crash series is finally finished! I want to thank everyone on Fear of Landing for their support in this; it’s through this website that I discovered that my obsessions were shared with so many of you.…

Read more… 14 Jul 15

Shocking CRM led to that Abandoned Tupolev at Moscow Airport

This story started, as so many do, with an interesting photograph posted to Reddit. I was curious, and decided to investigate the accident. The sequence of events that led to the wreck was a lot more fascinating than I expected. The airline was initially set up as the Makhachkala division of Aeroflot in 1927. In…

Read more… 10 Jul 15

Accident Reports

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…

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…

Demystifying

Another quick round of questions and answers

It’s time for another Questions and Answers session. I started this series a few years back, when a reader asked if there was a way to pose aviation questions outside…

Durga Puja Pandal Shows Air India Flight 171 Crash

The following video from a religious festival in West Bengal, India, has caught a lot of social media attention. It shows a detailed representation of an Air India Boeing Dreamliner…

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

The Mystery of the Caged Tyres and the Porcupine Who Flew Home

This photograph was posted to r/shittyaskflying, a subreddit dedicated to asking silly questions and giving silly answers. In this case, the photograph is enough to make one wonder what’s going…

Songs About Failed Spacecraft and Space Disasters

This week, I’m handing over Fear of Landing to my friend Jack Keller who promised me a playlist of music relating to my interests. All of the titles except one…