Category: Accidents and Incidents –  Page 52

Hypoxia on Kalitta 66

This video is making the rounds again and it chills me as much to listen to it now as it did the first time I heard it. The video features actual audio from Air Traffic Control dealing with a hypoxic pilot. Here are the details of what happened. Kalitta flight KFS-66 was a cargo flight…

Read more… 26 Sep 14

Pilot Suicides: Fact vs Fiction

There’s been a lot of news reports about Ewan Wilson’s “breakthrough” that the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight 370 must have been a case of pilot suicide, specifically the Captain. The arguments in favour of this are poorly justified and Malaysia Airlines have already responded with a harsh rebuttal. Malaysia Airlines slams authors for lies,…

Read more… 19 Sep 14

UPS 1354 and the unforgiving nature of flight

On the 14th of August in 2013, UPS Airlines Flight 1354 departed Louisville International Airport at 05:04 EDT on a cargo flight delivering to Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport in Alabama. The captain was the pilot flying and the first officer was the pilot monitoring. The aircraft was N155UP, a ten year old Airbus A300F4-622R. Its first…

Read more… 12 Sep 14

The Runaway Runway Van

I often talk about how an accident is caused by many small things that have gone wrong as opposed to one big mistake. This incident which was reported by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada last month is a perfect example of this. The 11th of March in 2013 was a rainy night at Toronto…

Read more… 15 Aug 14

Congo Crocodile Plane Crash

The incredible story of the crocodile that crashed a plane is quickly becoming a piece of aviation folklore. The details have been published in mainstream newspapers all over the world and is now listed under incredible accidents on otherwise respectable aviation websites. There’s only one problem: there’s no official reason to believe it ever happened.…

Read more… 1 Aug 14

Aviation Disasters in 2014: Is It Safe to Fly?

This week, another two fatal aviation accidents made international news. TransAsia Airways flight 222 crashed in heavy rain while attempting an emergency landing at Magong, Penghu Island, Taiwan. Air Algérie flight AH-5017 crashed near Mali after twice changing course in an attempt to avoid thunderstorms covering the region. Both of these accidents appear to have…

Read more… 25 Jul 14

Accident Reports

No Masks, No Oxygen, No Chance

On the 4th of June 2023, a Cessna Citation 560 aircraft crashed in Montebello, Virginia, killing the pilot and three passengers. The NTSB released their report on the 14th of…

Hand on Thrust, Brain on Autopilot

On the 28th of June 2024 a Boeing 777-236, registered in the UK as G-VIIT, rejected a take-off after reaching V1 during the take-off roll on 26L at London Gatwick…

Demystifying

How to tell a Russian Su-27 from a British Typhoon

This is not an article that I ever thought I would feel compelled to write! However, given the confusion over a photograph chosen in a regional English paper, apparently it’s…

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…

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

Friday Lightness: A Short Respite from Crash Reports

It seems a good time for something a bit more lighthearted. After weeks of analyzing serious incidents and technical failures, I thought I could a moment to appreciate aviation humuor…

Flights of Fantasy: Aviation April Fools Worth Celebrating

I’m going to admit that I’m not a great fan of April Fools’ pranks, especially not attempts to trick people into believing something and then pulling the rug out from…