Category: Accidents and Incidents – Page 63
Controlled Flight into Terrain
Crossair Flight 3597 was an AVRO 146-RJ100, a regional airliner manufactured in the UK by British Aerospace. This aircraft type is popular at small, city-based airports because it is very quiet. Flight 3597 was a scheduled flight from Berlin-Tegel in Germany to Zurich in Switzerland. On the 24th of November in 2001, 28 passengers, 3…
Read more… 22 Feb 13
The Helicopter and the Crane
London helicopter crash pilot ‘distracted by radio’ – London – News – London Evening Standard Mr Barnes, 50, from Berkshire, died when the AgustaWestland 109 he was piloting crashed into a crane at the side of The Tower at St George Wharf at 8am on Wednesday, just yards from Vauxhall Station. His helicopter plunged to…
Read more… 18 Jan 13
We’re still at 2,000 feet, right? Eastern Air Lines Flight 401
Forty years ago on the 29th of December in 1972, Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 crashed into the Florida Everglades. It was an uneventful flight from JFK until shortly before they were at the approach at Miami Airport. When the flight-crew lowered the landing gear, they did not receive confirmation that the nose wheel was…
Read more… 4 Jan 13
Turning into the Dead Engine
The two pilots were co-owners of VH-CNZ. She was a commercial pilot with over 10,000 hours, 600 of them on type. One blog post at the time said that she was a flight instructor. He was a private pilot with just over 2,500 hours and 120 on type. VH-CNZ was a Piper Twin Comanche which…
Read more… 16 Nov 12
“Where’s that Guy Going?” Runway Incursion at Dublin
The Air Accident Investigation Unit in Ireland has just released the serious incident report regarding the runway incursion at Dublin Airport on the 21st May 2011. Serious Incident: (1) AIRBUS A321-231, G-OZBS and (2) BOEING 737-8AS, EI-DPT, at Dublin Airport (EIDW), Ireland on 21 May 2011: Report 2012-017 The incident involved two aircraft and two…
Read more… 26 Oct 12
The Galloping Ghost crashes into spectators at Reno NCAR
On the 16th of September in 2011, at the National Championship Air Races at Reno, Nevada, a small aircraft lost control and crashed into a spectator box. The Galloping Ghost, an experimental single-seater P-51D, was travelling at about 445 knots (512 mph) in the third lap of a six-lap race. Coming past pylons 6 and…
Read more… 28 Sep 12
Accident Analysis
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…
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…
Demystifying
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,…
Meowing on Guard (an attempt at an explanation)
Last week a video went viral and it’s been fun to see the mainstream media coverage try to cover two pilots who were heard making animal noises on the radio. …
History
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…
Four Point Two Stars Where You Only Stop If You Have To
I always look up airports when I’m writing about them, partly out of habit and partly because I’m afraid I’ll miss an important detail. When I was writing Any Landing…
Fun Stuff
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…
Nathan Pyle Strange Worlds
Thank you so much for all the kind words. I don’t quite have the wherewithal to respond to each of you individually but I very much appreciate all of you…
