Category: ATC

Archie League Medal of Safety – President’s Award 2023

The 19th Annual Archie League Medal of Safety Awards ceremony took place in Las Vegas, Nevada on the 20th of September. The Archie League Medal is an annual event by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) in the US. This year, the awards presentations took place at the Communicating for Safety Conference and the…

Read more… 3 Nov 23

One-in-15-Million Flight Plan Causes UK Air Traffic Chaos

On Monday, the 28th of August 2023, a “technical glitch” in the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) in the UK caused extensive flight delays and cancellations. Monday was the Late Summer Bank Holiday, which takes place the last Monday in August for a long weekend at the end of the summer season. As a result…

Read more… 8 Sep 23

Don’t give your controller a heart attack

Redditor jmcmanna is a controller in the Chicago area, with references to working O’Hare (ORD) and Midway (MDW) International Airports. Jmcmanna is an active participant on the flying subreddits that I follow and regularly responds to pilots with questions about ATC and procedures. It’s a great look “behind the scenes” from someone who is clearly…

Read more… 11 Aug 23

President’s Award 2021, Archie League Medal of Safety

Every year, I look forward to the Archie League Medal of Safety Awards, an annual event to honour exceptional air traffic controller work in the previous year. In the past, I have collected the information and written about the event; this year, I’m happy to see that NATCA has written a great narrative that I’m…

Read more… 8 Jul 22

Passenger In Control

Everyone is talking about the passenger who safely landed a Cessna 208 Caravan at Palm Beach International Airport after the pilot slumped over the controls, incapacitated. The Cessna Caravan is a single-engine high-wing aircraft first produced in 1984. This one, registration N333LD, was recently listed as for sale on Aircraft.com, which gives us a bit…

Read more… 13 May 22

ATC behind the scenes: VFR into IMC

One of the biggest safety hazards in general aviation is pilots inadvertently flying into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) and losing visibility in the cloud. A private pilot who has not undergone special training for using instruments flies VFR (Visual Flight Rules), looking outside the aircraft. If the aircraft flies into cloud, the pilot loses visual…

Read more… 11 Jun 21

Accident Reports

Pneumatic Pressure Required

The flight crew reported for duty at Bournemouth Airport at 3am on Friday the 7th of May 2004. They were flying a thirty-three-year-old Fokker F27 Mark 500, registered in the…

Crosswind Landing Gone Wrong: TUI Boeing 737 at Leeds Bradford

Leeds Bradford Airport in England, perched on a windy hilltop, is known for its challenging conditions. But even by Leeds standards, the conditions on the 20th of October 2023 were…

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

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…

Terminally Early: The Berlin Viewing Platform

Mistakes were made. All of them were mine. Before I left for Dresden, I planned out my full itinerary. Berlin is a much busier airport than Tallinn, so I needed…