Category: Crazy

The Stowaway in Plain Sight

On the 4th of November 2023, Scandinavian Airlines flight 931 arrived at Los Angeles International Airport at Gate 156. A gentleman in his forties disembarked the aircraft and walked to the Customs and Border Protection checkpoint. There, he explained that he’d just arrived on SAS flight 931 but seemed to have left his passport on…

Read more… 6 Jun 25

Airbus A321 Landing Attempt in Typhoon

Yesterday, the 31st of October 2024, a Starlux Airlines flight bounced on the runway at Taoyuan International Airport in Taipei while attempting to land during the most severe typhoon that Taiwan has seen in thirty years. Typhoons are not uncommon in Taiwan, with a typhoon season spanning June to October. However, Typhoon Kong-rey arrived surprisingly…

Read more… 1 Nov 24

Crashing for Cash: Trevor Jacobs pleads guilty

The big news this week is that Trevor Jacob, extreme sports addict and YouTube personality, confessed that he intentionally crashed his aircraft for a sponsored video. He purchased the vintage aircraft, a Taylorcraft B (which is no longer in production) and brought it to Lompoc City Airport. There, it was noticed that he didn’t bother…

Read more… 19 May 23

An Unexpected Problem at Eleven Thousand Feet

On Monday, the 3rd of April 2023, a twin-engined propellor plane departed from Worcester in the Western Cape of South Africa, the largest town in the region and about 120 km from Cape Town. The pilot, with 2,000 hours over the past five years, was a first officer for a local airline as well as…

Read more… 7 Apr 23

The Spy in the Sky: The Military’s Interest in Unidentified Floating Objects

The past week has been dominated by the news that our skies are seemingly teaming with unidentified flying objects, most of which should not be referred to as balloons, even though even the US spokesman accidentally called them balloons during an interview, directly before correcting the journalist that they should be referred to as objects.…

Read more… 17 Feb 23

Airshow Stunt from 2009

Kyle Franklin gave me permission to post this video in 2009 and it to this day remains one of the favourite clips I’ve ever hosted. (For those reading in the email list, you probably need to click through to the site to view this.) Kyle Franklin is still amazing airshows all over the US, most…

Read more… 30 Sep 22

Accident Reports

Farewell Flight Turns Fatal in Cairns

On the 12th of August in 2024, a pilot fatally crashed a Robinson R44 into the top of a hotel building in Cairns, Australia. The pilot held a commercial helicopter…

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…

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…