Category: Fun Stuff
Petrified, Petrified, Petrified
There’s been some interesting reporting in the UK media about a “near disaster” over Canary Wharf involving the captain having to intervene (the horror!) after air data systems failed on approach, triggering a stall warning. “Senior figures described how the plane almost suffered a ‘hull loss’ – aviation language for serious damage to or the…
Read more… 31 Jul 26
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 all the good food and drink. Mendel brings on the holiday cheer with a hilarious video for us. Perhaps you were wondering if an old…
Read more… 26 Dec 25
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 who offered condolences and thoughtful comments. One person sent me this comic which actually made me laugh out loud. Nathan Pyle is an American cartoonist…
Read more… 12 Dec 25
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 on. The caption reads: Why all the wheel chocks? Strong winds? The answers are predictably hilarious. No_Mathematician2527 writes: Stops porcupine from chewing the tires. Why…
Read more… 19 Sep 25
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 link to YouTube. I’ve also created the playlist on Spotify for those I could find, which is embedded at the bottom. It’s quite a change…
Read more… 22 Aug 25
From B-52 Bomb Bays to Birthday Flights
It seems like a good time for a bit of lightness as a break from fatal crashes. Luckily, I have just the thing: some reader contributions along with a personal story. Neil of AirC Images mailed me with this amazing photograph and video of his father. This is Neil’s dad Cornell as a young boy…
Read more… 1 Aug 25
Accident Analysis
Social Media Influencers Weigh Down Aircraft
The fatal crash at Scottsdale Arizona took place directly after take-off. The passengers were a self-proclaimed crowd of social media influencers. The jet-setting influencer who had organised the flight, had…
Fatal SR22 Stall on Final at Barwick LaFayette
On the 20th of March, 2025, a Cirrus SR22 crashed in LaFayette, Georgia during an instructional flight, killing both the pilot and the flight instructor. It was a good flying…
Demystifying
Someone has to write the TAF
It turns out that there a person sitting there deciding what the weather is going to do. Which seems obvious, except that I had somehow never asked msyelf who “someone”…
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,…
History
The CIA's Shark Screen
Today we have a guest post from the CIA! In their archives, researching something completely different, I found the answer to a question I never thought to ask. I immediately…
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…
Fun Stuff
How the B-52 Lands in Crosswinds
I’m here, defeated but not yet horizontal, the victim of a relentless summer cold that feels like the universe’s revenge for something I can’t even remember. If I don’t make…
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…
