Category: Miscellaneous – Page 12
Unexpected Uses of Drones
I’ve become mildly obsessed with drones (unmanned aerial vehicles) after watching the excellent quadcopter demonstration on Ted. Raffaello D’Andrea: The astounding athletic power of quadcopters In a robot lab at TEDGlobal, Raffaello D’Andrea demos his flying quadcopters: robots that think like athletes, solving physical problems with algorithms that help them learn. In a series of…
Read more… 13 Sep 13
What I Was Doing While I Wasn’t Here
Well, it’s been a busy but exciting week here! First off, I was interviewed by Dave Goodwin for PlaneViz, a brilliant weekly aviation podcast. You can hear Dave and me discuss planes, crashing, Tokyo and TCAS in Why Planes Crash Author Sylvia Wrigley – Ep. 15. Dave: When I read about airplane crashes or incidents…
Read more… 2 Aug 13
Top Ten Amazing Air Traffic Control Towers
When I’m not flying, I like to look at all the places around the world I could go, if I were flying. And today, that led me towards looking at Air Traffic Control towers around the world. These are my ten favourite towers, along with one bonus disused tower which doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. 10.…
Read more… 24 May 13
Why Planes Crash Launch Day
I’m really very excited to tell you that the first book in the Why Planes Crash series is now available! Why Planes Crash focuses on 21st century aviation investigations and breaks them down into key factors. The first book of the series covers eleven accidents and incidents in 2001, including the disastrous runway incursion at…
Read more… 7 May 13
Win a Free Copy of Why Planes Crash
I started the Fear of Landing blog in 2006. I mainly saw it as a spot to store my notes as I planned flights around the UK. My first posts were all lists of things to do. I didn’t really think it would turn into a serious blog, let alone that it would become a…
Read more… 20 Apr 13
Top Accidents and Stories in 2012
Every year, I post 52 pieces of content on the blog. Most of them are written by me, although I enjoy having guest posts too, and every subject is chosen by me. The categories align closely to what I’m interested in at any given moment but I also spend a lot of time thinking about…
Read more… 11 Jan 13
Accident Reports
TNflygirl and the Beech Debonair
On the 7th of December 2023, a Beech 35-C33 Debonair crashed into terrain. The private pilot and the passenger, the pilot’s father, were both killed on impact. The private flight…
At All Costs
On the 11th of December 2024, the passenger in the right seat of a 1973 Grumman AA-5 was recording a video as they approached Pearland Regional Airport in Texas. The…
Demystifying
Trump Threatens to Ground Canadian Aircraft Over Gulfstream Certification
The US President, Donald Trump, posted the following to Truth Social last night. Based on the fact that Canada has wrongfully, illegally, and steadfastly refused to certify the Gulfstream 500,…
Another quick round of questions and answers
It’s time for another Questions and Answers session. I started this series a few years back, when a reader asked if there was a way to pose aviation questions outside…
History
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…
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…
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…
