Category: Miscellaneous – Page 19
Odds of Airborne Terror (Gizmodo)
FiveThirtyEight: Politics Done Right: The Odds of Airborne Terror has done some interesting research: Over the past decade, there have been, by my count, six attempted terrorist incidents on board a commercial airliner than landed in or departed from the United States: the four planes that were hijacked on 9/11, the shoe bomber incident in…
Read more… 3 Jan 10
Best of 2009
I’m not sure how 2009 managed to disappear quite so quickly! But it’s gone and I’m quite happy to be able to talk about my plans for twentyten like I’m from some sort of futuristic sci-fi film. Before I start investigating what I need to get a space licence, I thought I’d take a final…
Read more… 1 Jan 10
Merry Christmas to all!
A retelling of the 19th-century story, especially for aviators. This has been floating around the Internet for years in various forms — and probably was passed around as photocopies for years before that. ‘Twas the night before Christmas, and out on the ramp, Not an airplane was stirring, not even a Champ. The aircraft were…
Read more… 25 Dec 09
The Ninth Day: A Gift Guide
A number of aviation bloggers have joined up to bring you The Twelve Days of Christmas: An Aviation Gift Guide. I’m going out on a limb with today’s recommendation but it can be hard to be sure what a pilot might like – we’re all different – and this was the one thing I could…
Read more… 10 Dec 09
On the Third Day of Christmas…
Trying to find presents is never easy and however much I swear I will be more organised next year, it always seems to end up December before I’m ready. This year, a number of aviation bloggers have teamed up to bring you gift ideas and I’m thrilled to be one of them. With a theme…
Read more… 3 Dec 09
Don’t Block That Frequency
I’m on the road this week but never fear! The well-known aviation blogger Plastic Pilot has kindly taken command of Fear of Landing for the day. I asked him to tell us what it is like in Air Traffic Control and he responded with the following post. ATC Behind the Scenes by Vincent, the Plastic…
Read more… 20 Nov 09
Accident Analysis
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…
There Is a Parachutist in Front of You
On the 15th of June 2023, a light aircraft crashed into the runway at Aversi private airfield in Denmark. The aircraft, registered in Germany as D-EPRR, was a Cessna TU206G…
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 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
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…
