Category: Miscellaneous –  Page 8

The Glorious Details of the South Pole Rescue

I wrote a couple of weeks ago about the Twin Otter Emergency Winter Flight to the South Pole, when it became clear that a rescue mission was needed to land at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in the dead of winter. Point of no return: 5 hrs. Despite extra tanks, Twin Otter doesn’t carry enough…

Read more… 15 Jul 16

Twin Otter Emergency Winter Flight to the South Pole

The Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station is not easy to reach. It’s located on Antartica’s ice sheet at an elevation of 2,835 metres (9,306 feet). Most of that elevation is the thickness of the ice sheet itself. The station drifts with the ice sheet about 10 metres (33 feet) every year. The temperature ranges between -13.6°C…

Read more… 17 Jun 16

Summary of Facts: Egypt Air flight 804

Let me start by saying that the first week after a catastrophe is always a hotbed of rumours. When an aircraft is lost at sea, it usually takes a few days to a week to find the wreckage and recover any information; however ever since Malaysia Airlines flight 370, MISSING AIRCRAFT!! is headline news, with…

Read more… 20 May 16

Staying Connected at 30,000 Feet

Today’s article is written by Matthew Levenson, who is interested in aircraft from a passenger point of view rather than the pilot’s. But I think this is a subject close to most of our hearts: staying connected at 30,000 feet! Over the past decade, the rollout of free Wi-Fi services in our towns and cities…

Read more… 5 Apr 16

Why Planes Crash now available in paperback!

So, it’s been a long time coming because I wanted to make sure that the book print quality was good and that there was enough content to make it worth the print costs. I’ve finally got it all organised. Yes, that’s right. I can finally offer you a book that you can hold in your…

Read more… 2 Dec 15

New Design!

A few months ago I saw some people talking about Fear of Landing on Reddit, which was pretty cool, except that one of them said “Yeah, but what’s up with the 1990s web design, wow.” I looked at my darling website, which actually was designed in 2006, thank-you-very-much, with a redesign in 2008, and I…

Read more… 30 Jul 15

Accident Reports

Bomber 139's Third Run: What the Investigation Found

In order to follow this analysis, you’ll need to have the details of the flight and the crash from last week’s article about the flight. When we last saw Bomber…

Bomber 139's Third Run: Downhill to Disaster

On the 6th of February 2023, a Boeing 737-3H4 Large Air Tanker crashed into a ridge line of 222 feet elevation in Fitzgerald River National Park in Western Australia. There…

Demystifying

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…

Durga Puja Pandal Shows Air India Flight 171 Crash

The following video from a religious festival in West Bengal, India, has caught a lot of social media attention. It shows a detailed representation of an Air India Boeing Dreamliner…

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

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…

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…