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 destruction of an aircraft.”

I’m not going to bother with links to the articles; AV Herald has a brief write-up and the AAIB has confirmed that they are investigating.

Of course, PPRuNe has a thread on the media coverage and what little is known about the mishap. There are a few warnings to keep discussion to a minimum, for fear of journalists picking up even more (mis-)information from the thread and using it in their reporting. I’m afraid that ship has sailed, as I couldn’t resist sharing some of the posts with you.

Clare Prop bemoaned the loss of the automatic story generator:

 Sadly the famous “Lazy journalists plane crash story generator” is no longer to be found on the internet. The drop down menus were very funny, including the one where the only options for “The passengers were all…” as being petrified, petrified, petrified, petrified or petrified.

Satcos Whipping Boy responded that this is yet another job that has been replaced by AI:

I think AI has replaced it. example… I just popped Lazy journalists plane crash story generator into Ai search.

[BREAKING NEWS] A vintage Tiger Moth biplane carrying live nuclear weapons has crashed onto Bader Walk, leaving the pilot literally suspended in a nearby tree.

The Bader Walk Nuclear Crisis

A de Havilland Tiger Moth wood-and-canvas biplane has gone down in a terrifyingly slow-motion wreck.

Eyewitnesses report hearing a sputtering lawnmower noise before seeing a mildly concerning plume of smoke.

Local resident Arthur Pendelton, 74, who lives too close said, “It sounded like a vintage moped crashing into a shed full of bubble wrap.”

Experts confirm the flight took off from a local grassy strip and was heavily laden with tactical thermonuclear warheads.

Authorities advise people to evacuate the hemisphere while military teams figure out how a 1930s trainer jet carried a multi-megaton payload.

Investigation is ongoing, but the pilot’s duties are officially suspended—much like his body, which is currently dangling from a parachute in a local oak tree.

any hoo, back on topic.

Meanwhile, Burnt Fishtrousers offered a template for use by aspiring journalists:

Generated Story

By Our Aviation Correspondent (who has never flown a plane)

[LOCATION] —

A routine flight turned into a nightmare today when a [AIRCRAFT TYPE] operated by [AIRLINE] came down in what experts have described as a “highly unusual incident”.

Terrified witnesses said they heard a loud noise before seeing the aircraft descend rapidly.

“I looked up and saw something I never want to see again,” said local resident Dave, who lives 14 miles away and did not actually see the crash.

Emergency crews rushed to the scene as investigators began the painstaking task of determining what went wrong.

Aviation expert Captain Trevor “Tommo” Thompson (retired since 1998) told reporters:

“There are many possible causes. It could have been mechanical failure, pilot error, weather, maintenance issues, or something else entirely.”

The comments have raised further questions about whether more could have been done to prevent the disaster.

I have bookmarked both templates for future reference. Purely for research purposes, obviously! I have also started vibe coding my own version of the generator based on this general aviation template by MikeA. What do you think?

Next week’s headline: Fear of Landing Has Been Replaced by AI. No One Noticed.