Latest Posts – Page 107
Near Miss over Scotland
UK news headlines have highlighted a near miss over Scotland in June this year, when two Boeing 747s lost separation. In the UK, an aviation near miss is known as an airprox and the UK Airprox Board has just released a compendium of the airprox incidents assessed at their September 2013 meeting. I was immediately…
Read more… 25 Oct 13
Non-Stop to Havana: Better to be Lucky than Smart
Captain Dick Blizzard spent seven years as an aviator in the US Navy and a further 33 years as an airline pilot. I’m thrilled to have the chance to share one of his pieces with you. Non-Stop to Havana! Better to Be Lucky Than Smart by Dick Blizzard The airlines only put enough fuel on…
Read more… 18 Oct 13
Cessna Missing Barrington Tops and the 2013 Search
Special thanks to Mark Nolan who filled me in on this and made scans of the original investigation available to me so that I could use primary sources for this post. On the 9th of August in 1981, a Cessna 210 registration VH-MDX was on a booked flight from Prosperpine to Bankstown, with a refueling…
Read more… 11 Oct 13
We’ve Lost the Cabin: Update on Southwest Flight 812
Last week, the National Transportation Safety Board released an accident brief about the emergency descent of Southwest Airlines flight 812 to Yuma, Arizona on the 1st of April, 2011. At 34,000 feet, climbing through to FL360, there was a loud sharp noise. The cabin experienced rapid decompression. Shawna Malvini Redden, a passenger on the flight,…
Read more… 4 Oct 13
The Incredible Story of David Riggs
It made international news: David Riggs’ body was discovered on Friday by a search and rescue team diving a lake in northeastern China after a Lancair 320, carrying the pilot and his translator, struck the surface and crashed. David Riggs, notorious stunt pilot who lost his pilot’s license twice, had been in the news –…
Read more… 27 Sep 13
Loss of Control – Collision with Water
Transportation Safety Board of Canada – Aviation Investigation Report A10P0147 Loss of Control – Collision with Water Atleo River Air Service Ltd. Cessna 185F, C-GIYQ Ahousat, British Columbia 29 May 2010 The first thing that struck me about this TSB Canada report was the title. Loss of control seemed an odd description and certainly isn’t…
Read more… 20 Sep 13
Accident Reports
Any Landing You Can Float Away From: Successful Ditching in the Arctic
On the 29th of July 2024, a light aircraft encountered engine trouble off the coast of Greenland and was forced to ditch in the North Atlantic. The aircraft was a…
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…
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
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…
