Latest Posts   –  Page 11

I am not OK: Horizon Air flight 2059

On Sunday, the 22nd of October, Horizon Air flight 2059 was on a scheduled passenger flight from Everett in Washington to San Francisco, California. The aircraft was a four-year-old Embraer ERJ-175. The flight was full, with eighty passengers, two flight crew and two cabin crew on board. One of the passengers was an off-duty pilot…

Read more… 27 Oct 23

Night Flying (PPL)

I’ll be in Switzerland all week, hoping that the weather is good enough for the AXALP 2023 airshow. To tide you over, I thought it might be fun to revisit an old piece that I wrote about learning to fly at night. Maybe it will shed some light on the recent night-flying posts. This was…

Read more… 15 Oct 23

The Illusion of a Perfect Landing

On the 6th of February 2010, at about half past four in the afternoon, an SAS flight took off from Copenhagen Airport for a short flight to France. Amazingly, everyone survived. The aircraft was a McDonnell Douglas MD-81. The MD-81 is the longer variant of the MD-80: a five-abreast single-aisle airliner designed as the second-generation…

Read more… 13 Oct 23

Descending into Illusion: The Black Hole Effect

With no moon or city lights to guide you, the runway lights up ahead should be a beacon of safety. However, it might be a trap known as the black hole effect. Understanding our position, motion and attitude is critical to safe flight. Spatial disorientation is a collection of sensory illusions which lead us to…

Read more… 6 Oct 23

Final Report from the Contained Engine Failure of United flight 328

On the 20th of February 2021, United Airlines flight 328 made international headlines when a fan blade separated from the right engine shortly after take-off. Flight UA328 was a scheduled domestic flight from Denver International to Honolulu, Hawaii. The aircraft was a Boeing 777-200, registration N772UA, built in 1994 and powered by two Pratt &…

Read more… 29 Sep 23

ATC, Ambulance Needed, Accident Report and AXALP ’23

I have too many things I want to tell you about and not enough time to write them all so here’s a quick collection for you. Two weeks ago, I wrote about the Bank Holiday chaos in the UK when the air traffic control sub-system failed. There was a lively discussion and I’d like to…

Read more… 22 Sep 23

Accident Reports

Wings Over Dallas: How Poor Systems Led to Mid-Air Collision

On the 12th of November 2022, a Bell P-63F Kingcobra fighter flew into a Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress bomber during the Wings Over Dallas airshow. All six crew members in…

"Totally a visibility issue."

On Sunday, the 27th of November 2022, a single-engine aircraft made national US news when it crashed through power lines in Gaithersburg, Maryland, coming to rest on a lattice tower.…

Demystifying

How to tell an F-16 Fighting Falcon from a Eurofighter Typhoon

There are a number of reasons why you might need to quickly point out the differences between a General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon and a Eurofighter EF2000 Typhoon. You might…

Extreme Turbulence in Singapore Airlines flight 321

A few days ago (21st of May 2024), Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 encountered heavy turbulence on a passenger flight from London-Heathrow to Singapore. There were 229 on board, including eighteen…

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

Terminally Early: The Berlin Viewing Platform

Mistakes were made. All of them were mine. Before I left for Dresden, I planned out my full itinerary. Berlin is a much busier airport than Tallinn, so I needed…

A Few Good Stories

I’m in Dresden at the moment and I’m afraid I haven’t had a free moment to write you a new article. Luckily, lots of other people are on the internet…