Latest Posts   –  Page 111

In Defence Of Ryanair’s Safety Record

Ryanair are making international headlines once again… Ryanair licencié un pilote qui a mis en cause la sécurité Ryanair despide a un piloto que cuestionó la seguridad de la aerolínea Ryanair rekur flugstjóra Ryanair, licenziato il pilota che denunciò problemi di sicurezza Sicherheitsbedenken: Ryanair feuert Pilot nach Auftritt in TV-Doku Companhia aérea Ryanair demite piloto…

Read more… 16 Aug 13

How Not to Become a Police Pilot

I was looking for something completely different when I stumbled on an old thread about How Not to Become a Police Pilot on the Professional Pilot’s Rumour Network. The story starts with a rumour that a Police helicopter pilot was being prosecuted at Leicester Crown Court. Apparently, the man became friendly with some pilots at…

Read more… 9 Aug 13

What I Was Doing While I Wasn’t Here

Well, it’s been a busy but exciting week here! First off, I was interviewed by Dave Goodwin for PlaneViz, a brilliant weekly aviation podcast. You can hear Dave and me discuss planes, crashing, Tokyo and TCAS in Why Planes Crash Author Sylvia Wrigley – Ep. 15. Dave: When I read about airplane crashes or incidents…

Read more… 2 Aug 13

UPS Flight 6 Uncontained Cargo Fire

A few days ago, the General Civil Aviation Authority of the United Arab Emirates has released its final report on the Boeing 747 which crashed on the 3rd of September in 2010 after an uncontained cargo fire. Uncontained Cargo Fire Leading to Loss of Control Inflight and Uncontrolled Descent Into Terrain The 326-page accident report…

Read more… 26 Jul 13

American Spitfire Pilot in 1944 and 2005

You all know by now how much I love Spitfires. My list of Five Facts I Never Knew about Spitfires needs expanding: I never knew that a Spitfire could make it from Oxford to Berlin and back. I realised that the short-range aircraft must have had special fuel tanks for these reconnaissance flights and started…

Read more… 19 Jul 13

The Last Flight

Max Grogan, a pilot and avid photographer, posted this story to BeechTalk.com, a wonderful community of pilots and Beechcraft enthusiasts. I was immediately entranced and contacted Max directly to thank him for this heartwarming story of the brief friendship of two men, united by a love of flying. He was kind enough to give me…

Read more… 12 Jul 13

Accident Reports

Ferry Tank Failure: Successful SR22 Ditching in the Pacific

In 2015, I shared a video of an SR22 whose pilot successfully deployed his Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) off of the coast of Maui, Hawai’i. I wrote at the time…

The Man in the Right Seat at Prestwick

On the 23rd of April 2024, a Piper Archer II crashed in South Ayrshire, Scotland, after losing power. There were two on board. Both suffered serious injuries and the light…

Demystifying

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. …

Trump Threatens to Ground Canadian Aircraft Over Gulfstream Certification

The US President, Donald Trump, posted the following to Truth Social last night. Based on the fact that Canada has wrongfully, illegally, and steadfastly refused to certify the Gulfstream 500,…

History

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…

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…

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…