This post is nothing to do with aviation. I was as far away from flying as I could possibly get, being underground and all. But pilots are adventurers and this was an adventure and so I hope that you will find this as interesting as I did. I have been researching the original rivers of…
Read more… 20 May 11
It’s been 15 years since the famous ValuJet crashed into the Everglades, a tragic accident that did much to focus our views on cost-savings and in-flight safety. There’s been a lot of discussion of the flight, including a National Geographic Seconds From Disaster episode. On the 11th of May in 1996, ValuJet Flight 592 disappeared.…
Read more… 13 May 11
This week, I’ve had a terrible cold and have spent an inordinate amount of time clicking random webpages. As a result, I spent more time reading (and listening) than writing about aviation. In an attempt to redeem myself, I am sharing with you the best of the pieces I found online. Enjoy! On-board a Cessna…
Read more… 6 May 11
A vintage aerobatic plane, apparently a Yak 52, crashed into a fishing lake in Essex (the village of Langford) yesterday. The plane was seen flying in formation with two other aerobatic planes shortly before the accident. All three took off from North Weald airfield, of which I am a member, although the downed plane was…
Read more… 29 Apr 11
I am trading in my single-engine aircraft obsession for space ships this weekend at the Illustrious Eastercon 2011. Unfortunately, I don’t have a new post for you; however, I found this piece in my archives discussing “authentic” travel and expectations of foreign resorts. I still feel the same as when I wrote it two years…
Read more… 22 Apr 11
A few weeks ago, I posted a video of a near-miss “bird strike” when a frightened emu ran onto the landing strip as the aircraft touched down. Warning: Entirely Justified Coarse Language is Used in this Video When I found out the pilot had posted to the Professional Pilots’ Rumour Network, I couldn’t resist getting…
Read more… 15 Apr 11
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…
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…
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.…
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…