Latest Posts   –  Page 131

PULL UP PULL UP: Garuda Indonesia flight GA200 in Yogyakarta

I’ve been reading an old accident investigation report from the National Transportation Safety Committee in Indonesia. You may recall the frightening photographs that hit the press in March 2007, when this Boeing 737 overran the runway at Yogyakarta and was destroyed from the impact and resulting fire. One flight attendant and twenty passengers were killed…

Read more… 30 Sep 11

History of Commercial Flight

Today, I was going to write an involved analysis of an accident report that I’ve been reading this week. Then, someone who was once considered a friend sent me this link: List of firsts in aviation – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and the next thing I knew, the day had disappeared. Thanks a lot! Seriously,…

Read more… 23 Sep 11

Tipsy Nipper Crash Video

A few years back I wrote about this Tipsy Nipper going into a flat spin. I didn’t realise it at the time but a few months after my post, the pilot posted his video of the spin to YouTube with commentary. You have to watch this! The spin was supposed to be a normal erect…

Read more… 16 Sep 11

The Remarkable Life of Erich Warsitz

I’ve lost half the week reading The First Jet Pilot, a historical biography about a pilot I’d never heard of before: Captain Erich Warsitz. Erich Warsitz was a German test-pilot in the 1930s and 40s. He lived the most amazing life and when I say test-pilot, I don’t mean “check out this probably-stable plane and…

Read more… 9 Sep 11

The Route to an Aviation Career.

This guest post is from Stephanie of Hillsboro Aviation in Oregon, who was kind enough answer my questions about how to start an aviation career. I hope my son is reading this! The Route to an Aviation Career The route to becoming an employable commercial pilot is not necessarily easy. Is it worth it? That…

Read more… 2 Sep 11

The Red Arrows

My heart broke when I saw the update on the Royal Air force Aerobatic Team website. Until the last, I’d hoped that Flight Lieutenant Egging had managed to eject safely. And then the RED 4 Messages of Condolence page appeared. It is with sadness that the MOD must confirm the death of Flight Lieutenant Jon…

Read more… 26 Aug 11

Accident Analysis

Why KLM Cut the Steering Cables on Two Perfectly Functional Boeing 737s

Last month, we looked at the night of 28th of November 2004 at Barcelona Airport. KLM 1673 ran off the runway at high speed, stopping just short of a canal.…

KLM 1673 Veers Off the Runway with Full Right Rudder

On the 28th of November 2004, a Boeing B737 ran off the runway at Barcelona Airport. The weather had been good at Barcelona that evening. The flight crew agreed to land…

Demystifying

How Important is Having a Sterile Cockpit?

This question was posted to r/flying by a private pilot who wanted to know: do airline pilots ever engage in small talk about irrelevant things during taxiing, run-up, takeoff, and…

Someone has to write the TAF

It turns out that there a person sitting there deciding what the weather is going to do. Which seems obvious, except that I had somehow never asked msyelf who “someone”…

History

The CIA's Shark Screen

Today we have a guest post from the CIA! In their archives, researching something completely different, I found the answer to a question I never thought to ask. I immediately…

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…

Fun Stuff

Petrified, Petrified, Petrified

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…

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…