On the 29th of July 2023, a mid-air collision of a helicopter and a gyrocopter at Oshkosh left two dead and two seriously injured. The helicopter, registration N193AZ, was a RotorWay Exec 162F: a kit-built aircraft manufactured by RoterWay International. The gyrocopter, registration N221EL, was an ELA 10 Eclipse: a two-seater Spanish model. It was…
Read more… 1 Sep 23
On the 2nd of March, 2023, a Vans RV-9A struck a vehicle while coming into land at Henstridge Airfield. The Vans RV-9A is a Van’s Aircraft kit plane, a kit for enthusiasts to build an aircraft themselves. The RV-9 is a two-seater low-wing aircraft; the original model is a tail dragger, but the RV-9A has…
Read more… 25 Aug 23
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 and have shared some fun and interesting aviation posts. This great clip was posted to Reddit: Every foot of that runway was used that day…
Read more… 18 Aug 23
Redditor jmcmanna is a controller in the Chicago area, with references to working O’Hare (ORD) and Midway (MDW) International Airports. Jmcmanna is an active participant on the flying subreddits that I follow and regularly responds to pilots with questions about ATC and procedures. It’s a great look “behind the scenes” from someone who is clearly…
Read more… 11 Aug 23
On the 7th of September 2010, a Tupelov Tu-154M (registration RA-85684) suffered a complete loss of electrical power during a cross-country flight to Moscow. The Tupolev Tu-154 is a three-engine Soviet jet originally developed to meet Aeroflot requirements for a medium-range airliner. Production started in 1970; the last TU-154 was manufactured in 2013 by Aviakor…
Read more… 4 Aug 23
I’ve lost most of the day to unexpected research and one of the fascinating items that I discovered was the Air Force Historical Research Agency and their amazing photo collection. This collection includes a thousand old photographs of flight! I was drawn in by some of these of the Wright brothers and their aircraft, many…
Read more… 28 Jul 23
On the 12th of August in 2024, a pilot fatally crashed a Robinson R44 into the top of a hotel building in Cairns, Australia. The pilot held a commercial helicopter…
On the 4th of June 2023, a Cessna Citation 560 aircraft crashed in Montebello, Virginia, killing the pilot and three passengers. The NTSB released their report on the 14th of…
This is not an article that I ever thought I would feel compelled to write! However, given the confusion over a photograph chosen in a regional English paper, apparently it’s…
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…
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…
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.…
It seems a good time for something a bit more lighthearted. After weeks of analyzing serious incidents and technical failures, I thought I could a moment to appreciate aviation humuor…
I’m going to admit that I’m not a great fan of April Fools’ pranks, especially not attempts to trick people into believing something and then pulling the rug out from…