Latest Posts – Page 18
Passenger In Control
Everyone is talking about the passenger who safely landed a Cessna 208 Caravan at Palm Beach International Airport after the pilot slumped over the controls, incapacitated. The Cessna Caravan is a single-engine high-wing aircraft first produced in 1984. This one, registration N333LD, was recently listed as for sale on Aircraft.com, which gives us a bit…
Read more… 13 May 22
The Legend of the Ghost of Kyiv
On the 25th of February 2022, Plane & Pilot magazine shared a video of the “Ghost of Kyiv” overflying Kyiv in a Ukrainian MiG-29. An unnamed Ukrainian fighter pilot shot down six invading Russian planes on Thursday, becoming an ace in a matter of hours. The pilot’s identity is being protected, for fear of reprisals…
Read more… 6 May 22
Pilots Parachuting out of their Planes
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the supposed engine failure in a Taylorcraft B vintage aircraft over Los Padres National Forest in California: Vintage Plane Crash Possibly Done For Video Views. Last week, the New York Times published the basics from a leaked document detailing the enforcement action against the pilot. Since then, a…
Read more… 29 Apr 22
April Showers Bring…More Questions and Answers
It’s time again for a collection of questions from readers for the community to answer. This time, I’ve collected some questions from the comments that didn’t get much attention previously. If you know the answer, come on over the comments and leave a note. If you have a question, add it to the comments (one…
Read more… 22 Apr 22
Alitalia flight 404: The result of a dozen small decisions
Last week, we looked at the key events that led to the Alitalia flight 404 crash. A few points from the previous post: Maintenance replaced both radio receivers in the aircraft and the crew were aware they needed testing. On approach, the two receivers gave conflicting results. At least one of the receivers appears to…
Read more… 15 Apr 22
Alitalia Flight 404: “Catch the glide!”
On the 14th of November 1990, Alitalia flight AZ404 crashed into high ground upon approach to Zürich. The accident was investigated by the Federal Aircraft Accidents Inquiry Board in Switzerland and was supported by the United States National Transport and Safety Board. One aspect that makes it interesting is that the two boards came to…
Read more… 8 Apr 22
Accident Reports
The Unstallable Plane That Stalled
The Cessna 185 Skywagon is a high wing, single engine aircraft: basically a Cessna 180 with six seats, a strengthened fuselage and a slightly more powerful engine. It’s a popular…
Unbolted in Fairfield (Update on the 2022 Bell 407 GXP Crash)
On the 4th of June 2022, a Bell 407 GXP helicopter crashed in a field near Fairfield, New Jersey. I wrote about it at the time. The final report and…
Demystifying
Training an AI Copilot To Spot Gliders
My friend Maria at Daedalean wrote this article about how they are using AI to help pilots detect gliders. I thought it was fascinating and Daedalean gave me permission to…
The Missing Bolts from Alaska Airlines flight 1282
On the 5th of January 2024, Alaska Airlines flight 1282 had just taken off when it lost a door plug, leaving a gaping hole on the left side of row…
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
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…
Flying Fails and Airshow Considerations
Long-term readings of Fear of Landing know that my favourite aerobatics show of all time is Kyle Franklin’s Ben Whabnoski Comedy act. Just in case some of you haven’t seen…
Captain Ray on The Unstallable Plane That StalledPeter Goldstern Yes the full right rudder trim. I wondered about that too. The impression I had was that, "…
Mendel on The Unstallable Plane That StalledWell, I'm amused that you're dismissive of the "level of aviation knowledge" at the Safety Investigation Authority, Finland (SIAF), who…
Peter Goldstern on The Unstallable Plane That StalledWith 9000 hrs total time including 2000 hrs on water plus A&P/IA it seems to me that the long analysis…
Walker on The Unstallable Plane That StalledGood grief Don - the headline describes the false belief of the pilot whose belief and actions were the major…
Laura on The Unstallable Plane That StalledMy goodness, in the time it took you to post your two asinine comments, you could have read enough of…
Don on The Unstallable Plane That StalledOf course not. If the headline contains such a massive error as that, the entire article is most likely useless.…