I’m not much one for April Fools Day, I have to admit, but it seemed a good opportunity to look at the controversy surrounding a young man who is accused of faking an engine failure and crash in order to get more views on YouTube. The accident took place on the 24th of November 2021…
Read more… 1 Apr 22
On Monday, the 21st of March 2022, China Eastern Airlines flight 5735 crashed into mountainous terrain during a scheduled passenger flight from Kunming to Guangzhou in the People’s Republic of China. There were 132 souls onboard with no survivors. The search for life continues in difficult terrain but after five days, it seems unlikely. The…
Read more… 25 Mar 22
When I first saw this image, I assumed it was result of modern image manipulations, maybe even the poster for a film. It was too perfect and too modern to be what it claimed to be, which was a historical photograph of an aircraft over Edinburgh. I was half right. it is a composite photograph…
Read more… 18 Mar 22
ASPEN AIRPORT (ASE, also known as Sardy Field) is known among pilots as one of the most challenging approaches in the US. The single runway is at an elevation of 7,820 feet (2,383 metres) and surrounded by mountains. The minimum decision altitude (MDA) is 10,200 feet and incoming aircraft must make staggered steep descents to…
Read more… 11 Mar 22
There is only one aircraft type where I have always used the definite article when writing about it: The Antonov An-225. The An-225 is a one-of-a-kind cargo aircraft designed by Antonov Design in then-Soviet Ukraine. The aircraft’s name is Mriya, literally “Dream” in Ukrainian (Мрія). This massive aircraft with six turbofan engines is capable of…
Read more… 4 Mar 22
My first aviation publication went something like this: “You don’t need a real license,” Tom said. The stern-faced ex-RAF instructor had already chided me for dressing inappropriately in my short skirt and open-toed sandals. Now I realized he wanted to get rid of me. He continued. “You want a wife’s license. Forget the technical mumbo-jumbo.…
Read more… 25 Feb 22
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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…