Latest Posts   –  Page 2

Guest post from Rudy: 22,000 Hours and a Lot of Luck

I’ll be travelling for the next few weeks but I am glad to say I’ve got some great content lined up for you, starting with a new guest post from Rudy! I’m sure you’ll love the final image as much as I do. Please give Rudy a warm welcome and say hello in the comments!…

Read more… 24 Oct 25

It’s clear, but just barely: Ground collision at Seattle

There was light snow and congestion on the morning at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on the 5th of February 2025. Visibility was good but the temperatures hovered just above freezing and the ramp was slippery with a mix of light snowfall and de-icing fluid. Delta Airlines flight 1921 was a Boeing 737-832 registered in the US…

Read more… 17 Oct 25

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 crash into a residential building, clearly meant to depict the fatal crash of Air India flight 171. The passenger flight crashed into the hostel block…

Read more… 10 Oct 25

“A Group of Pissed Off Hornets”: An Instructor’s Snapchat Story of a Fatal Flight

I don’t like to be negative about flight instructors; it’s a difficult job that usually pays badly and requires superhuman levels of focus and patience. I had two amazing instructors who very much loved flying and were excited to share their passion with me. But of course the fatal accidents caused by bad instructors are…

Read more… 3 Oct 25

Pilots or Toilets: Is This Viral ATC Audio Real?

There’s a YouTube video by ATC Audio making the rounds with a shocking title: She says Both Pilots INOPERATIVE. Real ATC Audio. The video claims to have real ATC audio of Tap Air Portugal flight TAP484H, a scheduled passenger flight from Lisbon, Portugal to Nice, France. The audio covers an aviation miscommunication which led to…

Read more… 26 Sep 25

The Mystery of the Caged Tyres and the Porcupine Who Flew Home

This photograph was posted to r/shittyaskflying, a subreddit dedicated to asking silly questions and giving silly answers. In this case, the photograph is enough to make one wonder what’s going on. The caption reads: Why all the wheel chocks? Strong winds? The answers are predictably hilarious. No_Mathematician2527 writes: Stops porcupine from chewing the tires. Why…

Read more… 19 Sep 25

Accident Reports

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…

Demystifying

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…

Greg Bagwell on Scheduling a Combat Air Patrol

I was fascinated by Greg Bagwell’s thread on X/Twitter last week and I can’t help wanting to share it with you. Greg Bagwell CB CBE is a retired senior Royal Air…

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

Songs About Failed Spacecraft and Space Disasters

This week, I’m handing over Fear of Landing to my friend Jack Keller who promised me a playlist of music relating to my interests. All of the titles except one…

From B-52 Bomb Bays to Birthday Flights

It seems like a good time for a bit of lightness as a break from fatal crashes. Luckily, I have just the thing: some reader contributions along with a personal…