Latest Posts – Page 2
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 with flaps set to 30°, autobrakes setting 2 and standard reverse thrust, all within standard operational procedures. As they approached, the landing gear lowered and…
Read more… 18 Sep 26
Amazon Cargo 767 Overrun at Miami
On the 6th of September 2026, 21 Air flight 7598 landing at Miami International Airport overran the runway, killing five people. The aircraft was a 32-year-old Boeing 767-300 wide-body airliner converted for cargo, registered in the US as N1997A. That day, the aircraft had flown Cincinnati-Miami-San Juan with two flight crew aboard. I have not…
Read more… 11 Sep 26
How Low Is Too Low? Airlink Flypast at Cape Town DHL Stadium.
On Saturday the 29th of August 2026, South Africa’s Springboks faced off against New Zealand’s All Blacks in the second test of the four-match “Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry” series. The match opening at Cape Town’s DHL Stadium drew international attention last week. Let’s skip to the chase: South Africa won 33-26. But that’s not what made…
Read more… 4 Sep 26
Social Media Influencers Weigh Down Aircraft
The fatal crash at Scottsdale Arizona took place directly after take-off. The passengers were a self-proclaimed crowd of social media influencers. The jet-setting influencer who had organised the flight, had an audience of 12,000 followers who followed his exciting lifestyle on Instagram. He had been dating the same woman for six months. “It was a…
Read more… 28 Aug 26
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” was. Generally speaking, I’m writing about things that have already happened, so when it comes to the relevant weather, I’ll reach for the Meteorological Aerodrome…
Read more… 21 Aug 26
Air India Sudden Descent Injures 24
On the 4th of August 2026, Air India flight AI2379 was en route from Phuket to Delhi when the aircraft suddenly and unexpectedly descended (“suddenly plunged”) 300 feet, resulting in multiple injuries. It isn’t completely clear what happened but the best source for the basic details seems to be covered by The Hindu reporting and Firstpost’s…
Read more… 14 Aug 26
Accident Analysis
The Anatomy of an A350–CRJ Collision at Atlanta
On the 10th of September 2024, an Airbus A350 took the tail off of a Bombardier CRJ at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia, USA. Delta Air Lines flight 295…
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.…
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…
The Pilots, the Probes, and the AF447 Verdict
On the 21st of May 2026, the Paris Court of Appeal convicted Airbus and Air France of involuntary manslaughter for their roles in the crash of Air France flight 447,…
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
Bird Strikes, Balloon Landings and Falling in Love with a Boeing 777
The exciting news on Fear of Landing this week was a huge scare about critical vulnerabilities in PHP. PHP is widely used on the web, including in WordPress, which is…
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…
