Latest Posts   –  Page 29

The Oldest Footage of Flight

About a week ago, Marléne Aviation posted to Twitter in an attempt to find the oldest video footage of a flight. Marléne Aviation is run by a French aviation history enthusiast. They posted a video of the Archdeacon-Voisin hydro-planeur test on the Seine along with the request. Do you know of a film of an…

Read more… 17 Sep 22

Fatal Crash of LSA at Santa Monica Airport

Yesterday at around 16:30 local time, a light sports aircraft crashed onto the runway of Santa Monica Airport (SMO) in California. The aircraft was a CSA SportCruiser, a two-seater aircraft also sometimes known as a PiperShort. The SportCruiser belonged to a flying school based at the airport. Initial reports are that a 15-year-old was on…

Read more… 9 Sep 22

Verdict: Crocodile Still Not Guilty

A few days ago, my friend Beth sent me a link to what seemed an unbelievable aviation story: Plane crash caused by escaped crocodile https://t.co/p7nVvg12dw — Boing Boing (@BoingBoing) August 31, 2022 Long-time readers of Fear of Landing will recognise the story immediately: I wrote about it in 2014. At the time, I concluded that there…

Read more… 2 Sep 22

Post-Pandemic Mystery at Heathrow

In June 2021, the British Air Accident Investigative Branch (AAIB) initiated a fascinating investigation after they noticed three similar incidents at London Heathrow over a three-day period. Soon, they realised that the three incidents, all involving blocked pitot tubes, were related. As the investigation continued, several more incidents were discovered. The pitot tube measures the…

Read more… 26 Aug 22

Pilot Departs Aircraft Without a Parachute

Last week, an NTSB preliminary report was released about a tragic accident that already had the aviation world wondering what on earth had happened. On the 29th of July 2022, an air traffic controller received a bewildering call. “My co-pilot just ran out the back of the plane.” The aircraft was a CASA 212-200, a…

Read more… 19 Aug 22

Aviation Videos and Articles for August

I always collect videos and links that I think you might enjoy but apparently, I have been neglecting to actually share them with you! So here’s a “best of the best”, the top videos and a few articles from the stack of links that’s been gathering dust on my desktop all year. This one has…

Read more… 12 Aug 22

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…

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…

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

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…

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…