Search results for “MH370” – Page 3
The Perplexing Disappearance of Varig flight 967
On the 30th of January 1979, Varig flight 967 departed Narita International Airport (Tokyo) for a cargo flight to Rio de Janeiro–Galeão International Airport in Brazil. Half an hour after departure, it disappeared. Not very much is known about what happened but when people ask me how it can possibly be that MH370 has never…
Read more… 7 Jun 19
“I Don’t Know Why I Killed Him But I Did”
The true story of Earnest Pletch is hard to believe, even almost a hundred years later. Commonly referred to as America’s first hijack, I’m not sure where else there might have been an earlier one. Also, I think it should technically be referred to as in-flight theft of an aircraft, I guess, not to mention…
Read more… 14 Apr 17
Straight-Talk about Malaysia Airlines flight 370 and the flaperon
In light of the news this week (which is great news for unravelling the mystery of what happened to Malaysia Airlines flight 370), I thought it might be useful to try to explain some of the issues being talked about in the press. I know there’s a lot of news coverage at the moment; still,…
Read more… 31 Jul 15
Most Popular Aviation Pieces in 2014
Long dark nights are slowly receding as we pass the winter solstice and head back towards Spring. I can tell you, I’m seriously looking forward to 2015: I have great expectation of fun projects and lots of writing and hopefully even a bit of flying. This year’s most popular posts are an interesting mix as…
Read more… 26 Dec 14
Pilot Suicides: Fact vs Fiction
There’s been a lot of news reports about Ewan Wilson’s “breakthrough” that the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight 370 must have been a case of pilot suicide, specifically the Captain. The arguments in favour of this are poorly justified and Malaysia Airlines have already responded with a harsh rebuttal. Malaysia Airlines slams authors for lies,…
Read more… 19 Sep 14
Remote Control Boeing
In the aftermath of a mystery such as the disappearance of MH370, conspiracy theories always thrive. This one is a big one, as it involves multiple governments, corporate America and the US State Department. Malaysia Airlines flight 370 was not diverted by anyone on board, according to this theory, but was taken over remotely. There…
Read more… 13 Jun 14
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…
Ray on The Unstallable Plane That StalledSupposedly the Antonov AN -2 can’t stall. See a discussion on Aviation Stack Exchange. That’s an exaggeration as it loses…
John Dallman on The Unstallable Plane That Stalled"Tufting" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuft_(aeronautics) is a fairly standard technique in aerodynamic research. Computerised flow simulations have made it old-fashioned, but it still…
Captain Ray on The Unstallable Plane That StalledInteresting discussion. Most pilots, flying in the bush, wouldn't takeoff in a float plane, even empty and practice stalls. Floats…
CHip on The Unstallable Plane That StalledI am baffled by the notion that an aircraft would be unstallable; I've read about (but never flown) the Ercoupe,…
Tania on The Unstallable Plane That StalledGreat write-up. Really important for all pilots to be safety-minded. Yes, a stall is not a "normal flight condition" but…
Julie R on The Unstallable Plane That StalledI am terribly impressed by both the building of a test plane and the wool threads. That's just incredible. I…