Latest Posts – Page 4
Best Speed across the Runway: VH-EWW at Gold Coast Airport
On the 6th of February 2024, a student pilot and instructor met at Gold Coast Airport in Queensland for a dual training flight. The clear lesson learned that day was a common one: if the approach is not stabilised, go around! But to be fair, the instructor did go around, just …a little bit later…
Read more… 12 Sep 25
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 Force commander who served 36 years, ending his career as Deputy Commander (Operations) at RAF Air Command – the service’s most senior operational role. He…
Read more… 5 Sep 25
Sky Diver Pulled from Aircraft After In-Flight Deployment
On the 1st of August 2024, the École de Parachutisme Sportif de Vannes Bretagne organised a parachute drop for 14. The sky diving centre is a non-profit operating their aircraft under AIR OPS. The aircraft was a Cessna 208 Caravan, a single-engine turboprop, registered in France as F-HVPC and owned by the sky diving centre. It…
Read more… 29 Aug 25
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 link to YouTube. I’ve also created the playlist on Spotify for those I could find, which is embedded at the bottom. It’s quite a change…
Read more… 22 Aug 25
Pave Hawk Helicopter and Crew Destroyed by Bird Strike
It was a quiet winter evening in the English village of Cley next the Sea, population 400. 2014 was just one week old and everyone was just getting back into the swing of post-Christmas living. Peaceful. Quiet. Until a flock of geese took down a US Air Force helicopter in their backyard. The helicopter was…
Read more… 15 Aug 25
Angara Flight 2311: An-24 Disappears on Go-Around Near Tynda
On the 24th of July 2025, Angara Airlines flight 2311 from Blagoveshchensk to Tynda disappeared from radar during a go-around at Tynda Airport. The wreckage was discovered 15 kilometres from the airport. There were no survivors. The tragic flight was a multi-stop service connecting Russia’s far eastern communities. The first flight departed Khabarovsk on time…
Read more… 8 Aug 25
Accident Reports
Any Landing You Can Float Away From: Successful Ditching in the Arctic
On the 29th of July 2024, a light aircraft encountered engine trouble off the coast of Greenland and was forced to ditch in the North Atlantic. The aircraft was a…
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…
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
Aviation Stories You Might Have Missed
I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season. This week, I’ve put together a compilation of interesting items in the press that you might have missed while enjoying…
Nathan Pyle Strange Worlds
Thank you so much for all the kind words. I don’t quite have the wherewithal to respond to each of you individually but I very much appreciate all of you…
