Latest Posts   –  Page 5

How the B-52 Lands in Crosswinds

I’m here, defeated but not yet horizontal, the victim of a relentless summer cold that feels like the universe’s revenge for something I can’t even remember. If I don’t make it, please avenge me by naming a B-52 after me. I’m thinking about B-52s after watching this one land at the airshow at RAF Fairford,…

Read more… 11 Jul 25

Farewell Flight Turns Fatal in Cairns

On the 12th of August in 2024, a pilot fatally crashed a Robinson R44 into the top of a hotel building in Cairns, Australia. The pilot held a commercial helicopter licence issued by the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority, including type ratings for the Robinson R44 helicopter. He had 157.8 hours flying experience, with 16.8…

Read more… 4 Jul 25

Preliminary Reports and Key Updates on Recent Aviation Incidents

There have been some key updates on recent cases that are clearly of interest, but at the same time, they aren’t quite enough for a full-length article. Today, I’ve decided to deal with the problem with this compilation post of updates to seven different incidents, along with links to the original articles for reference. Dreamliner…

Read more… 27 Jun 25

King on a Hot Tin Roof

On Monday the 16th of June 2025, a twin-engine plane crashed onto the roof of a hangar. The aircraft was a 50-year-old Beechcraft King Air E-90, registered in the US as N1UC (serial number LW-140) with a valid airworthiness certificate until June 2031. At the time of the accident, the King Air had 10,922 total…

Read more… 20 Jun 25

Dreamliner Crash in Ahmedabad: Air India flight 171

Yesterday, the 12th of June 2025, Air India flight 171 crashed after departure from Ahmedabad Airport in India. Air India flight 171 was a scheduled passenger flight from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, UK which crashed just 45 seconds after departure, impacting a medical school dining hall in the Meghani area of the city. Ahmedabad Airport,…

Read more… 13 Jun 25

The Stowaway in Plain Sight

On the 4th of November 2023, Scandinavian Airlines flight 931 arrived at Los Angeles International Airport at Gate 156. A gentleman in his forties disembarked the aircraft and walked to the Customs and Border Protection checkpoint. There, he explained that he’d just arrived on SAS flight 931 but seemed to have left his passport on…

Read more… 6 Jun 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…

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…