Latest Posts   –  Page 61

In case you were wondering what to get me for Christmas

There are lots of private jets up for sale but this one is special… It is a 1962 Lockheed JetStar 1329. The JetStar was a private project at Lockheed, originally for the US Air Force but when that didn’t pan out, they targeted the business market. Only 204 aircraft were produced. They were loud and…

Read more… 22 Jun 18

Beechcraft Bonanza vs Hangar

Today I discovered a YouTube channel called What You Haven’t Seen with quite a bit of background information on a crash that I’ve been reading up on. I’m not ready to write about that one yet but I thought you all might be interested in another video from the channel, posted just yesterday. The text…

Read more… 15 Jun 18

The Wing Just Broke Off: Chalk’s Airline Flight 101 (2005)

On the 19th of December, 2005, Chalk’s Ocean Airways flight 101 crashed into a shipping channel shortly after take-off. This fatal accident signalled the beginning of the end for Chalk’s Ocean Airways. I wrote about the interesting history of Chalk’s Flying Service and the Grumman Mallard previously, which has a few details relevant to this…

Read more… 8 Jun 18

Please Keep Your Feet In The Cockpit At All Times

The subject line on Reddit said Don’t start your airplane with your feet outside the cockpit so as you can imagine, I had to click. And having seen the story behind it, I now have to share it with you. The incident, involving a Piper Cherokee and a parked Cessna 172, took place at Orange…

Read more… 1 Jun 18

Russia Responsible for MH17 Shoot-Down

On the 17th of July in 2014, Malaysia Airlines flight 17 was shot down while flying over eastern Ukraine, on a scheduled flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. The aircraft was a Boeing 777-200ER, registration 9M-MRD. There were 15 crew and 283 passengers on board, making this the deadliest airliner shootdown in history. The passengers…

Read more… 25 May 18

Sichuan flight 8633 blown windshield

It seems that physical issues with aircraft are all over the news right now, with the latest being Sichuan Airlines flight 8633. On the 14th of May 2018, Sichuan Airlines flight 8633 departed Chongqing, China for a scheduled passenger flight to Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region (the area of Tibet in the…

Read more… 18 May 18

Accident Reports

No Masks, No Oxygen, No Chance

On the 4th of June 2023, a Cessna Citation 560 aircraft crashed in Montebello, Virginia, killing the pilot and three passengers. The NTSB released their report on the 14th of…

Hand on Thrust, Brain on Autopilot

On the 28th of June 2024 a Boeing 777-236, registered in the UK as G-VIIT, rejected a take-off after reaching V1 during the take-off roll on 26L at London Gatwick…

Demystifying

How to tell a Russian Su-27 from a British Typhoon

This is not an article that I ever thought I would feel compelled to write! However, given the confusion over a photograph chosen in a regional English paper, apparently it’s…

How to tell an F-16 Fighting Falcon from a Eurofighter Typhoon

There are a number of reasons why you might need to quickly point out the differences between a General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon and a Eurofighter EF2000 Typhoon. You might…

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

Friday Lightness: A Short Respite from Crash Reports

It seems a good time for something a bit more lighthearted. After weeks of analyzing serious incidents and technical failures, I thought I could a moment to appreciate aviation humuor…

Flights of Fantasy: Aviation April Fools Worth Celebrating

I’m going to admit that I’m not a great fan of April Fools’ pranks, especially not attempts to trick people into believing something and then pulling the rug out from…