Latest Posts   –  Page 72

Mid-Air Collision over Cerritos in 1986

In 1986, I lived on the outskirts of Cerritos, a ‘gateway’ city in the southeast of Los Angeles County. No one outside of California had ever heard of Cerritos, hell, most of California had not heard of Cerritos. When my friends and I were asked where we were from, we tended to just say Los…

Read more… 1 Sep 17

When Both Your Mind and Your Instruments Are Lying

In the early hours on the 8th of January in 2016, a cargo plane was reported missing in northern Sweden. The West Air Bombadier CRJ-200 made a single MAYDAY call at 01:30 before disappearing from radar. A Norwegian Air Force F-16 discovered the crash site on a mountain plateau in Lapland an hour later, northwest…

Read more… 25 Aug 17

MH370: The Truth Behind the Headlines

Malaysia Airlines flight 370 has been in the headlines again and for the first time in quite a while, I’d like to talk about the real news behind the news. Some of the mainstream papers have been less than clear about what the new data is, let alone its importance. Also, somewhat frustratingly, the key…

Read more… 18 Aug 17

Shaking All Over: AirAsia flight D7237

On the 25th of June 2017, Air Asia flight D7237, an Airbus A330 registration 9M-XXE, suffered an in-flight engine fault ninety minutes into a scheduled flight from Perth to Kulala Lumpur. There was a loud sudden noise and then the aircraft began shuddering violently. The pilot spoke to Berita Harian after the incident and the…

Read more… 11 Aug 17

A Serious Runway Incursion: Embraer 195 vs Airbus 320

There was a serious runway incursion at Brussels Airport on the 5th of October 2016, when an Embraer ERJ-195LR crossed in front of the path of a landing Airbus A320-214. The Belgian Air Accident Investigation Unit released their report last week and it’s a good study on how minor inconveniences can pile up into creating…

Read more… 21 Jul 17

Maybe an Origin Story

It was a lazy evening in 1980 and I was bored at my dad’s house, when I put on his television and flicked through the 150 channels he had, looking for something to watch. I paused at a scene which showed a bunch of good looking guys in pilot gear playing baseball. They were arguing…

Read more… 14 Jul 17

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…