Latest Posts   –  Page 8

Vintage Chipmunk Crash at Jandakot

On Wednesday, the ATSB released an urgent advisory asking all owners of the vintage aircraft DHC-1 Chipmunk to check their rivets. This advisory came as a part of the still in-progress investigation of a fatal crash at Jandakot Airport on the 26 of April 2024. The DHC-1 Chipmunk is a two-seater single-engine aircraft introduced in…

Read more… 13 Sep 24

Over-The-Top Gun: When Overconfidence Meets Gravity

I’m excited to share this guest post with you, by our own David Provan! It’s a great piece about his early experience flying the Champ. Over-The-Top Gun by David Provan I was eighteen in 1961. I’d not long done my first ever solo flight on an Aeronca Champion 7EC at Middle Districts Aero Club, Palmerston…

Read more… 7 Sep 24

Motor Glider’s Unexpected Touchdown on the A419

A few days ago, on the 27th of August 2024, a Grob G109B landed on the A419 road in Gloucestershire. The Grob G109B, developed by Grob Aircraft in Germany, is a motorised glider, which sounds like it could be a contradiction in terms. The two-seater low-wing aircraft is capable of both powered and unpowered flight.…

Read more… 30 Aug 24

Nepal’s Aviation Safety Under Scrutiny After Deadly CRJ200 Crash

On the 24th of July 2024, a devastating crash killed seventeen engineers and the first officer seconds after take-off from Tribhuvan International Airport at Kathmandu. Saurya is a tiny airline operating a specialized aircraft in one of the world’s most demanding airports. The Nepalese domestic carrier was founded in 2014 with a Bombardier CRJ200 registered…

Read more… 22 Aug 24

Voepass flight 2283

Voepass Linhas Aéreas flight 2283 was a scheduled Brazilian flight from Cascavel, Paraná, to Guarulhos, São Paulo. This is a routine, two-hour flight and the aircraft (and presumably crew) had flown it regularly, including the Guarulhos to Cascavel leg earlier that morning. Voepass Linhas Aéreas is a small airline that has offered domestic flights around…

Read more… 16 Aug 24

A Perfect Day to Fly: The Tragic Story of the EAA AirVenture 2023 Midair Collision

In 2023, the annual EAA AirVenture airshow in Oshkosh, Wisconsin was marred by a tragic mid-air collision. The EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) is an aviation organisation which has hosted fly-ins since 1953. EAA AirVenture is the largest American airshow; the week-long event is held in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, every year in July. The large number of…

Read more… 9 Aug 24

Accident Reports

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…

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…

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…