Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport (Tallinna lennujaam) is the largest airport in Estonia. It serves as a hub for Estonian airline Nordica as well as the secondary hub for AirBaltic and LOT Polish Airlines. Over the past year, Tallinn has worked to expand its single asphalt-concrete runway to 3,070 metres but at the time, in 2010,…
Read more… 3 Feb 17
I’m in Estonia for the moment and researching local crashes for you! Meanwhile, I’ve pulled this piece from the archives to keep you entertained while I am travelling. This version has a few updates and better photography. This was originally posted in September 2009. I can vouch for the fact that the Killer Cattle Protection…
Read more… 27 Jan 17
On the 3rd of July in 2014, a Boeing 777-300ER operated by Singapore Airlines was involved in a “loss of separation” incident after departing Houston. The NTSB chose not to investigate the occurrence formally, which was regarded as a pilot deviation from an ATC clearance. However, they reviewed the circumstances of the incident and passed…
Read more… 20 Jan 17
On the 12th of April in 2014, tragedy struck in New South Wales when a pilot’s bad decision led to the death of a young girl travelling with him as a passenger. That morning, the pilot arrived at the airport at around 07:30 local time. He was well-rested and had no medical issues that might…
Read more… 13 Jan 17
This is apparently a classic but new to me: a training video recreating the issues in the cockpit from a runway overrun in 1976. The question was whether to land downwind on a foggy runway in icing conditions or whether to circle to land. The circle to land could have meant that the crew would…
Read more… 6 Jan 17
I’m taking some time off and exploring Copenhagen but I wanted to take the chance to wish you a very Merry Christmas! This Christmas Card from the Aviator Website made me smile, so please consider it my Just-In-Time Christmas card to you! I won’t be around next week either, so I’ll see you in the…
Read more… 23 Dec 16
Ferry Tank Failure: Successful SR22 Ditching in the Pacific
In 2015, I shared a video of an SR22 whose pilot successfully deployed his Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) off of the coast of Maui, Hawai’i. I wrote at the time…
The Man in the Right Seat at Prestwick
On the 23rd of April 2024, a Piper Archer II crashed in South Ayrshire, Scotland, after losing power. There were two on board. Both suffered serious injuries and the light…
Meowing on Guard (an attempt at an explanation)
Last week a video went viral and it’s been fun to see the mainstream media coverage try to cover two pilots who were heard making animal noises on the radio. …
Trump Threatens to Ground Canadian Aircraft Over Gulfstream Certification
The US President, Donald Trump, posted the following to Truth Social last night. Based on the fact that Canada has wrongfully, illegally, and steadfastly refused to certify the Gulfstream 500,…
Four Point Two Stars Where You Only Stop If You Have To
I always look up airports when I’m writing about them, partly out of habit and partly because I’m afraid I’ll miss an important detail. When I was writing Any Landing…
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…
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…