Latest Posts – Page 81
The Amazing Flying Granny
The man in the video is Peter Powell, a British entrepreneur who famously developed steerable kites using dual lines in 1972. He started by selling the kites from the back of his car and then began selling them on Paignton sea front. He had no shop window, he sold them simply by flying the kites…
Read more… 28 Apr 17
How will we stop the engine, then? Kigali Crash into VIP lounge
You may recall these photographs from the mainstream media in 2009, when an aircraft crashed into an airport building, killing one passenger. The CRJ-100 had just taken off from Kigali International Airport when the flight crew declared an emergency after developing a fault with the throttle. They returned to Kigali and landed safely. At the…
Read more… 21 Apr 17
“I Don’t Know Why I Killed Him But I Did”
The true story of Earnest Pletch is hard to believe, even almost a hundred years later. Commonly referred to as America’s first hijack, I’m not sure where else there might have been an earlier one. Also, I think it should technically be referred to as in-flight theft of an aircraft, I guess, not to mention…
Read more… 14 Apr 17
Aviation Horror Movies
This is a fun guest post by my friend John who works at the Royal Vegas casino. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have! Setting a horror film on a plane also adds another dimension of fear because there is literally nowhere to run. Some of the best horror films that are…
Read more… 12 Apr 17
Pilot Suicide Disputed by Family: Germanwings 9525
The tragedy of Germanwings 9525 happened two years ago and I reported on the final report from the Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses (BEA) when it was released in March of last year. The BEA concluded that the crash was caused by the deliberate and planned action of the first officer who decided to commit suicide…
Read more… 7 Apr 17
Dubious New Technique: Wing-Stop Manoeuvre
There’s been a lot of chatter about the Peruvian Boeing 737 which collapsed on landing a few days ago. Obviously there’s not a report yet, but I wanted to try to collect the information so far because three days after the incident. It’s still not clear to me what actually happened. (Also, I love the…
Read more… 31 Mar 17
Accident Analysis
Social Media Influencers Weigh Down Aircraft
The fatal crash at Scottsdale Arizona took place directly after take-off. The passengers were a self-proclaimed crowd of social media influencers. The jet-setting influencer who had organised the flight, had…
Fatal SR22 Stall on Final at Barwick LaFayette
On the 20th of March, 2025, a Cirrus SR22 crashed in LaFayette, Georgia during an instructional flight, killing both the pilot and the flight instructor. It was a good flying…
Demystifying
Someone has to write the TAF
It turns out that there a person sitting there deciding what the weather is going to do. Which seems obvious, except that I had somehow never asked msyelf who “someone”…
The Pilots, the Probes, and the AF447 Verdict
On the 21st of May 2026, the Paris Court of Appeal convicted Airbus and Air France of involuntary manslaughter for their roles in the crash of Air France flight 447,…
History
The CIA's Shark Screen
Today we have a guest post from the CIA! In their archives, researching something completely different, I found the answer to a question I never thought to ask. I immediately…
The First Jet to Land on an Aircraft Carrier (Deliberately)
“The Vampire was the first jet to land on a moving aircraft carrier deliberately.” This quote from Airshow Luke, our MC at the Legacy of Liberty airshow, made me almost…
Fun Stuff
Petrified, Petrified, Petrified
There’s been some interesting reporting in the UK media about a “near disaster” over Canary Wharf involving the captain having to intervene (the horror!) after air data systems failed on…
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…
