I did it! It’s taken a lot longer than I expected, but the second book in the Why Planes Crash series is finally finished! I want to thank everyone on Fear of Landing for their support in this; it’s through this website that I discovered that my obsessions were shared with so many of you.…
Read more… 14 Jul 15
This story started, as so many do, with an interesting photograph posted to Reddit. I was curious, and decided to investigate the accident. The sequence of events that led to the wreck was a lot more fascinating than I expected. The airline was initially set up as the Makhachkala division of Aeroflot in 1927. In…
Read more… 10 Jul 15
What I’ve been doing when I should have been writing: Reading The Martian (highly recommend!!) Finishing the edits for the next Why Planes Crash e-book (want early access? Join the mailing list!) Working on a redesign for the website (coming soon!) Drafting two complicated accident reports (still in progress) I am sorry that I haven’t…
Read more… 3 Jul 15
You may have heard about the second crash first, when this video of a last-minute ejection started making the rounds: The video was filmed at Hungarian Air Base Kecskemét, one of three Air Force bases in Hungary. Kecskemét Air Base is in Bács-Kiskun county and has a concrete runway (12/30) which is 2,499×60 metres (8,199×197…
Read more… 26 Jun 15
On Tuesday, two aircraft were on a collision course when ATC instructions weren’t understood at Chicago’s Midway airport in Illinois. Delta Airlines flight 1328, a Boeing 717-200, was a scheduled flight to Atlanta, Georgia. On the recordings, this flight is referred to as Delta thirteen twenty-eight. Southwest Airlines flight 3828, a Boeing 737-700, was scheduled…
Read more… 19 Jun 15
Today, I have a long and very interesting article for you which was originally published on the amazing Zythophile blog by Martyn Cornell. Martyn Cornell is an author, journalist and beer historian. Enjoy! Normandy, 70 years ago, and one of the biggest concerns of the British troops who have made it over the channel, survived…
Read more… 12 Jun 15
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…