Two international flights, one an American Airlines Boeing 777 and the other a Delta Air Lines 737 came within a thousand feet of colliding as both were taxiing for take off from New York John F. Kennedy International Airport on Friday night.  The Delta flight, headed for Santo Domingo was cleared to take off and had begun accelerating when American flight 106 to London crossed in front of it. On the control tape, one can hear a partial expletive from the air traffic controller as he realized the conflict. Following swiftly with “Delta 1943 cancel take off plans.” The plane braked sharply as the… Read More…

As the holiday lights in Geneva twinkle, the chief of the global airline association that calls this city home, has some less-than-festive news for air travelers; airfares will continue to rise. There will be increased ticket prices, said Willie Walsh, Director General of the International Air Transport Association. Walsh was quick to acknowledge that won’t be welcome news. But for anyone who has been reading the news or buying a tank of gasoline, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise either. “You cannot expect an industry making on average $1 per passenger to absorb the oil prices we’ve seen,” Walsh told a group of aviation… Read More…

Instructions given to pilots flying in the Wings Over Dallas air show last month, appear to have directed the historic fighter plane on a collision course with a World War 2 bomber. Both planes plummeted to the ground, killing all six aboard both planes during the Commemorative Air Force show on November 12. In a preliminary report on the disaster released by the National Transportation Safety Board on Thursday, the investigator notes the person responsible for managing the aircraft from the ground, a position known as “air boss” directed the fighter planes to change altitude as they approached the airport where spectators were gathered. “There… Read More…

As bird strikes go, this one had to be a doozy. Late Tuesday night, American Airlines flight 1855 from Chicago to Kansas City flew through birds on approach, about 7 and a half miles from the runway. The pilots declared an emergency and Kansas City airport fire and rescue trucks hurried into position. The pilots landed safely and there were no injuries to passengers or crew. Looking at the damage though, which extends across the front of the aircraft, it appears the engine cowling took the brunt of the impact on the right along with the radome while birds created craters on the leading edge… Read More…

See my previous post here The pilot of the World War 2-era fighter plane that sliced through a B-17 at a Dallas Air Show on Saturday, told YouTube viewers he would not be flying warbirds in ten years. In a poignant interview with Vintage Aviation News posted on YouTube, Craig Hutain, one of six who died over the weekend in a mid-air collision, talked about the rare plane he was flying, his experience as a pilot and the importance of preserving historic aircraft. Hutain, who was a captain for United, with a massive 34-thousand hours of flight time was piloting the single-seat P-63 in a… Read More…

Spectators at a Dallas air show were horrified on Saturday when two airplanes collided over their heads at the Wings Over Dallas event, killing all aboard both airplanes. A historic military bomber, a Boeing B-17 with five people onboard was flying slowly and at a relatively low altitude to give viewers a look at the World War 2-era plane. It was overtaken from above by a smaller and much faster fighter plane that made a turning descent into it causing both to break apart and plummet to the ground. At least two retired American Airlines pilots were among the five-member crew of the B-17 according… Read More…

October 24, 2022 – This post has been updated to include statements from Delta A Federal Judge in Texas stated the obvious late Friday when he ruled that the families of people killed on Boeing 737 Max aircraft were victims of crimes Boeing has acknowledged committing during the design of the airplane. In 2018 and 2019, 346 people died in two separate crashes; one in Indonesia and the other in Ethiopia which largely were the result of Boeing’s intentional actions. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, however, has taken the position that the government, not the families of the dead, was Boeing’s victim. This is more… Read More…

One has to wonder just how much longer Delta Air Lines wants to screw around with Karlene Petitt. Last winter, after five years of testimony and legal arguments, Administrative Law Judge Scott Morris found the airline had mistreated the veteran pilot by retaliating against her when she reported safety violations. In the judge’s word, the airline “weaponized” its right to order pilots to undergo psychiatric examination by sending Petitt to a company-selected psychiatrist who gave her a career-ending diagnosis that was not accurate. There’s a lot to unpack in the case, but for purposes of Delta’s latest shenanigan, let’s just say that when Judge Morris… Read More…

Long before the pandemic made flying a horror show for passengers and crew, the US Congress acknowledged that flight attendant rest time was insufficient. But like a bad dream from which they could not awake, these essential airline safety workers have waited 4 years to see new rules guaranteeing a minimum of 10 hours rest between shifts. The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to announce them shortly. The change increases present rest time for flight attendants by one to two hours depending on circumstances, and makes the 10 hours mandatory. “Ten hours and not a minute less,” became a rallying call for flight attendants and… Read More…

It wasn’t long after the advent of controlled flight that people began to worry about the use of the technology for ill. It was a well-founded concern. This is why the celebration at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Center in Sault Ste. Marie Ontario lifts the spirit like a strong headwind. This year the museum celebrates the birthday of one of two dozen bush planes in its collection; the DHC-2 Beaver. When I visited earlier in the month, (having been escorted to its front door by Mary Kane Boushie, a helpful local I met on the bike trail) I must confess I knew nothing about bush… Read More…