The following table presents a chronology for the fourth quarter of 2015, showing all known ‘fatal’ U.S. civil aviation accidents, as well as a few selected non-fatal accidents and incidents. Data shows date (weekends are underlined), location, number of fatalities, … Continue reading
The general public lacks awareness of major trends in U.S. aviation, not just in the past hundred years, but even in the past decade. Indeed, the current set of popular communications technologies (internet, twitter, etc.) bombard us with so much rapid information that … Continue reading
When the noise seems to never go away, in areas where only months before there just wasn’t any airport noise, people tend to get worn out. The noise becomes an occupying force, a controlling presence. Perhaps it was after nights of … Continue reading
Early news reports indicate that the tragic death of three family members in a small airplane crash in Plainview, TX was likely caused by wind turbulence related to a frontal passage. Plainview is 35-miles north-northeast of Lubbock, at the bottom … Continue reading
Anyone who has been employed in aviation or studied aviation history knows that airports, airlines and manufacturers rely heavily on political support and governmental subsidy. In fact, a whole new industry has developed in recent decades to feed this relationship. Just like … Continue reading
Pulkovo Flight 612 crashed at approximately 11:39 AM local time, near Donetsk, Ukraine. The accident flight was primarily carrying passengers northbound from Anapa (just east of Crimea) to St. Petersburg, on a return flight after resort vacations along the Black … Continue reading
Below is a copy of the English translation for the fatal crash of Pulkovo Airlines Flight-612 near Donetsk, Ukraine, on August 22, 2006. It was copied from a webpage posted at the airliners.net aviation forum. The original posting was done … Continue reading
In today’s aviation, hundreds of people can disappear in an instant. We have the technologies to safely track flights, but implementing these technologies does not conform with the fiscal bottom line. So, one flight disappears, tens of millions are spent … Continue reading
The FAA Whistleblower hearing happened in early April 2008. Then, in early 2009, Colgan 3407 crashed at Buffalo, and Captain Sullenberger successfully landed in the Hudson River after a multiple birdstrike. FAA had still not selected anyone to run the … Continue reading
Crash course in ethics How accurate are airline crash investigations if the people conducting them have a financial stake in the outcome? salon.com — Michael Alvear | Monday, Dec 6, 1999 09:00 AM PST An independent think tank will release a much-anticipated … Continue reading