What was the smallest mistake an engineer made during aircraft maintenance that resulted in a crash?
Latest Articles
Why is the B-52 a high wing aircraft while the Boeing 747 is low wing?
The B-52 is a long-range heavy bomber that was designed by Boeing in 1948 and first flown in 1952. It…
What is in the tail end of the fuselage (behind the vertical stabilizer) on the B-52H models?
Well, up to the early 90’s there was a tail gunner. The gun was removed 1) given the low probability…
Fuselage and Nose landing gear (NLG) of an American Airlines A321 aircraft have received major damage
Fuselage and Nose landing gear (NLG) of an American Airlines A321 aircraft have received major damage involving a ground incident…
Why are the center tank pumps deactivated when slats are extended on the A320?
The slat position is used in some system logic because it’s indicative of a takeoff and approach. For example, on…
Can a passenger land the aircraft with the instructions of ATC if the pilots become unconscious?
I have almost 1500 hours of flight experience and almost all of them as an airline pilot. To get things…
How does an afterburner work in a jet engine?
The process isn’t too complex, I’ll attempt to keep my answer the same. Here’s a (simple enough) diagram of a…
Can pilot re-start a jet engine while flying?
The jet engines like any other engine requires air, fuel and a source of combustion to start. If you have…
Safair B738 at Johannesburg on Apr 21st 2024, dropped wheel on departure
A Safair Boeing 737-800, registration ZS-FGE performing flight FA-212 from Johannesburg to Cape Town (South Africa), was departing from Johannesburg’s…
What happens if an airplane tries to take off with full flaps?
Here’s a true story. I was learning to fly in a Cessna 150 with a civilian instructor from a flight…
Why do pilots say “rotate” when they take off?
Experience in accidents has shown that using non-standard language results in miscommunication, and missed understanding or delayed understanding. Take-off is…