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"Don't do that": Chilling final words of FlyDubai pilot seconds before Boeing 737 plane crashed killing 62

A Russian TV station has published a transcript of the last words exchanged between the crew one minute before the Boeing 737 hit the ground. A TV station has aired the final words of the pilot manning the FlyDubai passenger jet that crashed in Rostov-on-Don killing 62 people. The transcript suggests that a pilot error could be to blame for last week's disaster. However formal investi...

Vienna-London flight halted as passenger raises IS fears

An  easyJet flight from Vienna to London was halted just before takeoff on Saturday because a passenger believed the man sitting next to her might be an Islamic extremist, authorities said. “The woman believed that she saw messages related to IS (Islamic State) on the man’s mobile phone,” Austrian interior ministry spokesman Karl-Heinz Grundboeck told AFP. The wom...

women in aviation and space history

AMY JOHNSON In 1930, Amy Johnson became the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia and did so with very little flying experience. She had only received her license in 1929, learning to fly at the London Aeroplane Club at Stag Lane, but she was an impressive secretary-turned-pilot who earned an aircraft ground engineer's license as well. Flying a Gipsy Moth named Jason, Jo...

Change Absurd Predawn Flights, Caribbean Airlines

Despite complaints made to Caribbean Airlines (CAL), it continues to offer Caribbean passengers very early-morning flights out of popular North American destinations such as Toronto and New York. I'm not sure why CAL chose this absurd scheduling, as the airfare is not discounted for the inconvenience of having to depart as early as 1:15 a.m. (Toronto to Kingston) and 2:10 a.m. (New York to...

Chinese aircraft manufacturer uses big data to build safer planes

With a global focus on how to reduce safety risks caused by anomalous human behavior and how to fully recover data crucial for analyzing an air crash, a Chinese aircraft manufacturer is using big data and cloud technology to build safer airplanes. "The time for revolution in aviation safety has come," Wei Ye, executive director and president of the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of C...

Sci-fi turns real: Scientists successfully upload plane piloting skills into human brain

Many science-fiction television series and films—for instance, the Keanu Reeves-starrer "The Matrix" series—have depicted how certain knowledge and skills can be uploaded to the human brain, much like how information can be stored into computers. Thanks to science, this feat is slowly turning into reality. Researchers from the HRL Laboratories in California have successful...

JetBlue Plane Which Fueling Van Hit Last Month Makes Emergency Landing Without Nose Landing Gear

A JetBlue Airways flight from Washington to Nassau, Bahamas ran into trouble Friday afternoon, as the nose landing gear of the aircraft failed to extend. The aircraft, Embraer ERJ-190AR, registration N273JB, is the same aircraft which a refuelling van slammed in February while it was at the Gate C11 at Terminal C of Boston’s Logan International Airport (BOS). JetBlue flight B629 d...

Could planes of the future have airbags for business class passengers?

A company has designed a plane seat with an airbag to protect passengers. The airbag, which would be fitted to business class seats, would deploy from a compartment next to the in-flight entertainment screen. Germany firm Recaro designed the airbag which would be triggered in the event of a plane crash. MailOnline reports that it would absorb the passenger's head and shoulders. In...

Analysis of Russia’s Aerospace Forces: The Return of the MiG Fighters

It is easy to forget, given that the Russian airgroup at Hmeimim was wholly composed of Sukhoi aircraft, including the Su-24, -25, -27, -30, -34, and -35, that the word MiG has been synonymous with “fighter” for most of the post-World War 2, era. MiG Design Bureau’s dominance started with the famous MiG-15 fighter of the Korean War fame, through MiG-17, -19, and -21 of the Vie...

Drunk American Airlines Pilot Arrested Right Before His Flight

A pilot was arrested and his flight grounded after airport officials determined that he’d had too many early morning drinks before takeoff.  An eagle-eyed Transportation Security Administration agent noticed the unidentified American Airlines pilot acting strangely at a security checkpoint and conducted a breath test, which the suspect allegedly failed. The Federal Aviation Admini...

Startup beats Amazon: Drone delivers ‘emergency’ package to Nevada residence

In the first fully autonomous urban flight, a drone made a parcel delivery to a residence in Hawthorne, Nevada. It wasn’t from Amazon though. A startup company dispatched the package containing bottled water, emergency food, and a first aid-kit. Created by a Nevada-based startup Flirtey, the drone test flight beat out competitor Amazon.com, Inc. “Conducting the first drone delive...

Brussels Airport Closed Until At Least March 29 After Bombing

Flights at Brussels Airport will not resume until at least Tuesday in the wake of this week's deadly terror attack which destroyed much of its check-in hall, it was announced Saturday. Two bombs ripped through the departure hall Tuesday, killing at least 10 people there and injuring scores. Incoming flights have been diverted and airlines have scrambled to rebook passengers on flights to...

FlyDubai Pilots Fall Asleep During Flight at 34,000 feet

Russian RT television channel has released details from an aviation safety report from the Dubai-based FlyDubai airline showing that both the captain and the co-pilot of a plane on a commercial route fell asleep during one of the flights, leaving nobody in command of the aircraft. According to the report titled Air Safety Report Bulletin from June 2015, which was sent to RT by the captain, the...

The Black Sheep Tour 2016 - welcome on board!

For everyone working in Business Aviation EBACE is an annual big event you just can't miss. This year  there is one more reason, why  the event will be special - The Black Sheep Tour 2016. Who were imagining to be a WWII pilot...Now you have a unique opportunity to live this experience on board of DOUGLAS DC3 (1940) and some other warbirds such as YAK11, TBM Avenger, Nor...

Airbus let the internet dictate the design of its new futuristic planes

The Web is where chaos lives and sometimes, just sometimes, that can be a good thing. There have been countless viral articles recently that speculated about the planes of the future – where we might have glass bubbles on top of the aircraft or one with no windows, just screens giving an uninterrupted view of the world outside. Well, these ideas, as innovative as they are, probably won...

The Bikini Airline Created Southeast Asia’s First Self-Made Female Billionaire

Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao is the 45 year old CEO and approximately 90% owner of VietJet, the first private airline to gain approval to operate in Vietnam. She expects to sell up to 30% of the airline in an IPO this year. She made her first million at 21 trading fax machines and latex rubber. Her other major holdings are in commercial real estate. Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao with the CEO of Airbu...

Nine Celebrities With Amazing Airport Style​

It's a known fact that traveling can be an absolute headache. From the last-minute packing to waiting around endlessly at the security checkpoints, it can be easy to lose sight of the part that makes it all worthwhile: actually landing at your destination! But though flying can be a hassle, that doesn't mean you shouldn't look your best while doing it! For inspiration, look to the cele...

‘Yankee Tango’ Celebrates A Milestone

A year ago, one of Lufthansa’s most popular aircraft was officially delivered by Boeing and I was there to experience what is perhaps the highlight of my ‘Avgeek’ hobby. On March 25, 2015 Boeing literally handed over the keys to Lufthansa’s 18th 747 and a small group of us took off from Paine Field in Everett, Washington and brought her home to Frankfurt.  Since ent...

Brussels aftermath: Passengers in India asked to take off footwear, belts

 Amid a heightened alert in the wake of Brussels terror attacks, security agencies have stepped up vigil at sensitive airports in the country with passengers being made to take off their footwear and belts and go through detailed frisking. At major airports like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai and Ahmedabad, CISF and local police have shored up security apparatus and...

Global airline stocks fall after Brussels attack

Airline stocks took a tumble this week following the Brussels terror attacks on Tuesday that included twin explosions at the city’s airport. The bombings in the Belgian capital came three days after the flydubai crash in Russia and four months after the Paris terror attacks heightening safety concerns among travellers. Major European airline stocks — Air France-KLM, easyJet, Inte...

UK Airprox Board releases reviews of four airliner, drone near miss incidents

The UK Airprox Board (UKAB) released their reviews of 25 recently reported  air proximity occurrences. Four of these cases involved drones. On 13 October 2015, the pilot of an Airbus A380 reported being on the DET 1J SID from London-Heathrow Airport. In the right turn, the crew observed a large object at the same altitude which appeared to be taking avoiding action. The...