Flight Safety Detectives

A look at several recent high-profile aviation accidents. Although flying is much less risky than decades ago, crashes change the public's opinion about aviation safety. It now feels less safe to fly. The February 17 crash in Toronto of an Endeavor Airlines CRJ-900 operating as a Delta Air Lines regional flight gets particular emphasis. Todd Curtis, Greg Feith and John Goglia compare the Toronto c...

The pilot of the drone that damaged a firefighting aircraft has pled guilty to causing the damage that grounded the Candian SuperScooper for several days. The event was detailed in Episode 253. The pilot, a successful video game developer, paid over $65,000 to repair the aircraft, will reimburse the government Quebec for additional costs, and faces up to a year in prison. In the words of the Depar...

The midair collision between an airliner and a military helicopter in Washington D.C. has led to actions that may hinder aviation safety and national security. And, it has highlighted issues caused by the current air traffic control system as well as vacant leadership positions at the FAA.  Greg Feith, John Goglia and Todd Curtis talk about the aviation safety issues surrounding the tragic air cra...

Nick Lappos, former Vietnam AH-1 Cobra helicopter pilot and Lockheed Martin Senior Fellow for Rotary and Mission Systems, offers insights on the future of air mobility. The focus is on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and advanced air mobility (AAM). Nick was part of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) certification task force that just published the report "Challenges to...

Details emerge of a possible encounter between a 767 and about 25 unidentified UAP flying near Santa Fe, New Mexico. The plane was headed from JFK to LAX. The UAS followed the aircraft at high altitude for about an hour over hundreds of miles. The FAA or some other organization needs to investigate events like this to assess credible risks and ensure safety of air space. There are significant nati...

NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his family survived the August 15, 2019 crash of a Cessna Citation Latitude jet caused by bad pilot decisions. John Goglia, Greg Feith and Todd Curtis go beyond the NTSB report to explore what led to an “unstabilized, ridiculously fast” landing that destroyed the aircraft. Both crew members had hundreds of hours of flight experience in this aircraft model, and...

Lax oversight by the FAA and questionable maintenance practices by both a flight school and the previous owner of a Cessna 172P aircraft led to a fatal plane crash. The Flight Safety Detectives find this is another aviation disaster that could have been avoided. The NTSB report points to a corroded aileron control cable that failed just after takeoff as the cause of the event. Todd Curtis, Greg Fe...

A midair collision between a private drone and an aircraft fighting the Los Angeles area fires caused damage to the plane and an evacuation of all firefighting aircraft from the area. John Goglia and Todd Curtis explore the tragic effect on firefighting as well as the violations of aviation rules. This event was a major setback in firefighting efforts. The FAA had taken steps to restrict flying ar...

Sailplane pilot Bob Pett had a close encounter with an unidentified aerial phenomenon (UAP) that exhibited extraordinary speed and maneuverability. Bob shares the experience with John Goglia and Todd Curtis in his first public statement about the encounter. While the first UAP flew in close formation off his left wing during the encounter, two similar UAPs descended from a cloud and joined up with...

A wave of drone sightings are being reported throughout New Jersey and metropolitan New York, including flights over military installations and critical infrastructure. Drones are now part of battlefields. Are we under attack?  Todd Curtis and John Goglia look at the facts of the recent drone sightings. Some video clearly shows airplanes in flight. However, others appear to show drones.  The feder...

Fire and smoke led to the crash of a Douglas DC3 that killed signer Ricky Nelson and six others. To this day, rumors surround this 1985 deadly crash. Todd Curtis and John Goglia dig in to analyze the known facts. Among the rumors they explore is one that suggests that Ricky Nelson and other passengers may have caused a fire while using drugs in the passenger cabin. Although the NTSB report was inc...

Is Qantas Airlines safe? Two recent events have led the Australian media and others to raise that question. The first safety issue was in November 2024. A tool was left in the engine of a Qantas A380 for nearly a month before it was discovered. A few days later, a Qantas 737 had an engine failure while taking off from Sydney.  The Australian media covered these events extensively, raising concerns...

The first fatal HondaJet accident just occurred. Greg Feith and John Goglia go over the known facts of the air crash in Mesa, Arizona on November 5.  The jet ran off the runway and struck a car on a nearby road, killing the driver and four of the five people on board the jet. They draw similarities with a 2014 takeoff accident involving a Gulfstream jet near Boston.  Poor preflight preparation may...

A U.S. Army UH-1 Huey helicopter survived the perils of Vietnam but came to a disastrous end in West Virginia. The 1962 helicopter crashed after its engine failed, killing the pilot and five passengers. The 2022 crash happened during an annual event that offers visitors an opportunity to fly either as passengers or as a second pilot. This helicopter was a warbird--a former military aircraft operat...

Flight Safety Detectives host John Goglia will be inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame, a rare accomplishment in aviation. John is the first person whose career was focused on aviation maintenance to be selected. John Goglia and Todd Curtis talk about the honor before diving into a recent drone accident in Boston that injured two people.  The drone crash occurred in downtown Boston dur...

A fatal Piper PA-28-300 plane crash was caused by a loose fuel line that should never have been installed on the aircraft. The NTSB investigation of the fatal May 2018 crash shows that a fuel line that was not approved for use on that aircraft led to an engine fire.  Todd Curtis and John Goglia examine the details. Although the fuel line used was an approved aviation part, it was not approved for...

Another flight training accident, another lacking NTSB report. Todd Curtis, Greg Feith, and John Goglia discuss the NTSB report of a fatal June 2021 flight training accident near Indianapolis that lacks useful details or analysis. The accident aircraft was Diamond DA40 with an instructor and student on board. The instructor had received a CFI certification about nine weeks before the accident. Mos...

Aviation around the world changed as a result of the fatal accident involving Air Canada Flight 797. The investigation led to massive changes to the materials inside the cabins of commercial aircraft. On June 2, 1983, the DC9-32 on a routine flight from Dallas to Toronto had an inflight smoke event that led to an emergency landing in Cincinnati. As the passengers and crew began evacuating the airc...

Two recent Cirrus accidents killed a total of seven people. Greg Feith, John Goglia and Todd Curtis have some advice for Cirrus pilots to avoid similar tragedies. They caution newer technology supports, but is not a replacement for, good planning and pilot decision-making. One accident at Kill Devil Hills airport in North Carolina, killed four adults and one child. Another, in Provo, Utah airport...

Fight instructor-related accidents and check ride failures at all levels of certificates and ratings are on the rise. Why? Insights are hard to come by.  The report on a February 24, 2024 fatal training flight in South Africa that killed the student pilot and the instructor does nothing to help that issue. The Flight Safety Detectives’ analysis of the document finds a lack of any insightful analys...

A second-in-command pilot left the cockpit and either jumped or fell out of an open rear cargo door of a CASA 212 aircraft flying over North Carolina. Digging into the details reveals he was self-medicating for anxiety and he may have been overcome by agitation during flight. In this 2022 event, the main landing gear was damaged when the plane that was supporting sky diving tried to land. The crew...

The preliminary accident report on the August 9, 2024 crash of a Voepass ATR72 near Sao Paolo, Brazil has just been issued. John Goglia, Todd Curtis and Greg Feith apply their expertise to examine the findings and critical aviation safety issues. The report has detailed facts, including a summary of the flight, but several key pieces of information are missing. One big issue – no detailed transcri...

In March, a Mooney airplane door opened in flight, causing a loss of control and two fatalities. Todd and John examine this incident and three other Mooney events. Instead of a fault with Mooney aircraft, they find a pattern of very experienced pilots having issues and crashing when a passenger or baggage door opens in flight. Doors open in flight often. The outcome depends on pilot action. The pi...

Get the highlights of the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture 2024 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin!  Hundreds of thousands of attendees attended the multi-day event. All sectors of aviation were represented, from the military to general aviation, from exotic and experimental aircraft to flight demonstrations by military and civilian aircraft.  John Goglia attended once again this year and chatted...

What led to the deadly crash of a Voepass Linhas Aereas in August? Video of the flight's final moments show the aircraft rapidly descending in a flat spin. Early reports on the accident mention that icing conditions were present in the area at the time of the crash. Recovering from a spin in a large airliner is a significant challenge for pilots. Understanding how to avoid situations that lead to...