Flight Safety Detectives

NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) can be used by pilots, mechanics, flight attendants, and others in the aviation safety community to report UAP or UFO encounters without revealing their identity or the identity of their employers.  Todd Curtis discussed this in a June 2024 presentation at the Contact in the Desert Conference in Palm Springs, California. In this episode, he and John G...

Issues from the NTSB investigation of a 2023 railroad accident are used to discuss the voluntary party system. The system is designed to encourage cooperative efforts in an investigation, which does not always work. In the party system, an organization or an individual with relevant expertise or information is invited to participate directly in an NTSB investigation. These parties are required to...

A YouTube video showing fireworks fired from a low-flying helicopter at a speeding Lamborghini has led to federal charges for the creator.  Suk Min Choi was charged in June by the U.S. Department of Justice with one count of causing the placement of an explosive or incendiary device on an aircraft. At least four other people were involved, including two or three people in an apparent Robinson R44...

A fatal midair collision involving a Cessna 172 illustrates several aviation safety concerns related to pilot training in and around airports with commercial operations. The incident involved a student and instructor on board performing touch-and-go landings and a Dash 8 departing on a passenger flight. While the event happened in Kenya, the circumstances that led to this accident could happen in...

Boeing should use a third-party organization that would act on behalf of the FAA to monitor the design and production of its aircraft. That’s the proposal of special guest and Kilroy Aviation CEO Mike Borfitz published in a June 28, 2024 editorial in Aviation Daily. This kind of oversight had been provided in the past by Boeing employees who acted as the eyes and ears of the FAA. The process is ba...

Hypoxia is a significant danger in aviation and an insidious killer of passengers and pilots. Special guest Miles O'Brien hosts a discussion with aviation experts Todd Curtis, Greg Feith, and John Goglia that covers how hypoxia impacts all forms of aviation. They discuss personal experiences with hypoxia and share insights from several hypoxia-related accidents. Hypoxia is a condition where the hu...

Planes that experience turbulence in flight are getting a lot of headline attention lately. During one widely covered incident of turbulence in May 2024 a passenger aboard a Singapore Airlines flight was killed. Serious turbulence leading to injuries is not uncommon. Todd Curtis and John Goglia discuss several notable in-flight turbulence events, including the death of 1950s era test pilot Scott C...

As Boeing continues to be the subject of investigations and congressional hearings the concept of criminalization has come to the forefront. This could have a devastating impact on aviation safety in the U.S. Special guest and aviation attorney Mark Dombroff focuses on efforts to criminalize the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents.  The effort to use criminal prosecutions to address...

Missing equipment and inexperience led to a plane crash that killed 3. Precipitation, turbulence, and icing were factors in the crash of a Piper PA-30 Comanche in Oklahoma. The pilot did not have an instrument certification and was not able to handle the conditions. The pilot had a private pilot and multiengine rating but did not have instrument training. Todd Curtis, Miles O’Brien, and John Gogli...

The fatal crash of Hughes 369 helicopter being used to trim trees has a backstory that gives insight into what went wrong. This workhorse of a helicopter apparently had damage from previous incidents. The NTSB investigation found cracks in an engine mount that were likely present before the crash. John Goglia and Todd Curtis look beyond the fatal accident and share three previous investigations in...

Training flight gone wrong! An examination of a February 2024 accident that involved an unstable approach, a tail strike, and a near collision with an airplane hanger. Both the instructor and student involved in the Cessna 172 accident survived. Their account of the event provides insights into how a routine training flight turned into a near disaster. The instructor's decision-making created a da...

The crew of a United Airlines 727 tried to turn back shortly after takeoff from Los Angeles, but did not make it back to the airport. The plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean. Greg Feith, Todd Curtis, and John Goglia discuss the crash of the 727-22QC in 1969. Electrical failures and electrical system design contributed to the plane crash. The accident happened on a night with limited visibility du...

Oil and oxygen don’t mix on airplanes. A crew doing maintenance on the Air Force One oxygen system ignored safety procedures resulting in $4 million dollars of damage the plane. The damage was caused by maintenance activity on the oxygen system of a U.S. Air Force VC-25A, a 747 aircraft that regularly flies the President of the United States. This event occurred in 2016. John Goglia and Todd Curti...

New evidence calls into question the NTSB's conclusions – and our reporting in Episode 193 - about a 2020 midair collision. Video and other information shows that there were two helicopters in the area before the midair collision. Miles O'Brien, Todd Curtis, and John Goglia revisit the 2020 midair collision of a drone and a helicopter. The NTSB used a video shot by the drone to conclude that a hel...

Two Piper airplane crashes show that pilots’ bad decisions can have devastating results. This episode covers two avoidable fatal crashes.  A 1991 accident involves a Piper Seneca in Florida. The NTSB found that the two occupants were partially disrobed and no evidence that either were wearing seat belts or shoulder harnesses. The report makes clear that the two occupants were attempting to join th...

Coming to you from the 2024 AMC Competition in Chicago! Miles O'Brien, Todd Curtis, John Goglia, Greg Feith, and aircraft mechanic and accident investigator Jason Lukasik share the experience of the competition. Every aspect of aviation maintenance and repair was on display as competitors worked to beat the clock. This year more than 400 competitors from nearly 90 teams from maintenance schools, a...

Special guest Henry Gourdji shares the work of the Laura Taber Barbour Foundation, which presents the Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award. The air safety award has been given in recognition of aviation safety leadership since 1956. Recipients include John Goglia in 2020.  The award grew out of the 1945 crash of a DC3 that killed all 20 crew and passengers, including Laura Taber Barbour. Her famil...

Miles O'Brien joins Todd Curtis and John Goglia to discuss two fatal general aviation accidents that involved aircraft that were just out of maintenance. In focus are the decisions and actions pilots and maintenance personnel could have taken to avoid the crashes or make them survivable. One crash involves a Piper Cherokee on its second flight after an oil pressure line was replaced. The pilot did...

A Beech Hawker 900XP jet crashed while doing a flight test of a stall warning system. Special guest Miles O'Brien joins Todd Curtis and John Goglia deconstruct the February 2024 aviation incident.  The accident occurred during a positioning flight that happened after completion of maintenance of the anti-icing component on the leading edge of the wing. The flight crew was performing a required tes...

A photo shoot in a dry Nevada lakebed went horribly wrong when the wing of an airplane hit the model in the head. Miles O’Brien, Todd Curtis, and John Goglia discuss the June 2023 accident that involved an Aviate Husky plane. The pilot, photographer and his wife, who was the model for the photo session, met early on the morning of the accident. On the fly, they planned a complex photo session invo...

Home-built aircraft are dangerous. Special guest Miles O'Brien joins Todd Curtis and John Goglia to discuss an August 2023 crash of a Kit Fox Model 3 aircraft that seriously injured the pilot. The FAA's approach to home-built aircraft allows owners to build their aircraft with little or no direct oversight. The accident rate is more than two times higher than general aviation aircraft. The pilot d...

An experienced flight instructor and student were killed when stall and spin practice in a Cessna 172 went horribly wrong. Flight data recorded by the aircraft and other evidence shows that the aircraft entered a very steep spiral turn nearly 6,000 above the ground and did not recover. “They set themselves up for the right conditions. This accident just doesn’t make sense,” John Goglia says. Todd...

More than 50 people were injured on March 11 when a Boeing 787 flying from Australia to New Zealand experienced a precipitous drop. John Goglia shares inside information that indicates one of the pilot seats was accidentally moved forward, jamming the pilot up against the control column and causing the sudden drop. Special guest Miles O'Brien joins Todd Curtis and John Goglia to discuss this and a...

Todd Curtis, Greg Feith, and John Goglia discuss the crash of a Joby JAS4 eVTOL aircraft to highlight safety concerns and regulatory challenges. Propulsion units used in eVTOLs pose significant safety risks. The eVTOL in this crash was being remotely flown during a test flight. The aircraft is powered by six electric motors and is designed to take off and land vertically like a helicopter and crui...

Todd Curtis and John Goglia discuss the February 9, 2024 crash of a Challenger 604 jet on I75 in Florida. The plane landed on the road, but then crashed into a wall, killing the pilot and copilot. John and Todd discuss why a better outcome was possible. The jet, which had three crew members and two passengers, was nearing the end of a flight from Columbus, Ohio, when the flight crew declared an em...