“La Guardia Airport, information Charley. Clear, wind 220 at 10, temperature 65, dew point 42, altimeter 30.27. Landing and departing runway 22. Advise on initial contact that you have information Charley.”

I was still about fifty miles away from the Big Apple, level at eleven thousand on an IFR flight from a small Pennsylvania town where I had spent the previous night.

This is the beginning of Conga Lines, Skylines and the Lady with a Torch, one of the many great essays on the Stoenworks Aviation website.

It had all of the makings of another beautiful day as VFR conditions extended up and down the Eastern Seaboard. Although we were in sunshine, the valleys down below were still in shadows with the cities and towns showing their twinkling lights as we passed eleven thousand feet overhead. This was one of my favorite times as a corporate pilot. Just me and the airplane, early in the morning. It was like you _owned_ the sky.

I have no time/money for flying this month and the weather’s not great for it even if I could get away. But reading Hal Stoen’s stories almost makes me feel like I’m there. He’s been a flight instructor, a charter pilot, worked for mail and commuter airlines and after all that spent eighteen years as a corporate pilot.

“Good morning Approach, Cessna 1557 Golf is with you, five thousand, Charley.”
“Good morning 57 Golf, turn right heading 090, intercept the runway 22 localizer and track it inbound. Descend to and maintain 2,500.”
“Zero nine zero, localizer inbound, out of five for two point five, 57 Golf.”
“Cessna 57 Golf I have traffic behind you, a Boeing 727. Keep your airspeed up as much as practical.”
“Ah, roger (Chuck Yeager homage), I can give you about 175 knots up to the Marker, then I’ll have to slow down.”
“Understand 57 Golf, give me what you can.”

I bring the power up a few more inches to raise the airspeed to 175 knots indicated. The expensive real estate of Manhattan Island begins to fill the right side of the windshield as I see higher traffic most likely descending into Kennedy, about 15 miles ahead and to our left.

Even better, Hal Stoen takes me places that I’ve never been. He let’s me join him on flights that I will never fly. He’s in the Cessna 421B, a pressurised 8-passenger aircraft. It’s a beauty.

My head is down for a moment as I verify and then switch the auxiliary main fuel pumps from “on” to “standby”. When I look up again I see that we are aimed directly at the Empire State Building. Not a few degrees left of it, nor a few to the right. We’re headed right at the darn thing. This is not faulting the guys at La Guardia, we’re VFR- see and avoid. Wow, what a perspective. 57 Golf had a large front windshield, and the 102 story structure was occupying a fair portion of it.

“Cessna 57 Golf, squawk 1200. Good morning.”
“Ah, roger 57 Golf…..shouldn’t we call somebody?”
“Well Sir, you can give Newark Departure a try if you like, they’re on 126.45. So long!”

It just amazed me. Here we were, over one of the largest cities in the world, and it was “..if you like.” I watched for traffic, and the skyscraper, as I tuned Comm. 2 to 126.45.

“Good morning Newark, Cessna 1557 Golf with you, over downtown Manhattan, squawking 1200. Advisories if you have the time.”
“Cessna 57 Golf, Newark. Stand-by.”

As we were “standing-by” we whisked past the Empire State Building. I could see people out on the observation deck, even at this time of the day. I couldn’t help myself- I waved at them. The temptation to circle around the lovely structure was almost overpowering.

When I mailed him to tell him how much I loved this story, he told me that he thinks he will always regret not making a turn around the Empire State Building. But man, what a view he must have had.

You can read this full story and many more on the website. I swear, if Airman Lost doesn’t bring a tear to your eye, you might not be human.

I’m warning you though, be sure you have an hour or two free before you visit the website. His stories include life lessons (“Never take your first flight with your new boss without the keys to the airplane”) and practical advice (“How to find a good restaurant when at high altitude”) and pilot training (including “a basic primer for the flight simulator neophyte”) and not-so-practical advice (“Achieving weightlessness in a Cessna 150″).

His entire collection is available for sale – 900 pages devoted to aviation stories and flight instruction help – for $12.50 on CD or as a Kindle eBook series on Amazon. Based on what I’ve read on his website, it’s a bargain.

But you should go look for yourself: Stoenworks.

English Lessons for China Airline After Unauthorized Take Off – China Real Time Report – WSJ

How do you say “Oops” in Chinese?

China Eastern Airlines is pledging to improve the English-language skills of its crew following an incident in the Japanese city of Osaka where a Shanghai-bound China Eastern flight took off apparently without permission from the tower, in what may have been a simple case of broken communication between the pilot and controllers.

Found in Reddit SpacePorn: Soyuz capsule recovery in Kazakhstan:

Qantas investigates pilot’s steamy midair ‘interaction’ | Herald Sun

The seat has privacy walls and reclines to become a bed. The pilot was off-duty and not in uniform at the time of the incident.

He was scolded twice by crew as passengers became annoyed at the public display of affection, sources said.

After the flood of complaints, the pilot shifted to economy.

A later report stated that it was unclear if the pilot knew the woman before boarding the flight. I sort of want to high-five him for a clever upgrade.

Video of police ramming a smuggler’s aircraft – Golf Hotel Whiskey

Hat tip to the FlightSchoolList.com website for posting this video of what happens when smugglers in an aircraft try to outrun the Brazilian police in a vehicle: The police simply ram the aircraft with their vehicle and ground it!

How striking! Heathrow queues shorter on day of protest | Society | The Guardian

“It was the fastest we’ve ever cleared immigration here,” said Sue Bates, with her husband, Ben, who had landed from Bangkok after a holiday in Koh Samui.

Alanrewaju Adewunmi, 58, flying in from Lagos via Madrid, said he waited no more than two minutes before clearing the border after a face check and passport scan. “I was expecting something much worse and hours of waiting before I got out of here,” he said.

Stunning F-35 Shots at Flightstory.net – Aviation Blog, News & Stories

These stunning photos have been hand-picked as a little tribute to one of the most awesome fighter jets ever built – the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. Initial fielding of this single-engine, fifth generation multirole fighters is currently scheduled for 2016.

Why You Can’t Read a Kindle During Take-Off—4 Theories – James Fallows – Technology – The Atlantic

As usual the token pilot who can’t prove it but is sure that there is an issue. For the record, I’ve dealt with the phone issue here: Phones Interfering with Flight

He does mention my point – airlines are really encouraging passengers to keep situational awareness – under the D.A.R.E. effect. Still, with that justification Kindles and books should be cut off whilst digital cameras would be just fine.

From TED Ideas worth spreading: Strapped to a jet-powered wing, Yves Rossy is the Jetman — flying free, his body as the rudder, above the Swiss Alps and the Grand Canyon. After a powerful short film shows how it works, Rossy takes the TEDGlobal stage to share the experience and thrill of flying.

Did I miss a good aviation story? Leave the link in the comments!

The video is well worth watching but what really caught my eye is the analysis by Pat Flannigan on AviationChatter of the video and what he thinks really happened:

First off, this airplane did not stall. According to Remos, the G3 600 has a power-off stall speed of 45 mph and power-on stall speed of 49 mph. Just prior to impact, the airspeed indicator shows a speed just over 50 mph. Of course, stall is based on angle-of-attack and the actual speed at which an airplane stalls will vary. In this case, the pilot is in ground effect and is below max gross weight, both factors lowering the speed at which the wing will stall.

Read the full breakdown along with the video on AviationChatter.

Designs unveiled for Kuwait International Airport

…and isn’t it a beauty!

I’d missed this completely until it was featured on the AOPA Pilot Blog: Reporting Points. I’ve just switched to a hybrid car and am very impressed with the performance. I’d be more than happy to try an electric plane, especially considering the rising costs of Avgas!

The rechargeable battery cells are Lithium ion polymer pouch cells, with an energy density of 160 Watt-hours per kg. Although reasonably lightweight, these cells presented probably the biggest danger to Chretien in the test flight phase. As he puts it: “The infamous thermal instability of lithium/cobalt chemistry does not leave room for error… It is important to take it slowly, if I don’t want to wreck tens of thousands of Euros worth of hardware; but also, in case of crash I stand good chances to end up in kebab form, as LiPo batteries are notoriously infamous for bursting to flames once distorted. The chemical reaction is violently exothermic. This machine looks like a toy, and flies like a toy, but there is a raging tiger under the seat, waiting to bite at the first mistake.”

Craziest Low Pass Ever ! MUST SEE !! [French Mirage F1] – YouTube

I love how the camera man totally panics while the man on the runway doesn’t even flinch.

I prefer not to think too hard about the implications of this one.

The virus, first detected nearly two weeks ago by the military’s Host-Based Security System, has not prevented pilots at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada from flying their missions overseas. Nor have there been any confirmed incidents of classified information being lost or sent to an outside source. But the virus has resisted multiple efforts to remove it from Creech’s computers, network security specialists say. And the infection underscores the ongoing security risks in what has become the U.S. military’s most important weapons system.

“We keep wiping it off, and it keeps coming back,” says a source familiar with the network infection, one of three that told Danger Room about the virus. “We think it’s benign. But we just don’t know.”

Doesn’t he look proud!

Where you at Airventure this year? I just found this on reddit aviation:

Google just updated its satellite view of Oshkosh to show opening day of Airventure 2011!

Neat!

Tickets for the Boeing Dreamliner 787 auctioned for $31,000

If you are not familiar with ANA 787 Boeing’s Dreamliner flight, you will now. Recently at an auction on eBay a pair of tickets for the inaugural flight was sold for a record AU $32,700 (US $31,000 ). The first inaugural flight of ANA 787 Boeing Dreamliner flight is scheduled to take off from Japan’s Narita International Airport to Hong Kong International Airport and return back the next day. The auctioned package along with the two business class tickets also includes accommodation in Hong Kong’s Kowloon Shangri-La Hotel.

Business class? I’d expect first class tickets at that price, wouldn’t you? Still, if the winner would like someone to travel with, I’d be happy to use the second ticket!

New on YouTube is this video by AviationColabs which is the first of a series on “Real Aviation Heathrow”. It’s nothing ground breaking but some lovely views of the airport and the aircraft coming in:

Did you know there’s a Facebook fan page for Fear of Landing?

Facebook | Fear of Landing

If you use Facebook, you can “like” the page and you’ll get notifications of the aviation links I post (no more than one a day) and new posts on this blog. If there’s something else you think might be fun to include, do let me know!

What have I missed? Share your favourite posts and videos in the comments for us all to share!

Pilot who survived Lake Huron crash speaks | wzzm13.com

“A big freighter went by within 50 feet of me and I was screaming and screaming,” he recalls. “Obviously they didn’t see me.”

Trapp took off a sock to wave at boats and finally he was seen by people aboard a 45 foot yacht.

“I about started to cry when they slowed down,” he says. “I was like, “Oh my God, thank you, thank you.’”

Maule ferry flight to Europe « Contract pilot tales

The trip got off to an ugly start. I ran the beautiful, brand new, yellow and blue Maule M7-260 off the runway before we even left our departure airport. Never before in my career as a pilot have I done anything like that.

Aircraft Incident: American B772 at DFW engine fire indication plus blew tyres

An American Airlines Boeing 777-200, registration N780AN performing flight AA-963 from Dallas Ft. Worth,TX (USA) to Sao Paulo Guarulhos,SP (Brazil) with 246 passengers and 14 crew, was in the initial climb out of runway 17R when the crew reported they had an engine (Trent 800) fire indication.

Pilot survives plane crash in Waterford

Flight Training: Miracle Student

On a freezing day in January 2009, Clay Presley found himself in a very improbable place—standing on the wing of an Airbus A320 that had just landed in New York’s Hudson River.

Huddled with the other 154 passengers and crew, waiting for a tour boat to take him to dry land, Clay Presley could have vowed never to set foot on an airplane again.

Instead, just two years and 10 days after he was part of the emergency landing that riveted the nation, Presley soloed a Cessna 172 at Rock Hill Airport in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

And if that’s not enough to make you smile, then there’s always this wonderful Monty Python clip (shout-out to thermalhound who reminded me of it).

Do you have good news or do you know of a happy ending that we could celebrate? Add it into the comments!

B-17 “Crash” | myTransponder

This was not a crash. It was a successful off-field landing following an inflight fire. It’s just too bad the fire totaled the frame. Sad to lose an old plane like that, but I’m thrilled everyone got out when they landed.

Despite the unfortunate misuse of the word crash, don’t miss the photographs in the Daily Herald:

Images: World War II B-17 crash in Oswego – DailyHerald.com

A World War II-era B17 bomber made an emergency landing in an Oswego cornfield before being engulfed in flames on Monday.

And a statement from the Chief Pilot at the Liberty Foundation: Liberty Belle B-17 Flying Fortress

Directly below the B-17 was a farmer’s field and the decision was made to land immediately. Approximately 1 minute and 40 seconds from the radio report of the fire, the B-17 was down safely on the field. Within that 1:40 time frame, the crew shutdown and feathered the number 2 engine, activated the engine’s fire suppression system, lowered the landing gear and performed an on-speed landing. Bringing the B-17 to a quick stop, the crew and passengers quickly and safely exited the aircraft. Overhead in the T-6, Cullen professionally coordinated and directed the firefighting equipment which was dispatched by Aurora Tower to the landing location.

Unlike the sensational photos that you have all seen of the completely burned B-17 on the news, you will see from photos taken by our crew that our Liberty Belle was undamaged by the forced landing and at the time of landing, the wing fire damage was relatively small. The crew actually unloaded bags, then had the horrible task of watching the aircraft slowly burn while waiting for the fire trucks to arrive.

In somewhat bizarre news, a man begins giving random vectors to pilots coming into Istanbul. The Air Traffic Controller valiantly tries to sort out the mess with the clear instruction: “Please only listen to women”

fake atc by iststatus

These essays by Mike Angiulo flying from Washington to New York and back to pick up his new Great Lakes bi-plane makes for great reading.

Biplane Trip Across the Country

I felt very alone. The screaming noise of the engine was drowned out only by the 120mph wind buffeting my head around in the open cockpit of my new biplane. Things wouldn’t be so bad if I could see more than a hundred yards though. My left hand was busy holding my brick-sized GPS right above my heart. An inch lower and it loses reception. An inch higher and it might blow right out of the cockpit (probably finding a way to whack me in the face no doubt).

Inside the Hercules C-130 at an airshow – a joy to watch their teamwork. Via Sulako’s Blog

And finally, the EAA have posted a beautiful and heartbreaking tribute to and celebration of the life of Amanda Younkin Franklin, who passed away on the 27th of May as a result of complications from her burns in the Brownsville airshow incident.

To most people, the sky is the limit.
To those who love aviation, the sky is home.

On-board a Cessna 172 on April 25, we had an engine failure over the highway 10 in Quebec, Canada.
We had to make an emergency landing on the highway.

What Happened to Air France Flight 447? – NYTimes.com

The search had already taken two years and cost more than $25 million. Another $12 million was committed to the Alucia this year, but French investigators had quietly decided that this year would be the last. If the Alucia did not find the plane, no one ever would.

John Roderick crashed a quarter-mile west of Water Oak Road in Flagler County around 3 p.m. Wednesday in his experimental biplane, the report said. He was able to walk away from the crash unharmed.

The plane landed in the tree tops of an area surrounded by young pine trees, the report said.

BBC – BBC Radio 4 Programmes – Face the Facts, 04/05/2011

John Waite investigates the Belfast commuter flight that crashed in February killing six people. He hears how the crew were inexperienced and breached air safety regulations. The company running the route, Manx 2, has since denied responsibility for the accident, claiming it is only a ticket seller and that the actual operator was a small company from Spain. The British Airline Pilots Association tells the programme that such arrangements are likely to become more common in the industry and that the government and regulator needs to act to ensure transparency for passengers.

English Russia » Russian Jet Cabrio Flight

Those photos are real and were made during the filming of the Russian movie involving jet fighter stunts. In one episode they had to film the jet without a canopy, so rather to film it on the ground they decided to hire a high-class pilot to make a real flight without that glass thing. He had to take off a few times on such plane in order to film enough material to be included in the final footage.

Photos: Lockheed HC-130H Hercules (L-382) Aircraft Pictures | Airliners.net

USA – Coast Guard: There’s no better location to view the Golden Gate Bridge than from a Coast Guard C-130…Note the trail of dust left behind from our engines.

Stranded at Sea | Military Aviation | Air & Space Magazine

With their airplane nearly out of fuel, they had to ditch in the ocean, beginning a month-long ordeal recounted in this excerpt from Fly Navy: Discovering the Extraordinary People and the Enduring Spirit of Naval Aviation, by Alvin Townley, Thomas Dunne Books, 2011.

Boeing: Boeing Phantom Ray Completes 1st Flight

The Boeing [NYSE: BA] Phantom Ray unmanned airborne system (UAS) successfully completed its first flight April 27 at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

The 17-minute flight took place following a series of high-speed taxi tests in March that validated ground guidance, navigation and control and verified mission planning, pilot interface and operational procedures. Phantom Ray flew to 7,500 feet and reached a speed of 178 knots.

Have you seen (or even posted) interesting aviation articles or photographs that you think others would like? Add them in the comments!

What do you do if your wheel falls off in mid-air?

This lovely classic video posted on the PPRuNe Forums shows Gladys Ingle of the 13 Black Cats – clearly an amazing woman – changing plane mid-air to replace a lost wheel for a stunt film.

What was the Slowest You Ever Flew the Blackbird?

Those of you who follow me on Facebook will have already seen Brian Shul’s answer to this question but it bears repeating. I’ve now tracked it down to Plane and Pilot Magazine which I think is the original source.

Speed Is Life – Plane & Pilot Magazine | PlaneAndPilotMag.com

As I noticed the airspeed indicator slide below 160 knots, my heart stopped and my adrenalin-filled left hand pushed two throttles full forward. At this point, we weren’t really flying, but were falling in a slight bank.

What Happened to Amelia Earhart?

AVweb report that a wreck has been found near Papua New Guinea which might be Earhart’s plane:

Earhart Wreck Found?

A report from Papua New Guinea says the wreck of an aircraft that might be the Lockheed Electra flown by Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan has been found on a reef near Bougainville Island near Papua New Guinea. The Papua New Guinea Post Courier is reporting “armed men” are guarding the area over a reef off Matsungan Island where an aircraft matching the description of Earhart’s plane has been found. Divers are now checking the wreck and inquiries are flooding in from all over the world. There is no word on whether any human remains have been recovered.

How Did Hugh Hefner Travel?

Gadling has a fun feature this week on Hugh Hefner and the jet he purchased in 1969:

The Playboy jet: How Hugh Hefner traveled in style | Gadling.com

Even by today’s private jet standards, N950PB was a very luxurious jetliner. A rear folding private entrance took Hefner directly to his private quarters with an elliptical bed. After a long flight, he could take a shower or get some work done in his conference room.

Popping the Question!

Vancouver Air Traffic Controller makes Marriage Proposal live on Air (and doesn’t he sound sweetly nervous?)

This is an old recording (apparently they have three kids now!) but this marriage proposal over the radio was so lovely, I couldn’t resist including it.

Any questions?

Here are the links, with a warning: If you have any intention of being productive, stop reading right now!

This Airbus 380 and contrail was filmed from cockpit of a Boeing 747 above the South China Sea. Hong Kong ATC notified the planes that the KLM Boeing would be flying within 1,000 feet of the Airbus and the KLM crew took the chance to make this film:

Thank you to @tinyblob who sent me this great panoramic photography of 14 cockpits:

360 Cities – Panoramic Photography Blog » I Believe I Can Fly (14 Airplane Cockpits)

If you click through to the article, you’ll find that each image links through to an interactive version where you can look around to your hearts content.

This photograph shows a Cessna 172 which flew into a Canadian home following an engine failure after take off. It’s hard to believe that the pilot hobbled away with only a broken ankle and no one else was injured. I’ve found versions all over the place but I’m pretty sure the original is by Glenn Steplock and so I’ve used the version with his attribution from Airliners.net although the email address registered with it isn’t valid so I couldn’t verify this.

[Edit: Glenn has now contacted me to confirm that he did take the photograph. I'm hopeful that he might share some more of them with us in future.]

Transportation Safety Board of Canada – AVIATION REPORTS – 2001 – A01O0157

The pilot was conducting a visual flight rules local flight from the Toronto / Buttonville Municipal Airport, Ontario. When the aircraft reached about 400 to 500 feet above ground level during the initial climb after take-off from Runway 33, the aircraft engine (Lycoming O-320-H2AD) stopped. The pilot began a forced approach and attempted unsuccessfully to restart the engine. The aircraft struck a treetop and the back of a house and came to rest on the back deck of the house. The aircraft and the house were substantially damaged. The occupants of the house were not injured; however, the pilot received serious, non-life-threatening injuries. The accident occurred at 1952 eastern daylight time during daylight.

It’s worth reading the full report to try to piece together how the pilot ended up in the side of a house on a clear day in June.

Do you have what it takes to be an Approach Controller? Vincent, the famous Plastic Pilot, has developed a fun iPhone game where you have a chance to prove yourself.

The application mimics real air traffic control systems and gives you control of speed, height and heading as you try to coordinate ever increasing traffic. You can try the “Lite” version before you buy and coordinate traffic at London Heathrow or New York JFK or buy the full version which includes ten airports to keep you challenged.

Find out more: APP Control – Air Traffic Control Game – Play air traffic controller

This cockpit video of a twilight landing at LAX shows the SADDE Six Approach coming in over Santa Monica. The 30-minute flight is condensed to 3-minutes, making for a thrilling view of the city and the airport.

And finally: did you know that the The de Havilland Moth Educational Trust funds pilots for 10 hours conversion flying on a Tiger Moth and engineers with a bursaries for learning the restoration, maintenance and repair of vintage aircraft. This is a great opportunity for pilots and engineers in England. There is no cost involved but you must submit your application before the 28th of February.

You can get the PDF forms online: application for the 2011 Fiona McKay Flying Bursary and application for the 2011 Engineering Bursary.

What have you got to lose?

WARNING: this video contains strong language. Although no stronger than what I would say if this happened to me!

My favourite comment is in the description: “Wouldn’t it have been awkward to have a bird strike with a flightless bird?”

BBC News – Tornado jet crew eject before aircraft crashes

The helicopter’s pilot Iain Campbell described the rescue as a textbook recovery in perfect conditions.

He said the crew told him that they were forced to ditch after the plane caught fire at 6,000 feet.

The jet’s pilot had attempted to reach Stornoway Airport on Lewis, in the Western Isles, Highlands and Islands Airports Limited has confirmed.

A full emergency was declared at the airport but was later stood down.

Stornoway Coastguard said its helicopter located the two crew and their life rafts. It flew the pilot and navigator to hospital, reaching Inverness at about 1545 GMT.

Witnesses said a second Tornado circled the crash scene moments after the jet went down.

THE BBC has a video of the plane flying low over the Western Isles shortly before the crash and photographs of lifeboats collecting the wreckage.

Project Space Planes is a Samsung campaign to launch 200 paper places from the “edge of space.” Each plane is carrying a Samsung SD Memory Card with a message that someone, somewhere in the world has uploaded. The planes were dropped from 36,500 metres over Berlin, Germany.

The planes are being found now and the Project Space Planes has set up a Flight Log to track the planes that are found. You can follow the updates on Twitter as well.

Here is a list of locations that people have reported seeing the planes and cards in:

Minden, Germany

Bremen, Germany

Berlin, Germany

The Netherlands

Turlock, CA, USA

Winnpeg, Canada

South Africa

We’re looking into all of these reports now. How cool, huh?

I’ve decided. A MiG 29. That is what I want for Christmas.

MiG-29 Fighter Soars Over The Pacific Northwest

A former Ukranian MiG-29 fighter has become the second privately owned MiG-29 to fly, taking to the air over Washington six years after it left Eastern Europe. Capable of speeds of Mach 2.2 and altitudes of nearly 60,000ft, the Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-29 “Fulcrum” is a far cry from the 1927-57 vintage airplanes that Historic Flight Foundation specializes in restoring.

However, the opportunity to work on something so different was an irresistible lure to John Sessions, the founder of Historic Flight, who wanted to verify that a complex high-performance aircraft could be restored by following the same rules and guidelines as a vintage airplane. The resulting aircraft is one of the most pristine examples of its type anywhere in the world.

It’s around 20 years old and has 510 flight hours. It’s taken them ten years to get it into working order (including Hong Kong officials seizing in transit as military contraband and holding it for for two years) but the MiG-29 completed its first flight last week. Wouldn’t you love to be that pilot?

If you know of more aviation news or videos that will bring a smile to my face, add it to the comments. :D

Report: Easyjet A319 at Amsterdam on Mar 5th 2007, began takeoff without clearance

An Easyjet Airbus A319-100, registration G-EZIP performing flight U2-6164 from Amsterdam (Netherlands) to Bristol,EN (UK), was lined up on runway 24 waiting for departure. A Boeing 747-400 had been cleared to cross runway 24 at taxiway S2 about 1850 meters (6070 feet) down the runway and was moving into the protected runway area, when the tower cleared another Airbus A330 for takeoff from runway 18L. The A330 crew did not immediately read back their clearance, however the takeoff clearance was mistakenly read back by the Easyjet crew mentioning runway 24L which does not exist. The trainee assistant controller noticed the wrong crew had read back the clearance, saw the A319 start moving and warned the controller, who radioed the Easyjet crew to stop, which was acknowledged and the A319 crew stopped their aircraft. The crew of the Boeing 747-400 cleared to cross runway 24 did not notice the occurrence.

AOPA Online: Could it happen to YOU?

Thinking it was a prank, Rivers picked up the phone. “He said, ‘We have an airplane down on the Yakama Indian Reservation’s tribal hunting grounds and I’m glad to hear your voice. We can’t find the pilot.”

But Rivers knew that his 1999 Cessna 182 was in its hangar at the Orcas Island Airport in Eastsound, Washington. “I called my mechanic, Geoff, and said I had a nutty call from the state police and they say my airplane has crashed. Would you poke your head in my hangar?”

An Air India Express Boeing 737-800, registration VT-AXJ performing flight IX-212 from Dubai (United Arab Emirates) to Pune (India) with 113 passengers, was enroute at FL370 at Mach 0.76 between waypoints PARAR and DOGET with autopilot A in CMD mode and autothrottle engaged. The captain decided to take a short break to visit the washroom and left the cockpit, however noticed the washroom was occupied and wanted to return to the cockpit, when he noticed the airplane was pitching down. He attempted to enter the cockpit, the cockpit door however did not open. He used the emergency access code to open the door and re-entered the cockpit about 40 seconds after he had left the cockpit. He observed the airplane’s attitude was 26 degrees nose down and 5 degrees left bank, the speed in the red band, the mach overspeed clackers sounding.