After watching Canadian Search and Rescue Buffaloes do search patterns over the valley for days, we finally learned today that the missing PA-24 with 4 souls aboard has been found on or near Apex mountain. It is unclear yet as to whether the airplane had mechanical problems or whether it simply couldn't reach sufficient altitude to scale the mountain --- a 'boxed canyon' in aviation terms --- … [Read more...]
US Airways 1549: Heroes on the Hudson River
As an ex-air traffic controller (aviation professional and enthusiast for more than 30 years), I think the media were very slow this afternoon to acknowledge the crew of US Airways 1549. It was at least an hour before I heard any mention of the miraculous feat pulled off by the pilots. Airplanes weren't designed to swim. Crash landings on water, especially in jet airliners, rarely turn out … [Read more...]