Heroes 👏👏👏 On 18 March 2016, an E-2C Hawkeye... from VAW-123 attempted a routine arrested landing aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) off the Virginia coast. The aircraft caught the number 4 wire, but the arresting cable snapped due to a maintenance error on a control valve. The Hawkeye rolled off the angled deck and briefly disappeared from view, coming within a few metres of the water. The pilots immediately applied full power, raised the landing gear and climbed away safely. Eight sailors on the flight deck were injured by the whipping cable. The crew was later awarded the Armed Forces Air Medal for their quick reaction. The incident was captured by the ship’s PLAT cameras and later released through a FOIA request. . . ©️🎥Ange|1999show more

June 29 1960: A US Navy RA-3 crashes off... Florida (US) all 3 crew die. While practicing landings on the carrier USS Saratoga, the arresting cable broke. With no means to stop safely, the plane went off deck. The crew attempted a go-around but were unable to, jet hit the sea at high speed and sank. The RA-3 was the photo-reconnaissance version of the A-3 “Skywarrior” bomber. The jet lost in the accident [144845] was attached to squadron VAP-62 (based at Fort. Lauderdale, Florida). The Jet´s wreckage was later discovered by chance by a film-making crew, who were producing a documentary on the Bermuda Triangle.show more

A power bank caught fire aboard an Air China... Airbus A321, prompting an emergency landing. The incident occurred at an altitude of 10 kilometers while the aircraft was flying from Hangzhou to Seoul. The device ignited in a passenger’s overhead compartment, and smoke began spreading through the cabin. The crew decided to make an emergency landing at Shanghai Pudong Airport, and flight attendants managed to extinguish the fire themselves.show more

Air Canada Express, operated by PAL Airlines, Bombardier DHC-8-402Q... substantially damaged in a landing accident at Halifax Stanfield International Airport. Air Canada spokesperson Peter Fitzpatrick says the plane experienced a “suspected landing gear issue” after arrival Saturday night and the aircraft was unable to reach the terminal and the crew and 73 passengers were off-loaded by bus. Fitzpatrick says nobody on board was injured, but a spokesperson from the Nova Scotia RCMP, who responded to the incident alongside paramedics, says minor injuries were reported.show more

✈️ A passenger plane in Croatia pulled off a... real-life drift on the runway and smashed through a fence with its engine A Croatia Airlines Airbus A220-300 was supposed to fly from Split to Frankfurt, but the crew abruptly aborted takeoff during acceleration. Thick smoke started pouring from the landing gear before the aircraft veered off the runway and came to a stop on the grass. There were 130 passengers and 5 crew members on board. Fortunately, no one was injured.show more

June 30 1970: a US Navy F-4 crashes off... California (US), 1 of 2 aboard dies. On catapult launch from aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea, the nose gear failed. Both crew members ejected before the jet hit the sea. RIO Robert Keating was killed when he struck a plane parked on the flight deck. Crew were from VF-151 "Vigilantes" squadron Commanding Officer CDR Fred Winton (Pilot) and RIO - Radar Intercept Officer - LCDR Robert Keating. Jet [Registration "153913"] was to take part in a flyoff celebrating USS Coral Sea's return to San Francisco in the Summer of 1970. The nose gear failure was traced to a slipped cable that broke the nosewheel.show more

The War was cold, but accidents happened... May 25... 1968: a Soviet Air Force Tu-16 "Badger" [Reg. Unknown] crashes 150 mi West of Norway, all 6 aboard die. Jet made a low pass near US Navy aircraft carrier USS Essex (CV-9), flying just 50 ft above the sea, when the wingtip hit a wave that sent the bomber into a cartwheel. The accident was captured in camera by a US film crew that was aboard the ship. More info below ⬇️ 🧵 ‘I was there and watched the entire thing while working on the flight deck. I was a helicopter mechanic in HS-9 at the time. When it overflew the flight deck you could feel the heat and smell at jet exhaust. After the flight deck overfly (starboard to port) he continued to fly away from the ship at low level. He gained a little altitude and started to make a left turn, leveled back out, lost altitude and just when it looked like he was going to make a controlled ditching his left wing dipped and hit the water and then he cartwheeled in a ball of flame.. Our helicopters were in the air already and made a beeline for the crash, hovered in the smoke but no one survived.’ Extra info with statements by an eyewitness are from an article from "The Aviation Geek Club" (will add link to their full article latershow more

Sparks erupted from the tail of a cargo plane... as it attempted to land at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. Video shows the Kalitta Air Boeing 777 scraping its tail along the runway before the crew aborted the landing, took back off and circled around for another attempt. The plane landed safely a short time later, and no injuries were reported. Kalitta Air says the aircraft has been removed from service for inspection.show more

WATCH: A small plane plunges into the ocean just... off a crowded Boca Raton beach as stunned witnesses watch from the sand. Moments later, a lifeguard races into the water and helps the pilot safely back to shore. Police say the pilot was the only person aboard the single-engine aircraft and no one was injured. The flight was headed from Fort Myers to the Bahamas when it declared an emergency and was cleared to land at Boca Raton Airport before crashing.show more

You might not have heard about the crash, but... you know the meme… August 22 1999: China Airlines Flight 642, a MD-11, crashes on landing at Hong Kong. 3 of 315 aboard died. Attempting to land during Typhoon “Sam”, landing gear collapsed, airplane rolled and caught fire. Crew´s actions and weather conditions were some of the factors in the crash. The accident has sadly become famous by appearing often on an Internet Meme, seen on the first comment. ⬇️show more

Here's the full surveillance video showing moments before the... Lufthansa Boeing 787-9 (D-ABPQ) nose gear collapsed at Frankfurt. If you watch closely, the nose landing gear doors open first, indicating what appears to be the start of a normal landing gear retraction sequence. According to reports, the Dreamliner had logged a maintenance request the previous day involving a landing gear door error message. On the Boeing 787, maintenance personnel can place the aircraft into a special maintenance mode (on the overhead panel, turn switch to "enable"). Boeing manuals emphasize that if maintenance mode is enabled, hydraulics are powered, and the gear lever is selected UP, the landing gear can retract regardless of weight-on-wheels protection. To prevent this, there's an override button where the gear handle lockout can be bypassed to move the gear handle even if it is locked out. The only way this can happen is by intentionally bypassing the normal safety lockouts used during maintenance procedures. Outside of maintenance or certain emergency procedures, the aircraft's weight-on-wheels system prevents gear retraction on the ground. Lufthansa says the aircraft has since been recovered. Fuel was removed, the jet was lifted, the nose gear was re-extended, and the aircraft was successfully towed under its own weight to a maintenance hangar. Germany's Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation has completed evidence collection from the aircraft and is now gathering witness statements. An interim report is expected within approximately 8 weeks. 📹: airlinersde via YouTube, link on first comment here.show more

May 19 1956: a US Navy F-9 [141065] crashes... while landing on Carrier USS Essex (Location of ship unknown). Fighter broke landing gear on touchdown. Aircraft slid off deck and fell into sea, on the carrier´s aft. Pilot was rescued by a support helicopter on standby.show more

The Final Mission of the B-24 "Brief" On May... 4, 1945, the B-24M Liberator "Brief" departed Angaur Airfield on a mission to suppress Japanese anti-aircraft positions over Koror, Palau Islands. During the attack, the bomber was struck by Japanese anti-aircraft fire, tearing off its left wing and sending the aircraft into a fatal flat spin. Of the 10-man crew, nine were killed in the crash. The sole survivor, navigator 2nd Lt. Wallace F. Kaufman, was captured by Japanese forces and later executed. For decades, many believed the bomber had been destroyed by a friendly bomb. Later analysis of the restored footage showed that the fatal hit came from Japanese anti-aircraft fire, not another American aircraft.show more

A passenger aboard United Airlines Boeing 787-9 flight UA2... from Singapore to San Francisco posted a video showing water leaking from an air grille. The passenger alerted a flight attendant, who then notified the flight crew. According to the passenger, the pilots came to inspect the issue and appeared visibly puzzled before calling in maintenance personnel. Passengers were escorted back to the terminal while maintenance checked it. Ultimately, the 15-hour flight was canceled. My take: Singapore's extremely humid climate means the water could have been the result of air-conditioning condensation or a leak from a water line. It's a lot easier to fix these things on the ground because maintenance is never done in the air. 📹: u/Xycergyshow more

On April 18, 1995, a VF-21 F-14 Tomcat was... blown off the USS Independence flight deck by jet blast from another Tomcat set to launch. The JBD was behind Cat 4 but unusable for afterburning F-14s since that catapult wasn't water-cooled—OK for A-6s, A-7s or E-2s though. 👀show more

A German Condor aircraft flying to Düsseldorf made an... emergency landing in southern Italy due to engine failure caused by suspected bird strike. The Condor Boeing 757-330 aircraft (D-ABOK) flying from Corfu (CFU) to Dusseldorf (DUS) started spitting flames right after the take-off. Witnesses reported a loud bang and clearly visible flames from the right engine exhaust. There were 273 passengers on board. The pilot made an emergency landing in the Italian city of Brindisi. Flight: #aircraft #aviationshow more

✈️Air India Flight AI2379 from Phuket to Delhi encountered... severe turbulence on Tuesday after the aircraft experienced a sudden 300-foot loss of altitude during cruise. ⚠️ The Airbus A320neo was carrying 137 passengers and eight crew members when the unexpected altitude deviation occurred before the flight continued safely to its destination. 🏥 A total of 17 people were injured—13 passengers and four cabin crew members—and were taken to hospital in Delhi for medical evaluation after landing. 🩺 Air India said medical teams attended to everyone immediately, with five passengers discharged by 6:50 p.m. IST on August 4, while the remaining injured continued to receive treatment and care. 🛬 Despite the turbulence, Flight AI2379 landed safely at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport at 11:07 a.m. IST, with no further operational issues reported. 🔎 The incident highlights the risks posed by unexpected in-flight turbulence, reinforcing the importance of keeping seat belts fastened whenever seated, even when the seat belt sign is switched off. #flight #aviationshow more

Breaking down what happened on China Airlines flight CI063... (Taipei to Vienna) on January 14, 2026... During takeoff from Taoyuan Airport, a tire tread from the main landing gear separated... a known occurrence with aircraft tires under high stress. The debris was flung upward and impacted the right wing, causing visible damage to the flaps and spoilers (no penetration to fuel tanks or critical structures). The passenger seated a Lufthansa aviation engineer, heard unusual sounds shortly after takeoff (around the time reaching Hong Kong airspace) and alerted the cabin crew. Initially told it might be normal, he persisted. When another pax overheard, he turned around, learned what was going on, and lent him his phone so he could show the crew takeoff video clearly showing the fresh damage. The assessment process took considerable time.. the crew consulted with the flight deck, maintenance teams on the ground, and dispatch while the engineer received periodic updates. With no critical warnings in the cockpit but visible structural damage confirmed, the captain elected to dump fuel and return to Taipei for safety. Aircraft landed without incident about two hours after departure. All passengers and crew were safe, and everyone was re-accommodated on later flights. Ground inspections later verified tire tread separation as the cause. The aircraft (B-18007, an A350-900) was removed from service for repairs, and Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration is investigating. The cautious decision to return was absolutely the right call, and the quick actions of an alert passenger plus thorough crew procedures prevented any risk from escalating. Aviation safety is layered for a reason. how much should passenger observations factor into in-flight decisions? Ever spoken up about something you noticed on a plane? Curious to hear experiences. ✈️ (Video from Pax seat attached... )show more

Flight was "causing concern to civil authorities": Two Royal... Air Force (RAF) Typhoon fighter jets were scrambled on the evening of July 24 to intercept Qatar Airways flight QR23 from Doha to Manchester after the aircraft became a cause for concern to UK civil aviation authorities upon entering British airspace. According to the RAF, a Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) was launched as a precaution. The Typhoons intercepted the Boeing 777-3DZ(ER) over the Nottingham area, although the escort was reportedly discontinued before the aircraft reached Manchester. The flight landed safely at Manchester Airport at approximately 7:45 p.m. BST, where emergency services had been placed on standby as a standard precaution. Authorities have not officially disclosed the reason for the interception. However, aviation tracking reports and industry sources suggest the incident may have been triggered by a temporary loss of radio communications between the aircraft and air traffic control, though this has not been confirmed by the RAF or Qatar Airways. The RAF said only that the flight was "causing concern to civil authorities" and confirmed that the incident was resolved without further issues, allowing the aircraft to taxi normally to its gate after landing. Civil aviation authorities are expected to review the event in coordination with Qatar Airways. #aircraft #airspace #airlinesshow more

On the occasion of Republic Day, a felicitation ceremony... was held at AF Stn Bamrauli, to honour the three bravehearts of Prayagraj, Shri Pankaj, Shri Lal Sahab and Shri Alok Yadav, for their courage and bravery shown during rescue of the two aircrew involved in the emergency landing of IAF Microlite aircraft on 21 Jan 26. The three heroes were felicitated by the Air Officer Commanding, (AOC) AF Stn Bamrauli, and all Station personnel, for their brave and selfless act. The AOC also lauded the people of Prayagraj who contributed towards efficient and quick recovery of the aircraft. The two rescued crew members also joined in the felicitation programme and wholeheartedly thanked their rescuers. The event stood as a shining testimony to the deep bond and unwavering affection of the people towards the Indian Armed Forces. #prayagrajbravehearts #CAC Indian Air Forceshow more

Fighter Jet Makes ‘Hard Landing’ at Pune Airport; Video... of the Incident Surfaces Flight operations at Pune Airport were suspended for nearly 11 hours after an Indian Air Force fighter aircraft made a hard landing due to landing gear failure, blocking the runway late Friday night. A minor fire was quickly brought under control, and both pilots were reported safe. The prolonged disruption led to multiple flight cancellations and at least eight diversions to other cities, causing inconvenience to passengers. Services resumed in phases on Saturday morning after thorough safety inspections, with authorities prioritising passenger safety before restoring operations.show more