April 2, 2025 • 34 mins
Join Alice and Zach for a special quarterly roundup of recent aviation incidents and accidents from around the world. In this premiere edition, they explore five significant aviation events from the first quarter of 2025, including the deadliest U.S. air disaster in nearly 24 years, a medical flight crash in Philadelphia, a weight-related accident in Alaska, a miraculous survival story in Toronto, and an engine fire incident in Denver.
Sources:
PSA Airlines Midair Collision:
- "NTSB Issues Chilling Preliminary Report: Years of Helicopter Near-Misses Before American Airlines 5342 Tragedy" - View From The Wing
- "NTSB Preliminary Report DCA25MA108" - National Transportation Safety Board
Learjet Crash in Philadelphia:
- "Kreindler Aviation Attorneys Monitoring Crash of Learjet 55 Medical Flight into a Busy Metro Area in Philadelphia" - Kreindler & Kreindler LLP
- "Jet Rescue Air Ambulance Fatal Crash" - AirMed and Rescue
Bering Air Cessna Caravan Crash:
- "NTSB says plane to Nome that crashed, killing 10, was overweight" - Alaska Public Media
- "Alaska Plane Crash Was Caused By Being Overweight, Officials Say" - The New York Times
Delta Connection Flight 4819 Crash:
- "Preliminary Report Says Right Landing Gear Part Fractured, Folded In Delta Flight 4819 Crash" - Star Tribune
- "High Rate of Descent Noted Before Delta Crash" - Airline Geeks
American Airlines Flight 1006:
- "How A Colorado Springs Flight Caught Fire In Denver" - Colorado Public Radio
- "American Airlines Engine Fire at Denver: What We Know So Far" - Fear of Landing
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Credits:
Final Boarding Call is hosted by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas, researched and written by Alice Stern, produced and edited by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:02):
Hello and welcome to a specialedition of Final Boarding Call.
I am your disaster obsessed host, Alice.
And I'm Zach, the homebody husband.
Joining Alice for our first quarterlyaviation news Roundup of 2025.
That is right.
Today we are doing something new.
(00:24):
Every three months, we are gonnabe bringing you a special episode
covering recent aviation incidentsand accidents from around the world.
The first quarter of 2025 has beenparticularly active in terms of
aviation disasters with the NTSBreporting 140 plane crashes in the US
(00:46):
alone from January 1st to March 14th.
Yeah, that's.
It seems completely insane,but that number is actually
consistent with previous years.
January and February, typically see about20 fatal aviation accidents per month.
Several high profile incidentshave put aviation safety in the
(01:10):
spotlight, though this year.
Today we will walk you throughfive significant aviation events
from the first quarter of 2025.
Deep dive into the investigations andwhat experts have discovered so far.
So buckle up for different kindof turbulence as we review the
most significant aviation news.
From the start of 20 25, 1 might saywe're actually taxiing at this point.
(01:39):
Bazinga.
Yeah.
That's funny.
You're funny.
I'm going to apologize for myvery scratchy and sultry voice.
Uh, maybe you find it sexy.
Maybe you think that I smokedan entire pack of cigarettes.
Was instructing a Women's Track dayevent today, and I was having a lot of
(01:59):
fun yelling, doing my thing, but theresult is that I have a scratchy voice.
Okay, I am going to start withwhat has become the deadliest US
air disaster in nearly 24 years.
And this is the accident thatreally laser-focused everybody on
(02:19):
the aviation industry this year.
And I think you have some background.
I think most of our listeners.
Should know this case.
this is the PSA Airlines midair collisionthat took place on January 29th, 2025.
So on that evening at approximately 8:47PM Eastern Standard Time, a Bombardier
(02:43):
CRJ 700 Regional jet operated asAmerican Airlines Flight 53 42 collided.
With a US Army, Sikorsky, uh, 60Black Hawk helicopter over the
Potomac River near Ronald Reagan,Washington National Airport.
(03:05):
The CRJ 700 was on final approachto runway 33 after departing
from Wichita, Kansas, carrying 61passengers and three crew members.
Meanwhile, the Black Hawk helicopterfrom the Army's 12th Aviation
Battalion was conducting a trainingflight with night vision goggles from
(03:29):
Davison Army airfield in Virginia,with three crew members aboard.
The collision occurred atan altitude of approximately
300 feet, which is quite low.
Obviously we talk about flightsand we're, talking numbers that are
typically between 17 and 35,000 feet.
(03:54):
So 300 feet, just half amile short of the runway.
Both aircraft had been communicatingwith air traffic control.
Right before the crash, however,the NTSB, which is the national
Transportation Safety Board, so that'swhat NTSB stands for, and we're gonna
mention that a lot in this episode.
(04:16):
Their preliminaryinvestigation has uncovered.
Several critical findings that helpexplain how this tragedy unfolded.
So one of the most concerning findings isrelated to air traffic control operations.
That night investigators discoveredthat a single controller.
Was managing both aircraft atthe same time of the collision.
(04:42):
Now this is a situation that is describedfirst off as not normal, , for that time
of day, especially at at Reagan National.
And we are going to cover an episodequite quickly in the schedule where.
This exact scenario happens.
It is.
It's for me, it's, I, I haven't sharedit with Zach yet because it's one of
(05:04):
the most heart wrenching and devastatingstories that we will probably ever cover.
But the cause of it.
Is not entirely, but partiallyto do with the fact that
there is a single controller.
There's a ton of other stuff in this,in this other case we're gonna cover.
But it, it was interesting when Isaw this in, in the report, , because
(05:26):
this is absolutely not normal.
There are.
You know, typically, an air trafficcontroller is pretty laser focused on
what they are supposed to be covering.
So, this is pretty dramatic.
Even more troubling, the helicoptercrew may have missed critical portions
of two transmissions from air trafficcontrol, which could have contributed
(05:50):
to the fatal positioning error.
The investigation also revealed detailsabout the safety systems on both aircraft.
So the CJ 700, which was the plane,their traffic collision avoidance
system, which is also called TCAS.
And this is a term that we aregonna become quite familiar with
(06:12):
in final boarding call becausethis system comes up in a ton of.
Of accidents and close calls.
So TCAs issued a traffic advisory20 seconds before the collision.
This system is designed to warnpilots about nearby aircraft, but
it doesn't automatically prevent.
Collisions.
(06:33):
So I don't have the exact detailsabout this aircraft and how its TCAs
system operates, but typically TCAswill actually give you instructions.
It will give you verbal instructions.
So it's not gonna take overthe plane and move you around.
But often when TCAs is warningyou of a collision, it will
(06:54):
say something like, go up.
Go up or go down, it will actuallygive elevation adjustment instructions,
which is really interesting.
Meanwhile, the BlackhawksAutomatic Dependent Surveillance
Broadcast System, also known as.
A DSB different than a b, s in your car.
(07:19):
It was not broadcasting at the time of thecrash, making the helicopter less visible
to nearby aircraft and air traffic controlsystems perhaps most critically, the NTSB
found that the Black Hawk was operatingabove its designated altitude limit.
Hugely problematic.
The helicopter was supposed toremain at or below 200 feet.
(07:40):
Along its designated route, but airtraffic control data showed that
it was flying at approximately 300feet when the collision occurred.
This altitude violation placed thehelicopter directly in the path
of descending commercial jets,
at Kennedy Center Webcam.
Captured the explosion midair and Ithink probably most of us have seen
(08:04):
that really just horrible video,with debris falling into the river.
The CRJ 700 reportedly split in half.
Upon impact with the water while thehelicopter crashed upside down nearby, all
67 people aboard, both aircraft perishedinstantly, search and rescue operations
(08:28):
very quickly turned into recoveryefforts due to the lack of survivors.
The investigation is ongoing withthe NTSB working alongside the FAA.
US Department of Defense, US Army,and the Transportation Safety Board
of Canada, they are conducting furtheranalysis of flight records, flight
(08:50):
recorders, video evidence, and aircraftsystems to determine the precise sequence
of events and contributing factors.
But this tragedy really marks thefirst major commercial passenger
flight accident in the US in nearly16 years, and the first fatal crash
involving American Airlines since 2001.
(09:14):
It has already prompted calls forimmediate changes in air traffic control
procedures, and stricter oversightof mixed military civilian airspace
operations, especially around the busyairspace, of our nation's capital.
So zach, why don't you tellus about the next case?
(09:35):
The next story takes us toPhiladelphia, where just two days
after the PSA collision on January.
31st, 2025.
A Lear Jet 55 operated by JetRescue Air Ambulance crashed
into a residential neighborhood.
Med Jet's Flight 0 5 6 departed fromNortheast Philadelphia Airport at 6:06 PM
heading to Tijuana, Mexico with plannedrefueling Stop in Springfield, Missouri.
(09:58):
This was a medical transportmission carrying six people, two
pilots, a doctor, a paramedic, anda pediatric patient with her mother.
The investigation into this crash isstill in its early stages, but the
NTSB has already uncovered severalkey details about what happened.
According to the flight data, theaircraft climbed to an altitude of
about 1500 feet before somethingwent catastrophically wrong.
(10:20):
The plane began rapid descentwith an astonishing rate
of 11,000 feet per minute.
That's roughly 125 milesper hour straight down.
Hmm.
That is terrifying.
The entire flight lastedless than one minute.
The last data received from Flight Radar24, showed the Learjet at an altitude of
1,275 feet with an increasing speed of242 knots before it disappeared from radar
(10:46):
less than three miles from the airport.
It struck multiple buildings and vehiclesin a densely populated castor gardens,
neighborhood in near Roosevelt Mall.
The impact and subsequent explosioncreated a crater several feet deep
destroying four homes, damaging17 others, and ignited fires and
nearby properties and vehicles.
All six occupants of the air aircraftwere perished in the crash landing,
(11:10):
including the Captain Allen, AlejandroMontoya, paras, copilot de Juarez.
Juarez..
It is.
I double checked.
Dr.
Raul Meza, Ardo paramedic,Rodrigo Lopez Padilla,
pediatric patient, Valentina Guzman more.
(11:31):
And her mother, Lizette Mor Ozuna.
I never took Spanish.
I'm gonna make you say allthe names on the podcast.
Tragically this disaster also came thelife of Steven Drewitt, a 37-year-old
man who was in his car on the ground.
His partner suffered burns over 70% of herbody and remains in critical condition.
Their son sustained head injuries,but is recovering after brain surgery.
(11:54):
At least 24.
Other people on the groundwere injured as well.
NTSB investigators have recoveredthe black box from the crash
site, which will be crucial indetermining what caused the accident.
However, in a troubling early finding,they discovered that the cockpit
voice recorder hadn't been functioningfor years, potentially hampering the
investigation's ability to determinewhat happened in the cockpit during
(12:16):
those critical final moments.
No distress call was made bythe pilots before the crash.
One particularly disturbing aspectof this case is that the crash marks
the second fatal accident involvingjet rescue air ambulance in just 15
months following another incidentin Mexico in November of 2023.
This will likely lead investigators toscrutinize the company's maintenance,
practices and safety culture.
(12:38):
Both pilots were experienced and certifiedto operate the Learjet making a sudden
loss of control, particularly mysterious.
The investigation team is currentlyanalyzing the recover data and
evidence from the crash site withassistance from the FAA, who will be
following this case closely as moredetails merge in the coming months.
Our next story takes us to theharsh winter environment of Alaska.
(13:00):
We're on February 6th, 2025,
bearing air flight 4, 4 5 crashedwhile en route from Leat to gnome.
The aircraft was a Cessna 2 08 B Grand Caravan ex, a single
engine turbo prop commonly usedfor regional flights in Alaska.
(13:20):
It departed from Unlit Airport at2:38 PM Alaska standard time with nine
passengers and one pilot on board.
Everything seemed very routineuntil 3:16 PM when the aircraft
suddenly disappeared from radar.
About 30 miles southeast of Nome datashows the plane experienced a rapid
(13:45):
loss in elevation and speed beforevanishing from tracking systems
it was last known with analtitude of 5,300 feet.
A massive search effort wasimmediately launched involving
the US Coast Guard National Guard,Alaska State Troopers, and numerous
volunteers from local communities.
(14:07):
The following day, searchers locatedthe wreckage on an ice flow in Norton.
Sound about 34 miles southeast of Nome.
Unfortunately, there were no survivors.
All 10 occupants whose ages ranged from30 to 58 years perished in the crash.
Two of the passengers were utilityoperation employees from the Alaska
(14:32):
Native Tribal Health Consortium,
the NTS B'S preliminary investigationhas already uncovered some
extremely concerning findings.
Perhaps most critically, theaircraft was significantly
overweight at the time of the crash.
The plane's estimated gross takeoffweight was about 9,865 pounds, exceeding
(14:56):
the maximum weight limit for flightsin icing conditions by approximately.
1,058 pounds.
We are not talking like one suitcase overthe weight limit over a thousand pounds.
Surpassing the threshold for betterweather scenarios by over 800 pounds.
(15:18):
So even if it was like beautiful,clear blue skies, they are still
800 pounds over post-accidentexamination found approximately 798
pounds of baggage and cargo onboardcompared to the 709 pounds listed
On Bearing Airs load manifest.
(15:40):
This discrepancy suggests potential issueswith the company's weight and balance
procedures, a critical safety factorin aviation, especially in challenging
conditions like those found in Alaska.
Weather records show that at the timeof the crash, light snow and some
ice were reported with temperaturesat a whopping 12 degrees Fahrenheit.
(16:03):
The gnome airport reported traceprecipitation and trace icing shortly
before the accident, which could havebecome a significant factor given
the aircraft's overweight condition.
Flight data provides a disturbingpicture of the aircraft's final minutes.
The plane's air speed graduallydecreased from about 160 knots to
(16:27):
112 knots over a 15 minute period.
Then at 3:19 PM the autopilotdisengaged when the airplane's air
speed had dropped , to only 99 knots.
About 19 seconds later.
Airspeed had plummeted to 70 knotsat an altitude of 3,100 feet.
(16:51):
The final data point shows the aircraftat only 200 feet, suggesting that
it was in an unrecoverable dive.
The NTSB is focusing its ongoinginvestigation on several key areas.
A comprehensive examinationof the aircraft's, performance
(17:11):
and center of gravity, analysisof the flight's trajectory and
communications between the pilot andair traffic control data retrieved
from the onboard avionic systems.
And comparison with a similar 2021incident involving a right air
service caravan near Fairbanks.
(17:32):
Recovery efforts were complicated.
By the continuously moving iceflow and an impending winter storm
that threatened the crash site.
NTSB Chair.
Jennifer Hodi traveled toAlaska personally to oversee the
investigation and spoke at a pressbriefing in Anchorage regarding the
challenges faced by recovery teams,
(17:56):
communities in Nome and Unle heldprayer vigils for the victims
and search personnel as theymourned this devastating loss.
The final NTSB report is expected totake about a year or more to complete,
but this accident has already raisedserious concerns about air safety in
the region where small aircraft areoften the only practical means of
(18:23):
transportation between remote communities.
Moving on to an incidentwith a more positive outcome.
Though still quite dramatic.
Let's discuss what happened with DeltaConnection Flight 48 19 On February
17th, 2025 in Toronto, a Mitsubishi CRJ 900 lr, operated by Endeavor Air,
(18:45):
a Delta subsidiary was arriving inToronto Pearson International Airport.
After departing from Minneapolis St.
Paul, the aircraft was carrying 76passengers and four crew members.
As the plane attempted to land at2:13 PM local time, it encountered
a severe winter weather conditionswith strong winds and gusts up to
(19:08):
40 miles an hour, and blowing snow.
The airport had receivedsignificant snowfall 8.7
inches over the weekend, creatingchallenging conditions on the runway way.
The Transportation Safety Board ofCanada's preliminary investigation
has revealed some critical detailsabout what happened during the
final moments before the crash.
Flight data shows the aircraft experiencedan unusually high rate of descent before
(19:31):
landing at 50 feet above the ground.
It was descending at 1,114 feet perminute, and just before touchdown, it
was still coming down at 1100 feet perminute, significantly faster than the
recommended for Safe landing operations.
Enhanced ground proximity warningsystems or E-G-P-W-S actually
(19:54):
triggered a sync rate alert just 2.6
seconds before touchdown, indicatinga dangerously rapid descent.
On top of that, the planetouchdown with a 7.1
degree right bank angle, meaningthe plane was landing significantly
to the right, placing enormousstress on the right landing gear.
During that hard landing, theright main landing gear fractured,
(20:15):
triggering a chain reaction.
First, the landing gear foldedinto the retracted position.
Then the wing fractured betweenthe fuselage and the landing gear.
Finally, the right wing completelydetached from the aircraft releasing
jet fuel that immediately caught fire.
This sequence of structuralfailures caused the aircraft to
flip completely upside down beforecoming to a rest just off the runway.
(20:41):
What makes this story remarkable is thatdespite the violent crash in subsequent
fire, all 80 people on board survived.
That is completely nuts.
All 80 people it is bothupside down and on fire also.
It is on fire.
That's, that's just completely insane.
(21:04):
Passengers described the terrifyingexperience of being suspended
upside down in their seat belts likebats as they waited to evacuate.
21 people were hospitalized,including two with serious injuries.
The evacuation was particularlychallenging since passengers had to
release their seat belts while suspendedupside down, and some were sprayed with
(21:24):
both jet fuel and fire retardant foam.
During the escape process, quick actionby the flight attendants ensured a safe
evacuation through emergency exits.
Despite the aircraft's inverted position,fire crews rapidly extinguished the
flames, while passengers made theirway to safety, one of the main areas
that TSB is now focusing on is thecruises experience and decision making.
(21:47):
The captain had been with EndeavorAir since 2007 and had 3,570
logged flight hours while the firstofficer hired in January, 2024.
Had 1422.3
total flight hours.
That's really important to note.
Do the math there, that'sso significantly less.
(22:09):
Yes.
When did our, you said thepilot had how many hours?
The captain.
Yeah.
Captain had 3,570 flight hoursand had been with them since
2007, so almost 20 years.
Mm-hmm.
And had less than 4,000 flight hours.
(22:30):
Yeah.
And when you picture that in comparisonto some of our or other stories where
people had 11,000 hours of fly time intheir 20 year careers, I mean, that is.
A big difference.
It's, it's worth noting.
Delta Airlines has offered $30,000compensation to each passenger as a
goodwill gesture, acknowledging thetraumatic experience they endured.
(22:53):
I certainly wouldn't wanna fly againafter that, at least for a few months.
Yeah.
I wonder, how that would, impact me.
I don't know.
The incident highlights the importanceof aircraft design, crashworthiness
and crew training, and ensuringsurvival during such emergencies.
The ongoing investigation will likelyresult in recommendations regarding
(23:16):
landing procedures in severe cross windconditions and potentially structural
improvements to the CRJ aircraftfamily our final story happened just
a few weeks ago on March 13th, 2025,involving American Airlines flight.
10 0 6 involving American AirlinesFlight 10 0 6 a Boeing 7 3 7 800 with 172
(23:40):
passengers and six crew members aboard.
Now here is why I wanted toinclude this particular story.
One, it's crazy.
So that's good, but two.
This is the flight that I takemultiple times a month there.
(24:00):
I would bet a hundred bucks right now thatI have been on this plane because I fly
Colorado Springs to Dallas Fort Worth.
American Airlines.
That's my flight that I dotwo to three times a month.
Ooh, the odds.
And what's so funny is this particularweek I just decided to fly Southwest.
(24:25):
They started doing a flightfrom Colorado Springs to love.
Which is also in Dallas, but it is notobviously Dallas-Fort Worth airport.
And a bunch of my coworkers arelike, oh man, you'll love, love.
It's this cute small airport.
You should try it out.
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
So just by chance this exact week, Idecided to, for the first time in my life.
(24:49):
Do the Southwest flight instead ofthe American Airlines flight Folks,
I hope you think that that's asfascinating as I do, because one of the
crazy things about aviation disasterstories is that the circumstances
that all had to happen for those exactpeople to be on that exact plane.
(25:11):
That is significant and I, I dothink about that quite often.
So here's one where you know, I justhappened to not be on this flight.
Okay, so here we go.
The flight departed from ColoradoSprings Airport at 4:52 PM
headed to Dallas-Fort Worth.
About 20 minutes into the flight,the crew reported engine vibrations,
(25:36):
prompting them to divert to nearbyDenver International Airport, and I
have had that exact diversion happenbefore I've been diverted to DIA.
The aircraft landed safely at 5:15 PM andat first it seemed that the incident would
end as a routine precautionary diversion.
(25:59):
However, as the plane taxi to gate C38, the right engine caught fire, boom.
It's on fire, and I almost always siton the right side of the plane just by.
Just by habit.
It's so fascinating.
All of this.
Here we go.
(26:20):
Thick black smoke.
It is rapidly engulfing theaircraft, forcing an emergency.
Evacuation while still on the tarmac.
Yes, you are getting your butt outof the, I don't care where you are.
Get your butt out of that plane.
It is on fire.
The NTSB had sent two investigators toexamine the incident with a preliminary
(26:40):
report expected within 30 days.
So I'll give you what we've gotright now, but we are not 30
days out from this incident.
Not quite yet.
Through this investigation, even thoughit's , in the early stages, there are
several key findings that have emerged.
The flight crew reported highengine vibrations before diverting.
(27:05):
Right, which suggests amechanical issue was developing.
During the flight.
There are unconfirmed reports.
This is unconfirmed of an oil or fuelleakage that may have ignited as the plane
reached the gate though investigatorsagain have not confirmed this detail.
(27:28):
Alleged.
One puzzling aspect that investigatorsare examining is why the fire
appeared only after the plane hadlanded and taxied to the gate.
This is interesting.
And we don't, we don'tsee this very often.
I, of course, am immediately thinkingof race cars that catch on fire,
(27:51):
and Zach and I have owned race carsthat have gone on fire one time.
It happened one time.
Zach did technically blowit out with his mouth.
We did not fuse a fire extinguisher, sothat that does qualify as a baby fire.
Uh, but I've also been witnessto real fires at track days.
Typically what happens isthe car gets extremely hot.
(28:15):
And then there is some sort of fluidthat leaks and causes a fire that is typ.
It's not always, but thatis typically what happens.
There's a lot of fluids involvedin, in transportation things,
airplanes, cars, what have you.
And uh, if there is a crack orsome sort of break in a fuel line,
(28:39):
for example, uh, big boom, boom.
The timing suggests the problemmay have been exasperated by the
engine's idle state, or changingthermal conditions after landing.
I don't know, I'm not the mechanicsthat's the mechanic, but this, this is
kind of an interesting puzzle that Ithink investigators are gonna have to.
(29:04):
Untangle ground crews respondedvery quickly using a dry chemical
fire cart to extinguish the flames.
However, questions have been raisedabout why fire crews were not on site
when the plane landed, despite thecrew having reported engine issues.
(29:24):
I am just saying that was notedin a couple different things.
, what I will say is that, doesn'tit make sense to have a
firetruck on site at all airports
I just go back to, I always goback to racing because that's
like our high stakes thing and we.
Always have a fire truck andand fire crew on site with us,
(29:45):
and we're just racing cars.
We're not even flying planes.
Passengers evacuated onto the left wingof the aircraft, which is good because
the right one's on fire, smoke and flameswere billowing from the right engine.
Ground crews quickly brought slidesand ladders to help passengers
descend from the wing to the ground.
Several passengers later described.
(30:06):
The terrifying experience of standingon the wing amid the billowing smoke.
Uncertain if the fire would spread tothe fuel tanks just as I was saying
earlier, fuel plus fire make boom, boom.
12 people were taken to hospitalswith minor injuries, primarily
(30:27):
from the evacuation process itself.
Fortunately.
All of the passengers werereleased from the hospital.
No serious injuries were reported.
I mean, everybody gotoff that plane safely.
The nts B's ongoing investigationis focused on several key areas.
Determining the exact cause of the enginefire is a biggie, examining the aircraft's
(30:53):
maintenance history and pre-flight checks,analyzing the evacuation procedures.
And the passenger behavior during theincident, which obviously they have to do.
If like people are going to thehospital from the evacuation, you gotta
figure out what the hell happened.
And investigating the timing of the firedetection and the emergency response.
(31:16):
Investigators are gathering evidence.
You know what they're doing.
They're getting that flight data, they areinterviewing the crew maintenance records.
They are trying to figure outwhat the hell happened here.
And, , this incident is part of aseries of aviation incidents that have
(31:36):
absolutely rocked the media, recently.
And there was actually a story thatcame out today, about, Heathrow.
Airport.
Today at London's Heathrow Airport,there was an insane power outage due to
a substation, which I know about becauseI work in the data center industry, and
(32:02):
that is data centers need power, and sosubstations are like our best friends.
, and the fire caused a power outage.
The power outage impacted theairport, and obviously without
power, an airport can't function.
So they had backup generators thatwere, , trying to do their thing.
(32:23):
But to.
Power an entire airport on backupgenerators is completely bonkers.
So this was a major disruptionfor the airline industry.
There were big time, bigtime flight disruptions.
If you were trapped at Heathrow,if you were diverted away from
Heathrow, now you know why?
(32:46):
It was a massive fire thatcaused a power outage.
And it is one of the busiestairports in the world.
I read somewhere, they expectedover 210,000 people to be in and
outta that airport on that day.
That wraps up our coverage ofthe major aviation incidents
from the first quarter of 2025.
(33:09):
While the number of accidentsthis quarter is statistically
consistent with previous years.
The high profile nature of several ofthese incidents has certainly brought
aviation safety into the spotlight.
It is still worth noting,Zach, that even with these very
recent crazy banana stories.
(33:32):
Flight is still the safest formof transportation statistically.
So, , go ahead and get on your plane.
Take that flight.
I fly in two days and thenI fly like every single week
for the next eight weeks.
And you know, it's, it iswhat it is, it's still safe.
That being said, each of these accidentslead to important investigations, that
(33:55):
further airline safety and that, youknow, is really, really important.
And we will be back next week withanother aviation disaster story.
Our normal podcast willreturn and then at the end of.
Q2, we'll be back with anotheraviation news roundup and, hopefully
(34:21):
we have fewer insane stories to tell.
I feel like this was crazy.
Planes upside down planes on fire.
It's, that's heavy.
That's some stuff.
Until then.
Remember to stow your tray tables,fasten your seat belts, and prepare
(34:42):
for the unexpected because not everytrip reaches its final destination.
Goodbye.
Hello and welcome to a specialedition of Final Boarding Call.
I am your disaster obsessed host, Alice.
And I'm Zach, the homebody husband.
Joining Alice for our first quarterlyaviation news Roundup of 2025.
That is right.
Today we are doing something new.
(00:24):
Every three months, we are gonnabe bringing you a special episode
covering recent aviation incidentsand accidents from around the world.
The first quarter of 2025 has beenparticularly active in terms of
aviation disasters with the NTSBreporting 140 plane crashes in the US
(00:46):
alone from January 1st to March 14th.
Yeah, that's.
It seems completely insane,but that number is actually
consistent with previous years.
January and February, typically see about20 fatal aviation accidents per month.
Several high profile incidentshave put aviation safety in the
(01:10):
spotlight, though this year.
Today we will walk you throughfive significant aviation events
from the first quarter of 2025.
Deep dive into the investigations andwhat experts have discovered so far.
So buckle up for different kindof turbulence as we review the
most significant aviation news.
From the start of 20 25, 1 might saywe're actually taxiing at this point.
(01:39):
Bazinga.
Yeah.
That's funny.
You're funny.
I'm going to apologize for myvery scratchy and sultry voice.
Uh, maybe you find it sexy.
Maybe you think that I smokedan entire pack of cigarettes.
Was instructing a Women's Track dayevent today, and I was having a lot of
(01:59):
fun yelling, doing my thing, but theresult is that I have a scratchy voice.
Okay, I am going to start withwhat has become the deadliest US
air disaster in nearly 24 years.
And this is the accident thatreally laser-focused everybody on
(02:19):
the aviation industry this year.
And I think you have some background.
I think most of our listeners.
Should know this case.
this is the PSA Airlines midair collisionthat took place on January 29th, 2025.
So on that evening at approximately 8:47PM Eastern Standard Time, a Bombardier
(02:43):
CRJ 700 Regional jet operated asAmerican Airlines Flight 53 42 collided.
With a US Army, Sikorsky, uh, 60Black Hawk helicopter over the
Potomac River near Ronald Reagan,Washington National Airport.
(03:05):
The CRJ 700 was on final approachto runway 33 after departing
from Wichita, Kansas, carrying 61passengers and three crew members.
Meanwhile, the Black Hawk helicopterfrom the Army's 12th Aviation
Battalion was conducting a trainingflight with night vision goggles from
(03:29):
Davison Army airfield in Virginia,with three crew members aboard.
The collision occurred atan altitude of approximately
300 feet, which is quite low.
Obviously we talk about flightsand we're, talking numbers that are
typically between 17 and 35,000 feet.
(03:54):
So 300 feet, just half amile short of the runway.
Both aircraft had been communicatingwith air traffic control.
Right before the crash, however,the NTSB, which is the national
Transportation Safety Board, so that'swhat NTSB stands for, and we're gonna
mention that a lot in this episode.
(04:16):
Their preliminaryinvestigation has uncovered.
Several critical findings that helpexplain how this tragedy unfolded.
So one of the most concerning findings isrelated to air traffic control operations.
That night investigators discoveredthat a single controller.
Was managing both aircraft atthe same time of the collision.
(04:42):
Now this is a situation that is describedfirst off as not normal, , for that time
of day, especially at at Reagan National.
And we are going to cover an episodequite quickly in the schedule where.
This exact scenario happens.
It is.
It's for me, it's, I, I haven't sharedit with Zach yet because it's one of
(05:04):
the most heart wrenching and devastatingstories that we will probably ever cover.
But the cause of it.
Is not entirely, but partiallyto do with the fact that
there is a single controller.
There's a ton of other stuff in this,in this other case we're gonna cover.
But it, it was interesting when Isaw this in, in the report, , because
(05:26):
this is absolutely not normal.
There are.
You know, typically, an air trafficcontroller is pretty laser focused on
what they are supposed to be covering.
So, this is pretty dramatic.
Even more troubling, the helicoptercrew may have missed critical portions
of two transmissions from air trafficcontrol, which could have contributed
(05:50):
to the fatal positioning error.
The investigation also revealed detailsabout the safety systems on both aircraft.
So the CJ 700, which was the plane,their traffic collision avoidance
system, which is also called TCAS.
And this is a term that we aregonna become quite familiar with
(06:12):
in final boarding call becausethis system comes up in a ton of.
Of accidents and close calls.
So TCAs issued a traffic advisory20 seconds before the collision.
This system is designed to warnpilots about nearby aircraft, but
it doesn't automatically prevent.
Collisions.
(06:33):
So I don't have the exact detailsabout this aircraft and how its TCAs
system operates, but typically TCAswill actually give you instructions.
It will give you verbal instructions.
So it's not gonna take overthe plane and move you around.
But often when TCAs is warningyou of a collision, it will
(06:54):
say something like, go up.
Go up or go down, it will actuallygive elevation adjustment instructions,
which is really interesting.
Meanwhile, the BlackhawksAutomatic Dependent Surveillance
Broadcast System, also known as.
A DSB different than a b, s in your car.
(07:19):
It was not broadcasting at the time of thecrash, making the helicopter less visible
to nearby aircraft and air traffic controlsystems perhaps most critically, the NTSB
found that the Black Hawk was operatingabove its designated altitude limit.
Hugely problematic.
The helicopter was supposed toremain at or below 200 feet.
(07:40):
Along its designated route, but airtraffic control data showed that
it was flying at approximately 300feet when the collision occurred.
This altitude violation placed thehelicopter directly in the path
of descending commercial jets,
at Kennedy Center Webcam.
Captured the explosion midair and Ithink probably most of us have seen
(08:04):
that really just horrible video,with debris falling into the river.
The CRJ 700 reportedly split in half.
Upon impact with the water while thehelicopter crashed upside down nearby, all
67 people aboard, both aircraft perishedinstantly, search and rescue operations
(08:28):
very quickly turned into recoveryefforts due to the lack of survivors.
The investigation is ongoing withthe NTSB working alongside the FAA.
US Department of Defense, US Army,and the Transportation Safety Board
of Canada, they are conducting furtheranalysis of flight records, flight
(08:50):
recorders, video evidence, and aircraftsystems to determine the precise sequence
of events and contributing factors.
But this tragedy really marks thefirst major commercial passenger
flight accident in the US in nearly16 years, and the first fatal crash
involving American Airlines since 2001.
(09:14):
It has already prompted calls forimmediate changes in air traffic control
procedures, and stricter oversightof mixed military civilian airspace
operations, especially around the busyairspace, of our nation's capital.
So zach, why don't you tellus about the next case?
(09:35):
The next story takes us toPhiladelphia, where just two days
after the PSA collision on January.
31st, 2025.
A Lear Jet 55 operated by JetRescue Air Ambulance crashed
into a residential neighborhood.
Med Jet's Flight 0 5 6 departed fromNortheast Philadelphia Airport at 6:06 PM
heading to Tijuana, Mexico with plannedrefueling Stop in Springfield, Missouri.
(09:58):
This was a medical transportmission carrying six people, two
pilots, a doctor, a paramedic, anda pediatric patient with her mother.
The investigation into this crash isstill in its early stages, but the
NTSB has already uncovered severalkey details about what happened.
According to the flight data, theaircraft climbed to an altitude of
about 1500 feet before somethingwent catastrophically wrong.
(10:20):
The plane began rapid descentwith an astonishing rate
of 11,000 feet per minute.
That's roughly 125 milesper hour straight down.
Hmm.
That is terrifying.
The entire flight lastedless than one minute.
The last data received from Flight Radar24, showed the Learjet at an altitude of
1,275 feet with an increasing speed of242 knots before it disappeared from radar
(10:46):
less than three miles from the airport.
It struck multiple buildings and vehiclesin a densely populated castor gardens,
neighborhood in near Roosevelt Mall.
The impact and subsequent explosioncreated a crater several feet deep
destroying four homes, damaging17 others, and ignited fires and
nearby properties and vehicles.
All six occupants of the air aircraftwere perished in the crash landing,
(11:10):
including the Captain Allen, AlejandroMontoya, paras, copilot de Juarez.
Juarez..
It is.
I double checked.
Dr.
Raul Meza, Ardo paramedic,Rodrigo Lopez Padilla,
pediatric patient, Valentina Guzman more.
(11:31):
And her mother, Lizette Mor Ozuna.
I never took Spanish.
I'm gonna make you say allthe names on the podcast.
Tragically this disaster also came thelife of Steven Drewitt, a 37-year-old
man who was in his car on the ground.
His partner suffered burns over 70% of herbody and remains in critical condition.
Their son sustained head injuries,but is recovering after brain surgery.
(11:54):
At least 24.
Other people on the groundwere injured as well.
NTSB investigators have recoveredthe black box from the crash
site, which will be crucial indetermining what caused the accident.
However, in a troubling early finding,they discovered that the cockpit
voice recorder hadn't been functioningfor years, potentially hampering the
investigation's ability to determinewhat happened in the cockpit during
(12:16):
those critical final moments.
No distress call was made bythe pilots before the crash.
One particularly disturbing aspectof this case is that the crash marks
the second fatal accident involvingjet rescue air ambulance in just 15
months following another incidentin Mexico in November of 2023.
This will likely lead investigators toscrutinize the company's maintenance,
practices and safety culture.
(12:38):
Both pilots were experienced and certifiedto operate the Learjet making a sudden
loss of control, particularly mysterious.
The investigation team is currentlyanalyzing the recover data and
evidence from the crash site withassistance from the FAA, who will be
following this case closely as moredetails merge in the coming months.
Our next story takes us to theharsh winter environment of Alaska.
(13:00):
We're on February 6th, 2025,
bearing air flight 4, 4 5 crashedwhile en route from Leat to gnome.
The aircraft was a Cessna 2 08 B Grand Caravan ex, a single
engine turbo prop commonly usedfor regional flights in Alaska.
(13:20):
It departed from Unlit Airport at2:38 PM Alaska standard time with nine
passengers and one pilot on board.
Everything seemed very routineuntil 3:16 PM when the aircraft
suddenly disappeared from radar.
About 30 miles southeast of Nome datashows the plane experienced a rapid
(13:45):
loss in elevation and speed beforevanishing from tracking systems
it was last known with analtitude of 5,300 feet.
A massive search effort wasimmediately launched involving
the US Coast Guard National Guard,Alaska State Troopers, and numerous
volunteers from local communities.
(14:07):
The following day, searchers locatedthe wreckage on an ice flow in Norton.
Sound about 34 miles southeast of Nome.
Unfortunately, there were no survivors.
All 10 occupants whose ages ranged from30 to 58 years perished in the crash.
Two of the passengers were utilityoperation employees from the Alaska
(14:32):
Native Tribal Health Consortium,
the NTS B'S preliminary investigationhas already uncovered some
extremely concerning findings.
Perhaps most critically, theaircraft was significantly
overweight at the time of the crash.
The plane's estimated gross takeoffweight was about 9,865 pounds, exceeding
(14:56):
the maximum weight limit for flightsin icing conditions by approximately.
1,058 pounds.
We are not talking like one suitcase overthe weight limit over a thousand pounds.
Surpassing the threshold for betterweather scenarios by over 800 pounds.
(15:18):
So even if it was like beautiful,clear blue skies, they are still
800 pounds over post-accidentexamination found approximately 798
pounds of baggage and cargo onboardcompared to the 709 pounds listed
On Bearing Airs load manifest.
(15:40):
This discrepancy suggests potential issueswith the company's weight and balance
procedures, a critical safety factorin aviation, especially in challenging
conditions like those found in Alaska.
Weather records show that at the timeof the crash, light snow and some
ice were reported with temperaturesat a whopping 12 degrees Fahrenheit.
(16:03):
The gnome airport reported traceprecipitation and trace icing shortly
before the accident, which could havebecome a significant factor given
the aircraft's overweight condition.
Flight data provides a disturbingpicture of the aircraft's final minutes.
The plane's air speed graduallydecreased from about 160 knots to
(16:27):
112 knots over a 15 minute period.
Then at 3:19 PM the autopilotdisengaged when the airplane's air
speed had dropped , to only 99 knots.
About 19 seconds later.
Airspeed had plummeted to 70 knotsat an altitude of 3,100 feet.
(16:51):
The final data point shows the aircraftat only 200 feet, suggesting that
it was in an unrecoverable dive.
The NTSB is focusing its ongoinginvestigation on several key areas.
A comprehensive examinationof the aircraft's, performance
(17:11):
and center of gravity, analysisof the flight's trajectory and
communications between the pilot andair traffic control data retrieved
from the onboard avionic systems.
And comparison with a similar 2021incident involving a right air
service caravan near Fairbanks.
(17:32):
Recovery efforts were complicated.
By the continuously moving iceflow and an impending winter storm
that threatened the crash site.
NTSB Chair.
Jennifer Hodi traveled toAlaska personally to oversee the
investigation and spoke at a pressbriefing in Anchorage regarding the
challenges faced by recovery teams,
(17:56):
communities in Nome and Unle heldprayer vigils for the victims
and search personnel as theymourned this devastating loss.
The final NTSB report is expected totake about a year or more to complete,
but this accident has already raisedserious concerns about air safety in
the region where small aircraft areoften the only practical means of
(18:23):
transportation between remote communities.
Moving on to an incidentwith a more positive outcome.
Though still quite dramatic.
Let's discuss what happened with DeltaConnection Flight 48 19 On February
17th, 2025 in Toronto, a Mitsubishi CRJ 900 lr, operated by Endeavor Air,
(18:45):
a Delta subsidiary was arriving inToronto Pearson International Airport.
After departing from Minneapolis St.
Paul, the aircraft was carrying 76passengers and four crew members.
As the plane attempted to land at2:13 PM local time, it encountered
a severe winter weather conditionswith strong winds and gusts up to
(19:08):
40 miles an hour, and blowing snow.
The airport had receivedsignificant snowfall 8.7
inches over the weekend, creatingchallenging conditions on the runway way.
The Transportation Safety Board ofCanada's preliminary investigation
has revealed some critical detailsabout what happened during the
final moments before the crash.
Flight data shows the aircraft experiencedan unusually high rate of descent before
(19:31):
landing at 50 feet above the ground.
It was descending at 1,114 feet perminute, and just before touchdown, it
was still coming down at 1100 feet perminute, significantly faster than the
recommended for Safe landing operations.
Enhanced ground proximity warningsystems or E-G-P-W-S actually
(19:54):
triggered a sync rate alert just 2.6
seconds before touchdown, indicatinga dangerously rapid descent.
On top of that, the planetouchdown with a 7.1
degree right bank angle, meaningthe plane was landing significantly
to the right, placing enormousstress on the right landing gear.
During that hard landing, theright main landing gear fractured,
(20:15):
triggering a chain reaction.
First, the landing gear foldedinto the retracted position.
Then the wing fractured betweenthe fuselage and the landing gear.
Finally, the right wing completelydetached from the aircraft releasing
jet fuel that immediately caught fire.
This sequence of structuralfailures caused the aircraft to
flip completely upside down beforecoming to a rest just off the runway.
(20:41):
What makes this story remarkable is thatdespite the violent crash in subsequent
fire, all 80 people on board survived.
That is completely nuts.
All 80 people it is bothupside down and on fire also.
It is on fire.
That's, that's just completely insane.
(21:04):
Passengers described the terrifyingexperience of being suspended
upside down in their seat belts likebats as they waited to evacuate.
21 people were hospitalized,including two with serious injuries.
The evacuation was particularlychallenging since passengers had to
release their seat belts while suspendedupside down, and some were sprayed with
(21:24):
both jet fuel and fire retardant foam.
During the escape process, quick actionby the flight attendants ensured a safe
evacuation through emergency exits.
Despite the aircraft's inverted position,fire crews rapidly extinguished the
flames, while passengers made theirway to safety, one of the main areas
that TSB is now focusing on is thecruises experience and decision making.
(21:47):
The captain had been with EndeavorAir since 2007 and had 3,570
logged flight hours while the firstofficer hired in January, 2024.
Had 1422.3
total flight hours.
That's really important to note.
Do the math there, that'sso significantly less.
(22:09):
Yes.
When did our, you said thepilot had how many hours?
The captain.
Yeah.
Captain had 3,570 flight hoursand had been with them since
2007, so almost 20 years.
Mm-hmm.
And had less than 4,000 flight hours.
(22:30):
Yeah.
And when you picture that in comparisonto some of our or other stories where
people had 11,000 hours of fly time intheir 20 year careers, I mean, that is.
A big difference.
It's, it's worth noting.
Delta Airlines has offered $30,000compensation to each passenger as a
goodwill gesture, acknowledging thetraumatic experience they endured.
(22:53):
I certainly wouldn't wanna fly againafter that, at least for a few months.
Yeah.
I wonder, how that would, impact me.
I don't know.
The incident highlights the importanceof aircraft design, crashworthiness
and crew training, and ensuringsurvival during such emergencies.
The ongoing investigation will likelyresult in recommendations regarding
(23:16):
landing procedures in severe cross windconditions and potentially structural
improvements to the CRJ aircraftfamily our final story happened just
a few weeks ago on March 13th, 2025,involving American Airlines flight.
10 0 6 involving American AirlinesFlight 10 0 6 a Boeing 7 3 7 800 with 172
(23:40):
passengers and six crew members aboard.
Now here is why I wanted toinclude this particular story.
One, it's crazy.
So that's good, but two.
This is the flight that I takemultiple times a month there.
(24:00):
I would bet a hundred bucks right now thatI have been on this plane because I fly
Colorado Springs to Dallas Fort Worth.
American Airlines.
That's my flight that I dotwo to three times a month.
Ooh, the odds.
And what's so funny is this particularweek I just decided to fly Southwest.
(24:25):
They started doing a flightfrom Colorado Springs to love.
Which is also in Dallas, but it is notobviously Dallas-Fort Worth airport.
And a bunch of my coworkers arelike, oh man, you'll love, love.
It's this cute small airport.
You should try it out.
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
So just by chance this exact week, Idecided to, for the first time in my life.
(24:49):
Do the Southwest flight instead ofthe American Airlines flight Folks,
I hope you think that that's asfascinating as I do, because one of the
crazy things about aviation disasterstories is that the circumstances
that all had to happen for those exactpeople to be on that exact plane.
(25:11):
That is significant and I, I dothink about that quite often.
So here's one where you know, I justhappened to not be on this flight.
Okay, so here we go.
The flight departed from ColoradoSprings Airport at 4:52 PM
headed to Dallas-Fort Worth.
About 20 minutes into the flight,the crew reported engine vibrations,
(25:36):
prompting them to divert to nearbyDenver International Airport, and I
have had that exact diversion happenbefore I've been diverted to DIA.
The aircraft landed safely at 5:15 PM andat first it seemed that the incident would
end as a routine precautionary diversion.
(25:59):
However, as the plane taxi to gate C38, the right engine caught fire, boom.
It's on fire, and I almost always siton the right side of the plane just by.
Just by habit.
It's so fascinating.
All of this.
Here we go.
(26:20):
Thick black smoke.
It is rapidly engulfing theaircraft, forcing an emergency.
Evacuation while still on the tarmac.
Yes, you are getting your butt outof the, I don't care where you are.
Get your butt out of that plane.
It is on fire.
The NTSB had sent two investigators toexamine the incident with a preliminary
(26:40):
report expected within 30 days.
So I'll give you what we've gotright now, but we are not 30
days out from this incident.
Not quite yet.
Through this investigation, even thoughit's , in the early stages, there are
several key findings that have emerged.
The flight crew reported highengine vibrations before diverting.
(27:05):
Right, which suggests amechanical issue was developing.
During the flight.
There are unconfirmed reports.
This is unconfirmed of an oil or fuelleakage that may have ignited as the plane
reached the gate though investigatorsagain have not confirmed this detail.
(27:28):
Alleged.
One puzzling aspect that investigatorsare examining is why the fire
appeared only after the plane hadlanded and taxied to the gate.
This is interesting.
And we don't, we don'tsee this very often.
I, of course, am immediately thinkingof race cars that catch on fire,
(27:51):
and Zach and I have owned race carsthat have gone on fire one time.
It happened one time.
Zach did technically blowit out with his mouth.
We did not fuse a fire extinguisher, sothat that does qualify as a baby fire.
Uh, but I've also been witnessto real fires at track days.
Typically what happens isthe car gets extremely hot.
(28:15):
And then there is some sort of fluidthat leaks and causes a fire that is typ.
It's not always, but thatis typically what happens.
There's a lot of fluids involvedin, in transportation things,
airplanes, cars, what have you.
And uh, if there is a crack orsome sort of break in a fuel line,
(28:39):
for example, uh, big boom, boom.
The timing suggests the problemmay have been exasperated by the
engine's idle state, or changingthermal conditions after landing.
I don't know, I'm not the mechanicsthat's the mechanic, but this, this is
kind of an interesting puzzle that Ithink investigators are gonna have to.
(29:04):
Untangle ground crews respondedvery quickly using a dry chemical
fire cart to extinguish the flames.
However, questions have been raisedabout why fire crews were not on site
when the plane landed, despite thecrew having reported engine issues.
(29:24):
I am just saying that was notedin a couple different things.
, what I will say is that, doesn'tit make sense to have a
firetruck on site at all airports
I just go back to, I always goback to racing because that's
like our high stakes thing and we.
Always have a fire truck andand fire crew on site with us,
(29:45):
and we're just racing cars.
We're not even flying planes.
Passengers evacuated onto the left wingof the aircraft, which is good because
the right one's on fire, smoke and flameswere billowing from the right engine.
Ground crews quickly brought slidesand ladders to help passengers
descend from the wing to the ground.
Several passengers later described.
(30:06):
The terrifying experience of standingon the wing amid the billowing smoke.
Uncertain if the fire would spread tothe fuel tanks just as I was saying
earlier, fuel plus fire make boom, boom.
12 people were taken to hospitalswith minor injuries, primarily
(30:27):
from the evacuation process itself.
Fortunately.
All of the passengers werereleased from the hospital.
No serious injuries were reported.
I mean, everybody gotoff that plane safely.
The nts B's ongoing investigationis focused on several key areas.
Determining the exact cause of the enginefire is a biggie, examining the aircraft's
(30:53):
maintenance history and pre-flight checks,analyzing the evacuation procedures.
And the passenger behavior during theincident, which obviously they have to do.
If like people are going to thehospital from the evacuation, you gotta
figure out what the hell happened.
And investigating the timing of the firedetection and the emergency response.
(31:16):
Investigators are gathering evidence.
You know what they're doing.
They're getting that flight data, they areinterviewing the crew maintenance records.
They are trying to figure outwhat the hell happened here.
And, , this incident is part of aseries of aviation incidents that have
(31:36):
absolutely rocked the media, recently.
And there was actually a story thatcame out today, about, Heathrow.
Airport.
Today at London's Heathrow Airport,there was an insane power outage due to
a substation, which I know about becauseI work in the data center industry, and
(32:02):
that is data centers need power, and sosubstations are like our best friends.
, and the fire caused a power outage.
The power outage impacted theairport, and obviously without
power, an airport can't function.
So they had backup generators thatwere, , trying to do their thing.
(32:23):
But to.
Power an entire airport on backupgenerators is completely bonkers.
So this was a major disruptionfor the airline industry.
There were big time, bigtime flight disruptions.
If you were trapped at Heathrow,if you were diverted away from
Heathrow, now you know why?
(32:46):
It was a massive fire thatcaused a power outage.
And it is one of the busiestairports in the world.
I read somewhere, they expectedover 210,000 people to be in and
outta that airport on that day.
That wraps up our coverage ofthe major aviation incidents
from the first quarter of 2025.
(33:09):
While the number of accidentsthis quarter is statistically
consistent with previous years.
The high profile nature of several ofthese incidents has certainly brought
aviation safety into the spotlight.
It is still worth noting,Zach, that even with these very
recent crazy banana stories.
(33:32):
Flight is still the safest formof transportation statistically.
So, , go ahead and get on your plane.
Take that flight.
I fly in two days and thenI fly like every single week
for the next eight weeks.
And you know, it's, it iswhat it is, it's still safe.
That being said, each of these accidentslead to important investigations, that
(33:55):
further airline safety and that, youknow, is really, really important.
And we will be back next week withanother aviation disaster story.
Our normal podcast willreturn and then at the end of.
Q2, we'll be back with anotheraviation news roundup and, hopefully
(34:21):
we have fewer insane stories to tell.
I feel like this was crazy.
Planes upside down planes on fire.
It's, that's heavy.
That's some stuff.
Until then.
Remember to stow your tray tables,fasten your seat belts, and prepare
(34:42):
for the unexpected because not everytrip reaches its final destination.
Goodbye.
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