Aviation News Roundup - Q2 2025

Join Alice and Zach for another quarterly roundup of recent aviation incidents and accidents from around the world. In this second quarter edition, they explore seven significant aviation events from April through June 2025, including a devastating air traffic control crisis that paralyzed Newark Airport, a tragic Air India crash that became one of India's deadliest aviation disasters, multiple fatal crashes in California, a helicopter disaster over the Hudson River, Boeing's controversial legal settlement over the 737 MAX crashes, and Pan Am's surprising return to the skies as a luxury travel experience.

SOURCES:

Newark Airport ATC Outages:

• "Following Newark Airport Blackouts, Blumenthal Calls on Trump Administration to Step Up and Protect the Flying Public" - Senator Richard Blumenthal's Office
• "A Newark Air Traffic Controller on the Moment Systems Went Dark" - NPR
• "Newark Airport Air Traffic Controllers Radar Outage Planes" - CNBC
• "Air Traffic Control Denver FAA" - The New York Times
• "FAA Investigating After Newark Air Traffic Control Suffered Two Second Outage" - Reuters
• "Newark Airport Outage Monday" - CNN
• "FAA Statements Newark Liberty International Airport" - Federal Aviation Administration

Air India Flight 171 Crash:

• "Air India jet crash kills 246 people, with at least 1 passenger surviving: Officials" - ABC News
• "LIVE | Air India flight crash in Ahmedabad: 241 people on board dead; one miracle survivor, says police" - The New Indian Express
• "Man Who Survived Air India Plane Crash Was Able to Describe the Tragedy from His Hospital Bed" - People Magazine

San Diego Cessna Citation II Crash (Murphy Canyon):

• "2025 San Diego Cessna Citation II crash" - Wikipedia
• "Cessna 550 Citation Crashes into Murphy Canyon Neighbourhood San Diego May 22 2025" - Ramos Law
• "San Diego plane crash" - CNN
• "Victims identified in fatal San Diego plane crash" - KPBS
• "Music agent Shapiro among six killed Citation crash" - AIN Online
• "Jet crashed neighborhood now live dread active flight path" - NBC News

San Diego Cessna 414 Crash (Point Loma):

• "Six were killed when small plane crashed off San Diego coast, FAA" - NBC San Diego
• "All 6 victims in plane crash off coast of Point Loma identified" - 10News
• "Six killed in plane crash near San Diego" - Aviation A2Z
• "Search underway for six passengers after plane crash near Point Loma coast guard leads multi agency rescue efforts" - Hoodline
• "Plane crash San Diego ocean Cessna NTSB" - Associated Press

Hudson River Helicopter Crash:

• "2025 Hudson River helicopter crash" - Wikipedia
• "Hudson River helicopter crash" - CNN
• "Hudson River helicopter crash NTSB preliminary report" - CBS News
• "Hudson helicopter crash what we know" - CNN International
• "Helicopter fatal New York crash lacked flight recorders NTSB says" - Reuters
• "Hudson River helicopter crash" - BBC News
• "Hudson River helicopter crash" - The New York Times
• "Helicopter rotor retrieved Hudson River days after deadly" - ABC News

Boeing 737 MAX Settlement:

• "Boeing won't face criminal prosecution over fatal 737 Max crashes" - USA Today
• "Boeing Justice Department 737 max plane crashes charges deal" - NPR
• "United States v Boeing Company" - U.S. Department of Justice
• "Boeing reaches deal with US DOJ to avoid prosecution over 737 max crashes" - Al Jazeera
• "Justice Department reaches deal to allow Boeing to avoid prosecution over 737 max crashes" - MPR News
• "Boeing 737 max crashes DOJ" - CNBC
• "Boeing 737 max crashes" - The New York Times
• "Families of

Episode Transcript

(00:02):
you wrote me a script.
Lame.
Yeah.
And I'm gonna zoom inlike we're old people.
All right.
Hello, and welcome to another specialedition of Final Boarding Call.
I am your disaster obsessed host, Alice.
And I'm Zach joining Alice for our secondquarterly Aviation News Roundup for 2025.

(00:24):
Today we will walk you through seven majoraviation events from April through June,
2025, from air traffic control failuresthat nearly caused mid-air collisions to
tragic crash that killed over 240 people.
So buckle up as we review the mostsignificant and heartbreaking aviation
news from the second quarter of 2020.

(00:49):
Happy, uh, Q2.
I feel like this is evident ofmy corporate America background
because everything in corporateAmerica is measured in quarters.
So when I wrote these and youjust want that to be real life.
Yeah.
My brain was like, what's a goodway, what's a good cadence for this?
And I was like, oh, you know what?
End of quarter.

(01:09):
all right.
We begin with one of the most shockingincidents of the quarter, which occurred
right in the heart of New York Cityon April 10th, 2025 when a sightseeing
helicopter broke apart in midairand crashed into the Hudson River.
The Bell, 2 0 6 L dash four Long Rangerfour operated by New York Helicopter

(01:30):
Tours was carrying a Spanish family offive on what should have been a routine
sightseeing flight over Manhattan.
The passengers were Simon'sExecutive Augustine Escobar
Canadas his wife and their threechildren all visiting from Spain.
The helicopter departed from thedowntown Manhattan heliport at 2:59 PM

(01:52):
following the standard tourist route,circling the Statue of Liberty, then
flying North along the Hudson River,past the George Washington Bridge.
Before turning South along the NewJersey shoreline, but at 3:17 PM just
18 minutes into the flight, witnesseswatched in horror as the helicopter

(02:14):
suddenly began to disintegrate in mid air.
Eyewitness Bruce Wall described it.
It began to disintegrate amid air.
And then the tail detachedand it flipped over.
Before descending to the ground.
The helicopter crashed upside downinto the Hudson River near Jersey City.
I.
Opposite Pier 40 in New York City.

(02:36):
The fuselage landed in just five feetof water while the other components
were scattered to depths up to 75 feet.
All six people on board, the Spanishfamily and their pilot were killed.
Four were pronounced dead atthe scene and two dead later
in Jersey City Medical Center.
NYPD divers and emergency responderswork to recover all the bodies and major

(02:56):
wreckage components from the river.
The NTSB preliminary investigationconfirmed the in-flight breakup, but the
exact cause remains under investigation.
What's particularly concerning is thatthis helicopter was not equipped with
flight data or cockpit voice recorders.
Which has complicated the investigation.

(03:17):
I mean, we know this, thatblack boxes are kind of critical
in these sorts of, incidents.
They tend to matter.
Yeah, they've got all the data.
Yeah.
I mean, the aircraft had passeda major inspection in March
20, 25 and had completed sevenflights earlier that same day.
That's wild to me.

(03:38):
This crash immediately reignited thelongstanding debate about helicopter
safety over densely populated urban areas.
The FAA responded by ordering NewYork helicopter tours to suspend all
operations and announced plans toreview helicopter hotspots nationwide.
They also convened a safetysummit to address findings from

(04:01):
this and similar incidents.
Next we turn to what aviation experts arecalling one of the most dangerous series
of incidents in the US aviation history.
The air traffic control outages atNewark Liberty International Airport
in New Jersey, starting on April28th, 2025, the Philadelphia Terminal
Radar Approach Control Facility,which manages Newark's airspace,

(04:24):
experienced a catastrophic failure.
At 1:27 PM both Radar andRadio communications went
completely dark for 90 seconds.
Controllers lost the ability to see orcommunicate with at least 16 commercial
aircraft flying through one of thebusiest airspace in the country.
90 seconds sounds like nothing.
But in airspace, when you are flyingin, the busiest area is so sketchy, it's

(04:50):
really terrifying, like super duper scary.
To put this in perspective, imagine beingin a busy intersection where all of the
traffic lights suddenly go out, except ininstead of cars, it's massive passenger
jets moving at hundreds of miles per hour.
Controllers described this as, quote,the most dangerous situation you could

(05:11):
have with some bracing for what theythought would be inevitable tragedy.
The stress of this was sosevere that five controllers
had to take 45 day trauma leave.
One controller told NPR.
We were just waiting for planesto start hitting each other.
That is so scary.

(05:32):
So scary.
And while this may not technicallybe part of the episode, I love to add
this little tidbit because I've knowna couple of flight control people and
it is considered the most stressfuljob in the world with the highest
suicide rate in the entire world.
But this wasn't an isolated incident.
The problems have been ongoing since atleast 2023 with multiple serious outages

(05:55):
through throughout 2025, May 9th, another92nd blackout at 3:55 AM May 11th.
\ 45 minute ground stop onall Newark Departures due to
telecommunications failures.
May 19th radio frequencies lost for twoseconds and in mid-June, another one
second outage causing departure delays.

(06:17):
Similar outages weren't limited to Newark.
A Colorado a TC facility experienced a92nd communications blackout in mid-May,
highlighting that this was a systemicproblem affecting the national airspace.
FA, a response on and ongoing issues.
I dunno why I keep reading the bold.
It's cute.

(06:39):
I was just waiting for your name.
Oh man.
Here's my name.
Alright.
US Senator Richard Blumenthal calledthese outages events that drastically
increase the risk of mid-air collisionand undermine public confidence in
the safety of our nation's airspace.

(07:00):
And yes, I agree with that.
The timing reallycouldn't have been worse.
This was happening duringMemorial Day weekend when over 3.6
million Americans wereexpected to travel by air.
The FAA has implementedseveral emergency measures.
Flight caps were imposed.

(07:21):
And this is starting June 16th.
Newark is limited to 34 arrivals anddepartures per hour through October 25th.
There are weekend restrictions,so there's an even tighter cap of
only 28 per hour from Labor Dayweekend through the end of the year.

(07:42):
And then there wereinfrastructure upgrades.
So.
Replacing old copper telecommunicationlines with fiber optic technology.
That's that one gig internet y'all.
Oh man.
Backup systems.
So this includes establishing redundantdrink systems at Philadelphia.

(08:05):
Um, at the Philadelphia facility.
Does he see?
Does he see what we see?
Mm-hmm.
That's why I stopped you folks'cause he's about to go nuts.
Folks.
We have a very obese squirrelon the fence here that is
just taunting Benjamin Button.

(08:26):
Uh, and Benji is being surprisingly good,but we are not sure if it's gonna last.
Show down, show down.
He loves to kill squirrel.
Hm.
He does love to kill squirrel.
This showdown is very intense.
This squirrel is just straight uptaunting him, making direct eye contact.
What are you doing, squirrel?
Do you wanna die?

(08:49):
There he goes, oh bitch.
He just ran face person to the fence.
Not the most graceful jump he's ever made.
Folks.
Oh boy.
Good try, I guess.
Okay.
The final change that that wasimplemented was staffing increases.

(09:11):
So there are massive, massivecontroller shortages, and this
is really a nationwide problem.
Um, but it was exasperated by thosecontrollers that needed to take trauma
leave, so now they're already shorthanded.
You have people taking.
A very necessary trauma leave.
I am fully for that.

(09:32):
Um, but they did need to address the factthat there just weren't enough people
to read all of the controls happening.
And we are actually going totell a story in, oh gosh, I'll
probably do it this upcoming month.
'cause it's a, it's a pretty intense one.
Um, but it's a story that happens becausea control tower is really shorthanded.

(09:57):
And it ends very poorly.
Alright.
Our doggy sounds really tough on a mic.
Oh yeah.
Well, he's not, he's bigand dumb, but he's big.
What's particularly concerning is thatthese problems are expected to persist
through the end of 2025 as upgradesand staffing adjustments are completed.

(10:20):
This series of failures has exposedjust how vulnerable our aging air
traffic control systems really are,and how a shortage of certified
controllers can compound equipmentfailures into potential disasters.
Alright,
let's talk about some Cessna crashes.
And this is weird because therewere two Cessna crashes that both

(10:43):
took place in the San Diego area,so that's kind of weird to me.
California San Diego area was hit bytwo devastating general aviation crashes
within just weeks of each other, bothhighlighting the dangers of flying in
challenging conditions and the criticalimportance of pilot decision making.

(11:05):
The first tragedy occurred on May22nd, 2025 when a Cessna five 50
citation two business jet crashedinto the Murphy Canyon neighborhood.
While approaching Montgomery Gibbsexecutive airport, the aircraft was
operated by sound talent group, whichrepresents some of the biggest names

(11:25):
in rock metal and alternative music.
Band signed to sound talent groupinclude one of my favorites,
fit for a King, lamb of God.
Pierce the Veil and Ice Nine Kills.
That's my lineup.
The crash hit the musicindustry really hard because it

(11:46):
isn't just any talent agency.
It is one of the most influentialcompanies in heavy music.
Which we need more of.
Mm-hmm.
The aircraft was carrying six people ona cross country flight from New Jersey,
and what made this crash particularlytragic, was the perfect storm of
factors that came together that day.
The weather was absolutely brutal.

(12:06):
Dense fog with visibility down to just ahalf mile and a ceiling of only 200 feet.
But here's what made it even worse.
Critical airport equipmenthad been down for years.
Yeah.
The nts B'S preliminary reportreleased on June 18th, 2025
revealed some shocking details.

(12:27):
The runway alignment indicator lights,the RAI lights that help pilots line
up with the runway and poor visibility.
Had been out of servicesince March 28th, 2022.
That is over three years of pilotshaving to land at this airport without

(12:47):
this very critical safety equipment.
Even worse, the airport's automatedsurface observing system or a
os, which provides real-timeweather information to pilots.
Was also out of service that day,so pilots couldn't get accurate up
to date weather conditions for theairport that they were trying to land

(13:10):
at the pilot, Dave Shapiro, who wasalso the co-founder of Sound Talent
Group, was informed by air trafficcontrol about these equipment failures.
He acknowledged that he was awareof the as os being down and even
discussed alternative airport optionsin case he had to abort the approach.

(13:32):
But he never actually declaredan alternate airport to,
uh, air traffic control.
Dave Shapiro wasn't just a musicexecutive, he was also a musician himself.
He was the drummer and founder of,he was the drummer and a founding
member of the pop punk ska band.
Count the Stars before transitioninginto the business side of the world.

(13:56):
Under his leadership soundtalent group became a powerhouse
in the rock and metal world.
Also, on the plane was Daniel Williams,former drummer of the Devil Wears Prada.
He was 36 years old andhad been with the band.
For years before movingon to other projects.
The NTSB report revealed crucial detailsabout those final, terrifying moments.

(14:18):
The jet was flying dangerouslylow at approximately 1,190
feet when it was still 2.9
nautical miles from the airport.
For comparison, it should have been muchhigher at that distance from the runway.
The aircraft continued descendinguntil it was between 90 and 95

(14:38):
feet above the ground when itactually struck power lines.
The main wreckage was found about 200feet from the initial impact point,
but the debris field stretched,uh, over more than a mile, showing
just how violent this crash was.

(14:58):
All six people on board were killed.
Dave Shapiro, pilot and SoundTalent Group, co-founder Emma Huke
Sound Talent Group employee KendallFortner, sound Talent Group employee.
Selena Kenyon.
Photographer Dominic.
Damien was a software engineerand Daniel Williams, the former
drummer of Double Wear's Prada.

(15:19):
The crash ignited multiple fires,consuming or damaging 10 to 15
homes and forcing the evacuationof about a hundred residents.
Eight people on the ground wereinjured though miraculously, there
were no other ground fatalities.
Yeah, that's.
S pretty nuts.
Um, what's particularly heartbreakingis that Shapiro was legally allowed
to attempt this approach under privateflight rules, even with the terrible

(15:44):
weather and the equipment failure.
Just two weeks later, another tragedystruck San Diego's aviation community
when a Cessna 4 1 4 crashed into thePacific Ocean, just three miles west of
Point Loma, killing all six people aboardthe aircraft had just departed San Diego
International airport bound for Phoenixwhen things went catastrophically wrong.

(16:05):
Almost immediately, the pilotland in Baldwin from Arizona
radioed air traffic control.
That he was struggling to maintain.
Heading at an altitude . A DSB data showedthe aircraft entered a descending left
turn, losing 1900 feet in just 13 seconds.
Oh man.

(16:25):
That's a lot of drop really quickly.
That's a lot of drop really quickly.
Despite briefly climbing, again,the aircraft continued, displaying
erratic altitude and heading changes.
Multiple mayday calls were issued beforethe plane impacted the ocean surface.
Just six minutes after takeoff, all sixvictims were from Arizona's Gah Valley.

(16:50):
All six victims were from Arizona's GilaValley area, Landon Baldwin, the pilot,
Tory Baldwin, Landon's wife, JeremyBingham, and his three adult sons, Aiden,
Gavin and Bailey Bingham, um, who wereclose family friends to the Baldwins.

(17:10):
The US Coast Guard launched a majorsearch and recovery operation, but the
aircraft went down in 200 feet of watermaking recovery extremely challenging.
The Coast Guard suspended thesearch on June 10th, 2025.
Due to the depth and lack of recoverabledebris, the wreckage remains submerged.
And the NTSB has not yet.
Traveled to the crash site.

(17:32):
These back-to-back crashes in SanDiego have renewed intense scrutiny on
general aviation safety, particularlyregarding pilot decision making in
challenging weather conditions, andthe critical importance of maintaining
aircraft control during emergencies.
Both investigations remain ongoingwith preliminary reports expected to

(17:56):
provide more insights into what wentso tragically wrong in each case.
Now we turn to what appears tobe one of the deadliest aviation
disasters in recent years.
The crash of Air India Flight1 71 on June 12th, 2025.
This Boeing 7 8 7 8 Dreamliner wasdeparting from Ahed Abba India.

(18:21):
Bound for London Gatwick with 230passengers and 12 crew members aboard
the passenger manifest was heartbreaking.
169 Indian Nationals, 53 BritishNationals, seven Portuguese
nationals, one Canadian.
Among them were 14 children.
Including two infants.

(18:42):
Yeah, it's, it'sunbelievably heartbreaking.
At 1:38 PM local time, theaircraft began its takeoff roll.
Just minutes later, everythingwent catastrophically wrong.
The plane reached only 825 feetof altitude before the pilots
issued a mayday call and lostcontact with air traffic control.

(19:05):
What happened next wasjust kind of unbelievable.
The aircraft crashed into the Tuum Flats,a residential complex that served as
staff quarters for BJ Medical Collegethe impact created a massive fireball and
explosion that could be seen for miles.

(19:30):
The death toll is staggering.
242 people on board were killed, plusan additional 75 people on the ground,
including the medical students whowere having lunch in the college,
hostile when the plane struck.
But there was one miracle, a 40-year-oldBritish National named Vish Wash Kumar
Ramesh, seated in 11 a, somehow survived.

(19:54):
He told reporters from his hospital bed,30 seconds after takeoff, there was a loud
noise, and then the plane crashed When Igot up, there were bodies all around me.
I was scared.
I stood up and ran.
Ramesh had been visiting family in Indiawith his brother aj, who didn't survive.
He reportedly escaped by jumping throughan emergency window, sustaining serious

(20:20):
injuries to his chest, eyes and feet.
The investigation is ongoing, butearly reports suggest a possible
bird strike may have been involved.
The aircraft carried 125,000 litersof Fuel and Union Home Minister.
Amit Shah said the temperature from theburning fuel was so intense that no rescue

(20:42):
was possible for those trapped inside.
This disaster has prompted calls formajor aviation safety reforms across India
and highlighted the risks aircraft faceduring critical takeoff phase of flight.
Alright, before we wrap up,there's one lighter story from

(21:03):
this quarter that aviationenthusiasts have been talking about.
And that is the return of PanAm to the skies, though not in
the way that you might expect.
In July, 2025, a Boeing 7 57 200painted in Pan AM's iconic blue and

(21:23):
white livery departed from New York'sJFK Airport on a 12 day luxury journey
called tracing the Trans Atlantic.
This was not a revival of Pan Am asa commercial airline, but rather a
carefully orchestrated, nostalgiadriven travel experience that pays

(21:45):
tribute to the legendary brand.
The charter jet operated by Iceland Aircarried just 50 passengers on a journey.
Retracing, historic Pan-Am routeswith stops in Bermuda, Lisbon, Marcel.
London and Shannon Ireland.

(22:08):
The experience was designed to evoke theglamor of Pan AM's Golden Age, complete
with a recreated flight attendantuniform, and stays at luxury hotels.
These exclusive trips are operatedby luxury travel companies like.
Criterion Travel and barlings.
Under official licensing from Pan AmBrands with all business class seating

(22:33):
and curated experiences, includingmuseum visits and themed dinners.
Passengers paid between60,060 $5,000 per person.
It's insane.
Oh my gosh.
I just want it for thenostalgia I have the money.
Doesn't matter.

(22:54):
That's a lot to pay for nostalgia.
Like buy a classic Coca-Cola.
I have the money.
I dunno what to tell you.
$65,000.
Okay.
Looking ahead.
PanAm Global Holdings has announcedplans for a three week round the

(23:17):
world itinerary starting in SanFrancisco, tracing Pacific routes.
The company is also exploring moreambitious plans, including the
possibility of relaunching Pan Amas a scheduled commercial airline
in partnership with AviationConsultancy, a VI eight air capital.

(23:37):
Pan AM is evaluating marketopportunities, regulatory compliance,
and fleet strategies with an eyetoward underserved or historically
significant routes such as Hawaii.
While the Pan Am brand is currentlyfocused on luxury tourism, I would say
so, $65,000 and experiential travel,including potential hotels, airport

(24:04):
lounges, and themed restaurants.
The possibility of regularcommercial service remains
under serious consideration.
Mm-hmm.
Woof.
65 grand.
Take it easy.
Alright, Zach, that wraps up ourcoverage of the major aviation incidents
from the second quarter of 2025.

(24:25):
This quarter has been particularlydevastating with the Air India crash,
potentially ranking as one of thedeadliest aviation disasters in history.
And the Newark a TC failuresexposing critical vulnerabilities
in our aviation infrastructure.
And while these incidents are beyondtragic, I mean especially that Air India
one is like so heartbreaking, they alsodrive important safety improvements.

(24:49):
So that is really one of the themes ofthis podcast is like crazy shit happens.
But at the end we always talk aboutwhat gets learned, what improvements
are made, and I mean, I am sure thatfrom the Air India crash, something
big will probably come from that.
Well, like I told our daughter in the cartoday when she didn't wanna keep going

(25:12):
on math 'cause she got something wrong.
You can't learn new thingsunless something goes wrong.
That's true.
It's just really sad that abunch of people have to die.
All in the face of progress.
Oh God.
Horrible.
Okay, well we will be back next weekwith a regular scheduled episode

(25:32):
that you know you love, you tolerate.
Um, and Zach, do you actuallywanna wrap up this episode today?
If I can remember the line.
Okay.
Until then, remember tostow your tray tables.
Fasten your seat belts.
And prepare for the unexpected because notevery trip reaches its final destination.

(25:54):
Goodbye.
Goodbye.
We are the worst.
You're the worst.
I'm the best.
Love you.