The Black Box Aviation Podcast

In this episode of the Black Box Aviation Podcast, Tom & Mike take a deep dive into one of the most shocking tragedies in modern aviation: the Germanwings Flight 9525 crash. On March 24, 2015, an Airbus A320 was intentionally brought down by its first officer, killing all on board. We break down the timeline, the cockpit voice recordings, and the critical lessons learned from this heartbreaking event.

But that’s not all—we also ...

Buckle up for an Episode of the Black Box Aviation Podcast as Tom & Mike take you behind the cockpit door for an action-packed discussion on the latest in aviation.

✈️ Main Topics:
✅ GPS Jamming & Aviation Safety – How modern warfare tech is now disrupting civilian aviation and what pilots do when GPS fails.
✅ Air Rage Epidemic – Why unruly passenger incidents are skyrocketing, shocking stories from real flights (including a H...

What really happens after the jet parks at the gate? In Episode 29 of the Black Box Aviation Podcast, we bring back the “Day in the Life” series — but this time we go beyond the cockpit and deep into hotel layovers, crew routines, unexpected travel perks (like free bacon!), and the realities of life on the road as an airline pilot.

Tom & Mike open up about:
✈️ Navigating FAA Part 117 rest rules
🥓 Free bacon and late-night...

In Hot Topic #9 of The Black Box Aviation Podcast, Tom & Mike dive into the haunting story of Northwest Orient Flight 2501, a DC-4 lost over Lake Michigan in 1950 during a violent storm—becoming the deadliest aviation accident in U.S. history at the time. With chilling similarities to modern incidents, and a 75-year mystery that ends not with discovery, but with surrender, this episode explores low-level icing, microbursts, and...

In Episode 28 of the Black Box Aviation Podcast, Tom & Mike dive deep into the just-released preliminary report on Air India Flight 171, the tragic 787 crash out of Ahmedabad. What initially looked like a puzzle of flap settings, weather, and electrical theories now zeroes in on a chilling cockpit moment: both engines lost power after the fuel cutoff switches were mysteriously triggered just seconds after takeoff. Was it mechan...

It’s a jam-packed episode of the Black Box Aviation Podcast with Tom & Mike, where we talk aviation, airlines, travel chaos, grilling food, and the wild world of airline policy. This week we dig into everything from 4th of July cookout trends to TSA controversies, historic crashes, and whether Southwest Airlines is losing its soul.

Here’s what’s on the flight plan:

🌭 4th of July Food & Fireworks Mayhem
From baby back ribs...

Welcome to another episode of the Black Box Aviation Podcast, where we talk all things aviation, flying, travel — and the occasional wild conspiracy. Your hosts Tom & Mike are back with stories from the road, industry news, and an unsolved mystery from aviation history.

Here’s what we dive into this week:
🇺🇸 4th of July in the Airline World — Why holiday pay isn’t always guaranteed, contract frustrations, and how the system...

Welcome to Hot Topic #8 on the Black Box Aviation Podcast with your hosts Tom & Mike, where we break down the latest and most pressing events in aviation. Today’s episode takes a hard look at the tragic Air India crash involving a Boeing 787 that went down on June 12th shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad en route to London.

We examine:

• The sequence of events captured on video, including the unusually high angle of attack, ge...

Welcome back to the Black Box Aviation Podcast with your hosts Tom & Mike, where we dive into all things aviation, travel, and the stories that come with life in the skies.

This week we kick things off with our review of the Netflix documentary “Air Force Elite: Thunderbirds” — our takeaways, the behind-the-scenes reality of these elite aviators, and how this film stacks up to the Blue Angels docs we've seen before. Spoiler ...

Welcome back to the Black Box Aviation Podcast with Tom & Mike — where we break down the latest in aviation, travel, and everything you need to know about life in the skies.

This episode is a full plate! We start with the Hot Topic — the Air India incident — and we’re currently working to bring in a safety expert to go even further. We also dissect a JetBlue A220 landing incident at BOS in strong crosswinds, a dramatic heavy lan...

Strap in for Hot Topic #7 on the Black Box Aviation Podcast with Tom & Mike! This week, we’re going back to basics with a beginner-friendly walkthrough of a standard traffic pattern—something every pilot in training will experience on their first flight toward earning a Private Pilot License (PPL).

With Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) Mike sharing real-world insights from thousands of instructional hours, we break down the ent...

Welcome back to The Black Box Aviation Podcast, where Tom & Mike take you through everything from fighter jet flight plans to sushi near train stations in Tokyo.

In this episode, we kick things off with Navy sweatshirts and golf tournaments, touch on Greta Thunberg’s headline-making arrest, and revisit the mystery of D.B. Cooper. Listener Bentley (not the car, but close!) asks how pilots really get weather updates—prompting a fu...

In Hot Topic #7, we dive into the future of flight: Sustainable Aviation. From contrails and carbon to biofuels and bizarre theories, this episode explores what’s really going on up there.

We break down:
✈️ How much aviation contributes to global greenhouse gas emissions
🌫️ Why contrails matter more than you think
🛢️ What sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is—and who’s actually using it
💡 Airline efforts from United to D...

Tom’s back from a monster trip across the globe, and he’s got stories to prove it—Shanghai customs chaos, underground Rolex deals with a scooter locker twist, executive lounge mochi mishaps, and a VIP connection in the infamous Fake Market. Plus, Mike teases an upcoming guest who’ll give us the controller’s-eye view of air traffic misunderstandings (and BBQ complaints).

We answer listener Jameson’s question about the current status ...

In this week’s Hot Topic, we’re revisiting one of the most tragic and influential accidents in U.S. aviation history: American Airlines Flight 191, the catastrophic DC-10 crash just moments after takeoff from Chicago O’Hare on May 25, 1979.

This wasn’t just a terrible accident—it was a turning point. In this episode, we dive deep into:
✈️ Personal Memories – Flying the DC-10, the 727, and now the MD-11
🧰 The Maintenance Misst...

In this high-flying episode of The Black Box Aviation Podcast, we’re diving into one of the most mysterious unsolved cases in aviation history—the legend of DB Cooper.

On November 24, 1971, a man in a modest suit boarded a Northwest Orient Airlines 727 in Portland, Oregon. He handed a note to a flight attendant, claimed he had a bomb, demanded $200,000 in cash, parachutes, and a flight to Mexico... and then disappeared—literally—int...

In this weeks episode, we’re globe-trotting and diving deep! This week’s episode is packed with travel tales, listener scenarios, and the latest in aviation headlines. Buckle up—it’s a wild ride across continents and cruising altitudes.

✈️ Captain's Log: Asia Edition
Your host is heading off on a massive trip across Asia and shares how curiosity, ambition—and a little fatigue—can make or break your layover adventures. Hear ab...

In this powerful Hot Topic Briefing #4, we mark the 29th anniversary of ValuJet Flight 592, which tragically crashed into the Florida Everglades on May 11, 1996, killing all 110 souls aboard. This episode dives deep into the accident, the systemic failures behind it, and how its legacy reshaped aviation safety forever.

We’ll explore:
✈️ The story of ValuJet, the ultra-low-cost airline that cut corners to stay profitable
🔥 How...

This week on The Black Box Aviation Podcast, Tom is back from training with a flight bag full of stories. From shooting RNP .2 approaches to trying out the tricky Newark Stadium Visual Runway 29, it was anything but routine. After delays in Newark reroute his trip, Tom finds himself sprinting through DTW, dealing with valet bag failures, and navigating late-night hotel decisions—at a place that may or may not have had a dead flight...