Episodes

On this episode of AvTalk, we follow the NTSB’s thread as the agency holds two days of investigative hearings on the crash of UPS flight 2976, the MD-11 that crashed in Louisville after one of its engines separated from the wing. The FAA issues its first official response to the NTSB’S safety recommendations following the 2025 DCA mid-air collisions. And the NTSB calls for more realistic training of smoke in the cockpit scenarios after a 2023 incident. A Croatia Airlines A220 suffers a runway e...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, we’re joined by Nomadic Aviation Group co-founder Steve Giordano to talk about what happens when you suddenly need to move dozens of aircraft in a very short amount of time. Steve and his crew have spent the past two weeks bringing former Spirit Airlines aircraft to the desert for storage following the collapse of the airline on May 2nd. What does it take to make sure those aircraft can be legally, safely, and efficiently moved from wherever they ended up when t...

This week’s episode of AvTalk takes us from the highest highs to the lowest lows of the aviation industry. We begin with a major announcement mere minutes before our recording as AirAsia orders 150 A220s in a new, denser cabin configuration. Spirit Airlines succumbs to its long running financial difficulties and ceases operations. Newly released documents provide insight into the crash of a China Eastern 737 in 2022. And video from this week’s incident involving a China Eastern A350 in Shanghai ...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, the NTSB’s preliminary report on the crash at La Guardia Airport in New York lays out the avenues of investigation and spurs the Port Authority to action. FedEx says it will put the MD-11 back into service in May, but the FAA still needs to weigh in. US low cost carriers are pitching the government on a $2.5 billion support package, while Spirit negotiates separately for an increasingly unlikely $500 million loan. Alaska Airlines launches its first European ser...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, Europe’s jet fuel supplies run low while airlines cut flights as we transition into the summer season. We’re joined by Steven Fox from NATS to learn more about how the UK’s air navigation service provider prepares for the influx of summer flights. TCAS plays an important role in the nature of our discussions as we discuss safety margins rather than mid-air collisions. And pilots of a Lufthansa flight act well before a situation in Bogota becomes unsafe. The ba...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, we make our annual trek to Hamburg for the Aircraft Interiors Expo where Jason is joined once again by PaxEx.aero’s Seth Miller. Buttons, buttons, and more buttons The Skynook concept American Airlines celebrates its 100th anniversary with a special flight and a new set of trading cards, while Lufthansa celebrates its 100th anniversary with a cabin crew strike. Many publications jumped on news this week that United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby suggested a merger ...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, we make a special trip to space and await Artemis II’s return to Earth. A tenuous cease fire in Iran leads to the first airspace re-openings, but a lack of jet fuel is affecting airports in Asia and Europe. US airlines are hiking bag fees across the board and United Airlines is introducing basic premium fares. And in Brisbane, one particular jet bridge really had it out for a pair of 737s. Helpful links for this week’s episode How NASA’s Optical Communication...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, airlines—and entire countries—outside of the Middle East are facing a reckoning as the high price and impending unavailability of fuel. The FAA is making changes to approaches in San Francisco, reducing the arrival rate even further than planned runway construction already will. A Delta A330 suffers an uncontained engine failure departing São Paulo. Major leadership changes are coming at Air Canada and IndiGo and Jason nominates Ian for IATA director general. A...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, we discuss what we know so far about the collision between flight AC8646 and an airport fire truck at New York’s La Guardia Airport. We walk through the sequence of events provided by the NTSB and analyze some of the initial areas where investigators are focusing their efforts. In Los Angeles, Jason is joined by Ned Russell and Jon Ostrower to recap the news from United Airlines’ big reveal, including new aircraft configurations, features, and a new aircraft nam...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, more updates on the war in the Middle East, including the mid-air collision between two US Air Force KC-135s and an Iranian drone attack on a fuel facility next to Dubai International Airport. We take a gander at some wildlife related accidents and Atlas Air places the largest A350F order so far. A Tunisian appeals court increases the sentences of two airline executives convicted in hiring fraud. And LEGO is ready with another aviation set that we can’t wait to ...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, updates on the war in the Middle East and the widening effects on the aviation industry. We cover the new airspace restrictions in Azerbaijan, additional rescue flights by airlines in the region, and the pressing problem of skyrocketing fuels costs around the world. Also on this week’s episode, Air India Express loses a nose wheel in Phuket, while IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers abruptly resigns. Auditors in South Korea explain why the ILS antenna in Muan was construct...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, we discuss the US-Israeli attack on Iran and Iranian response with an eye on the effects on commercial aviation. Airspace closures, flight cancellations, reroutes, diversions, and how airlines are coping with the rapid changes. Also on this week’s episode, another emergency evacuation with passengers carrying their baggage, the FAA steps in between United and American in Chicago, investigators issue their final report on LATAM’s 2024 inflight upset, and Lufthan...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, after passing unanimously in the Senate, the US House of Representatives votes down the aviation safety-focused ROTOR Act, which was championed by the NTSB, pilots’ unions, and families of the victims of last year’s mid-air collision in Washington DC. The House will now turn to an alternate bill, the ALERT Act. We break down the differences between the bills and reaction to Tuesday’s vote. Elsewhere, Spirit Airlines says it has a plan to emerge from bankruptcy,...

Plenty to discuss on this week’s episode of AvTalk: More clarity on what exactly led to the closure of airspace above El Paso last week A United Airlines flight from Lagos experiences an extraordinary series of events (UA613 leg 1 | UA613 leg 2) ANA op...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, Ian is joined by Ned Russell in the studio as Jason and Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren report from their outpost in the Caribbean. We try to understand what happened in El Paso on Wednesday morning and offer some thoughts on the FAA administrator’s actions to close airspace around the city. Cuba says it is out of jet fuel. This has led to flight cancellations by some airlines, but a few seem to still be able to top up before returning home. Lufthansa pilots strike for be...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, the FAA finalizes the rule mandating 25-hour recordings on cockpit voice recorders. Confusion ensues after President Trump says he’s decertifying “Canadian made” aircraft. Air India and Indian investigators probe a fuel cutoff switch incident aboard a Boeing 787 in London. And the Singapore Air Show brings some interesting orders. Thank you for listening! Whether this is your first episode of AvTalk or you’ve listened to every single episode, we appreciate you...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk: The NTSB holds its board meeting to determine the probable cause of the mid-air collision above the Potomac River last January UPS announces it has retired its MD-11 fleet A Bombardier business jet crashes attempting t...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, the US issues a set of NOTAMs warning of military activity in a large swath of the North Pacific. The NTSB issues an update on the UPS MD-11 crash, focusing on additional materials analysis performed on a bearing from the engine pylon mount. An ATR 42 operating for the Indonesian government crashes while attempting to land in Makassar. And a United A321neo loses a nose wheel during a hard landing in Orlando. Plus, you could be the proud new owner of a VIP config...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, Boeing and Airbus report their final tallies for orders and deliveries in 2025 and it was Boeing’s best year since 2018. Allegiant is buying Sun Country in a shake up of the ultra low-cost market in the US. Delta comes full circle and orders up to 60 787s. And a pair of reports from British accident investigators highlight the importance of good procedure on the flight deck. Helpful links for this week’s episode * Air France flight 191 * Allegiant announcemen...

We begin the year with a mess in Amsterdam as more than 3,000 flights have been canceled at the airport this week following snow storms and a long list of operational problems. We look at the impact on civil aviation from the US military action in Venezuela last weekend. Kazakhstan investigators issue an update on their investigation into Azerbaijan Airlines flight 8243. We delve into a wide variety of regulatory updates, including another round of radio altimeter updates because of 5G mobile d...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, we’re beginning 2026 by looking back at a pair of our favorite conversations from 2025. Throughout the year, we focused a lot on the seemingly unending stream of news and what it meant for the aviation industry,

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, a pair of incidents involving civilian aircraft and military aircraft without active transponders operating in Curaçao’s airspace sounds a bit too familiar. We discuss the events from the last week and the state of airspace in the southern Caribbean. NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy had choice words for Congress after legislation weakening airspace protections put in place in the wake of January’s crash in Washington DC passed as part of the NDAA. But the Senate has...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, Ian and Jason return from their respective travels to survey this week’s news. We return to India where IndiGo’s meltdown last week left the government none-too-pleased with the airline. In the US, Peraton gets the nod as the FAA’s prime integrator for ATC modernization. Boeing completes its acquisition of Spirit Aerosystems (with Airbus picking up some pieces too). A quickly fixed typo in a Qantas computer started a chain of events that resulted in a 737 takin...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, Ian is joined by new Flightradar24 crew member Daniel Gustafsson in the Flightradar24 offices in Stockholm, while Jason finishes his journey through Japan’s cat cafes. We walk through the current NOTAMs affecting flights in and around Venezuela, as well as some of the unofficial pronouncements made with regard to Venezuelan airspace. We also discuss new reporting on the rift between the NTSB and India’s AAIB regarding the investigation of AI171. Airbus A320 fam...