Episodes

On this week’s AvTalk, a United Airlines 777’s steep dive after departure and other recent incidents lead to FAA calling for a safety summit. We dig in to what’s happened and what regulators want to do about it. We pick apart the preliminary report on the crash of Yeti Airlines flight 691 in Nepal. And Air India goes shopping, with letters of intent for more than 500 aircraft. Safety first, second, and third Last Sunday using data supplied by Flightradar24, The Air Current broke the news that ...

On this episode of AvTalk, we float through the stratosphere with a Chinese spy balloon and break down the data on multiple accidents and incidents. From FedEx and Southwest’s very close call in Austin to the Coulson 737 Fireliner crash in Western Australia to the incident involving a departing Qatar Airways 787 we just learned about, this week was a busy week—and not in a good way. Ballon go over, balloon shot down A Chinese stratospheric spy balloon floated across the United States last week...

On this week’s episode, we’re joined by The Air Current’s Jon Ostrower for a discussion about the delivery of the last Boeing 747 and Boeing’s plans for the future in Everett and beyond. Ostrower explains Boeing’s decision to begin a fourth 737 MAX production line at Everett and the recent NASA award for Boeing to build a concept aircraft with a transonic truss-braced wing. We also look at the surprisingly quick settlement between Airbus and Qatar Airways of their long-running dispute over surf...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, Boeing reports its financial results for 2022, we preview Boeing’s arraignment on fraud charges in Texas, the NTSB issues more comments on the Ethiopian 302 final report, and we learn what brought down the air traffic control system in the Philippines earlier this month. Boeing’s big week Boeing reported a full year loss, but positive free cash flow on increasingly positive order and delivery numbers. We dig in to the numbers that seem to be a bit of good news...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, we discuss the crash of Yeti Airlines flight 691, a major safety incident in New York that could have been much worse, and Gabriel Leigh sits down with John Nilsson of Swedavia to learn about what airports are doing to get ready for electric and hydrogen powered aircraft. Yeti Airlines flight 691 crashes in Pokhara A Yeti Airlines ATR 72-500 en route from Kathmandu crashed on approach to Pokhara this week. We discuss what we know so far and the status of the i...

On this episode of AvTalk, we walk through what we know (so far) about the FAA’s NOTAM system outage. And Casey Humphries from the United Network for Organ Sharing and Chris Curran of New England Donor Services join us to explain how transplant organs get from donor to recipient and the critical role played by the aviation industry. The great NOTAM outage of 2023 On Tuesday afternoon the FAA system that provides air crews and dispatchers with NOTAMs (NOtice to Air Missions) stopped working. By...

On our first episode of 2023, we see how Southwest has recovered from its meltdown; investigators issue their final report on ET302, but the NTSB and BEA have more to add; and airspace in the Philippines is recovered after a power outage closed the entire Manila FIR to flights. Southwest’s recovery Southwest Airlines’ operations returned to normal over the past week as the airline seeks to alleviate customer anger following the operational meltdown of the airline the week of Christmas. What’s ...

From people who live and breath the nuts and bolts of running an airline to journalists covering the business of aviation, our conversations took us all over the world and down more than one rabbit hole. To close out the year, we revisit some of our favorite AvTalk conversations from 2022. Flying Zero G Novespace chairman and former astronaut Jean-François Clervoy explains the physics of parabolic flights and we find out that we came very close to seeing a much different aircraft used for thes...

On this special episode of AvTalk, we’ve reproduced the audio from our video live stream episode about Southwest Airlines’ cancellations and operational meltdown that began with massive storms across the United States on 22 December and morphed into a IT infrastructure nightmare for the airline and its passengers. You can replay the video live stream […] The post AvTalk Special Episode: Southwest Airlines’ Operational Meltdown appeared first on Flightradar24 Blog.

On this episode of AvTalk, Boeing ends the year on a high note with a Congressional reprieve for the 737-7 and 737-10 certification, the return of the 777X to flight tests, and the final first flight of the mighty 747. Christmas comes early for Boeing Congress included the Cantwell amendment in the Omnibus spending bill, giving the FAA the green light to certify the 737-7 and 737-10 MAX without additional crew alerting systems. However, Boeing will be required to retrofit all MAX aircraft with...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, United orders every Boeing plane they can get their hands on, Boom announces a trio of companies it says will help build an engine for its Overture supersonic jet, and we speak with Jim Fawcett, lead Flight Test Engineer at Airbus about the 13 hour A321XLR test flight earlier this week that also drew a giant “XLR” in the sky. United orders all the planes United Airlines placed a massive order with Boeing this week for 787 and 737 MAX aircraft. The carrier orde...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, the final Boeing 747 rolls out of the factory, Airbus didn’t deliver nearly as many planes this year as they thought they would, and Gabriel Leigh talks to Air Greenland CEO Jacob Nitter as the airline takes its first ...

On this episode of AvTalk, an aircraft catches the wire—and we’re not talking about aircraft carriers. Plus, Airbus details its plans for the future at its Summit in Toulouse, GE Aviation is trying to figure out what’s wrong with the GE9X engine, and Senator Maria Cantwell may just have a way forward for Boeing. Catching the Wire(s) A Mooney M-20J attempting to land in Gaithersburg flew too low and instead became entangled in high-voltage transmission lines to the northwest of the airport. The...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, we discuss the tragic collision between a LATAM A320neo and an airport fire fighting rig in Lima and what we know so far about why they fire truck was on the runway. We also have a our first listener contestants, Ciara and Ganning, play the AvTalk trivia game. LATAM A320neo collides with a fire rig in Lima A LATAM Peru A320neo gaining speed on the runway for departure crashed into a fire fighting rig that had turned onto the runway during a training exercise. ...

On this episode of AvTalk, we have a lot of news to catch up on after last week’s episode solely focused on Boeing’s future. And Ian and Jason preview an avgeek trivia game that you can play on the show! If you’d like to play on next week’s show, send us an email. P-63 King Cobra collides with B-17G at Wings over Dallas A single seat P-63 King Cobra collided with a B-17G during a World War II aircraft display at the Wings over Dallas airshow last weekend. The NTSB is currently investigating an...

On this episode of AvTalk, we’re joined by The Air Current’s editor-in-chief Jon Ostrower to parse the news from Boeing’s first investor day in four years last week. We cover CEO Dave Calhoun’s comments that Boeing will not begin building a new airplane until at least the next decade and the status of Boeing’s current aircraft portfolio, including outstanding issues with the certification of the 737-7 and 737-10 MAX aircraft. We also dig deeper and further back in time to understand how Boeing r...

On this episode of AvTalk, Ian is harassed by a mystery drone, Cathay Pacific resumes flying over Russia, and pilot Mark Vanhoenacker joins us to discuss his new book, Imagine a City. Ian gets harassed by a mystery drone While grocery shopping, Ian gets harassed by a DJI Mavic 3. Boeing hosts its first investor day in 4 years Boeing tried to reassure its investors with the first investor day since 2018. What did we learn? China Southern’s MAX-imum confusion It’s in the schedule, it’s cance...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, a Korean Air A330 overruns the runway while attempting to land in Cebu. And a Cuban pilot flies his An-2 crop duster to Florida, 20 feet above the ocean. Korean Air 631 Korean Air flight 631 was attempting to land in Cebu, Philippines during poor weather when it overran the runway. We break down what we know so far about the accident that miraculously left all onboard uninjured. Airbus’ NPS At this week’s APEX in Long Beach, California, Airbus promoted its “...

On this episode of AvTalk, the FAA tells Boeing to get its act together if it ever wants to certify the 737-7 MAX, let alone by the end of the year and another pilot union weighs in on certification deadline extension. Plus, a close call in Chicago as a United flight making an emergency landing lands on an “unexpected runway.” Boeing going down to the wire The FAA really wants Boeing to submit its safety paperwork for the 737-7 MAX. In another letter from the regulator to Boeing, the agency in...

On this episode of AvTalk, a Boeing Dreamlifter loses a wheel, the fate of the 737-7 and -10 MAX remains firmly on the ground, and we welcome back Airline Weekly editor Edward Russell to fill us in on Delta and Joby’s new agreement for eVTOL operations. Boeing Dreamlifter loses a wheel On departure from Taranto, Italy a Boeing Dreamlifter lost a wheel—as in, the entire wheel hub assembly and tire fell off the aircraft. The aircraft continued its departure and safely arrived in Charleston, Sout...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, airline dispatcher Michael Karrels joins us to talk about his work at a legacy carrier in the US and some of the differences in dispatching around the world. Plus, the FAA finalizes rules extending cabin crew rest, and we close the show with a story from the early days of air traffic control. US flight attendant rest period extended Flight attendants in the US will soon have a mandated 10 hours of rest between shifts. FAA’s letter on 737 MAX not great news fo...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, we look at the aviation effects of Hurricane Ian, check in on ICAO’s 41st assembly in Montreal, and try to understand how a rumor took off before we even knew it was on the runway. Hurricane Ian passes through Florida * Replay of live stream on how to track Hurricane Hunters and use weather layers on Flightradar24 Eviation’s Alice electric plane flies for the first time * See playback of the first flight FAA issues new Vertiport rules * Read the new rules ...

On this episode of AvTalk, American Airlines announces a major cabin refit and the end of international first class, prices for flights departing Russia skyrocket after Putin announces the mobilization of reservists, and electric aircraft makers have a mixed week. American Airlines’ unveils cabin refresh American Airlines will restyle its premium cabins on long-haul aircraft, with roll out coming in 2024. New business class suites and premium economy seats will come to new delivery 787-9 and A...

The flight carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II shattered the record for the most tracked flight of all time, nearly doubling the record set just last month by Nancy Pelosi. We talk about the records the Queen’s last flight set, how it affected Flightradar24, and what’s happening behind the scenes to continue upgrades to Flightradar24 infrastructure. We also discuss United and Emirates’ new codeshare and interline agreement and preview a few important upcoming dates for the aviation industr...