
On this episode of AvTalk, what we learned from the first of three days of investigative hearings by the NTSB into January’s crash at DCA. Russian investigators peel the layers of problems that led to the crash of a Gazpromavia SuperJet. An American Airlines 737 suffers a landing gear problem and fire in Denver.
In our strange new series there’s more animal-related aviation news this week and in honor of our 330th episode, Ian gives Jason a pop quiz on the Airbus A330.
Helpful links for this week’s episode
NTSB investigative hearings
Russian investigator’s report on the SuperJet crash
American Airlines 737 playback
OIG announcement
Nordwind flight to Pyongyang
Thank you for listening!
Thank you so much for listening to AvTalk! Like the podcast? Have suggestions for future shows? Let us know by leaving a review or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Reviews on iTunes not only help us make a better show, they help more people find the podcast! Want to send us additional feedback, just email us. And tell that friend who asked you for a podcast recommendation that AvTalk is the one they want to listen to next.
Please click here for a transcript of this episode.
Aug 1
52 min

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, Ian returns from Europe and Jason returns from sitting and staring at the wall for a brand new episode. We discuss the conversation around the Air India flight 171 preliminary report, a close call in Mexico City, and another in Minot, North Dakota.
Plus, things are looking up for airlines awaiting Boeing 737 MAX deliveries, the NTSB issues a final report that raises questions about moose meat and the Ship to Theseus, and someone smuggles a turtle onto a flight.
Helpful links for this week’s episode
Air India flight 171 preliminary report
Data on close call in Mexico City
Air Force statement on Minot incident
NTSB report on Alaska crash
Thank you for listening!
Thank you so much for listening to AvTalk! Like the podcast? Have suggestions for future shows? Let us know by leaving a review or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Reviews on iTunes not only help us make a better show, they help more people find the podcast! Want to send us additional feedback, just email us. And tell that friend who asked you for a podcast recommendation that AvTalk is the one they want to listen to next.
Please click here for a transcript of this episode.
Jul 25
42 min

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, Indian investigators narrow the focus of their investigation on the crashed 787’s fuel cut off switches. Lufthansa has quite the week with a damaged A340 in need of an unpressurized transatlantic ferry flight, a diverted 747 in South America, and a loose cat locked in a lavatory. A young pilot flies to Antarctica without authorization, raising the ire of the Chilean government. A man is ingested by a Volotea A319 engine in Milan and the NTSB releases its preliminary report on the close call between a Delta A319 and a flight of T-38s in Washington DC.
Helpful links for this week’s episode
* The Air Current’s report on the AI171 investigation
* Lufthansa A340 unpressurized transatlantic ferry flight
* Unauthorized flight to Antarctica
* Volotea flight in Milan
* NTSB Delta—T-38s preliminary report
Thank you for listening!
Thank you so much for listening to AvTalk! Like the podcast? Have suggestions for future shows? Let us know by leaving a review or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Reviews on iTunes not only help us make a better show, they help more people find the podcast! Want to send us additional feedback, just email us. And tell that friend who asked you for a podcast recommendation that AvTalk is the one they want to listen to next.
Please click here for a transcript of this week’s episode.
Jul 11
47 min

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, Indian investigators have downloaded the data from AI171’s recorders. Chinese authorities decline to release a report on China Southern flight 5735, citing threats to “national security and social stability.” A report on the Heathrow power station fire makes clear that it should have never happened. And a US Air Force base is being overrun by squirrels… again.
Helpful links for this week’s episode
* China Eastern Airlines flight 5735 data and report announcement
* BBC summary of Heathrow transformer fire report
* Mexicana’s first E195-E2
* EASA’s take-off performance monitoring system (TOPMS) proposal
* Task & Purpose’s piece on squirrels at Minot Air Force Base
Thank you for listening!
Thank you so much for listening to AvTalk! Like the podcast? Have suggestions for future shows? Let us know by leaving a review or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Reviews on iTunes not only help us make a better show, they help more people find the podcast! Want to send us additional feedback, just email us. And tell that friend who asked you for a podcast recommendation that AvTalk is the one they want to listen to next.
Click here for transcript of this week’s episode.
Jul 4
45 min

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, we discuss all that has happened in Middle East airspace over the past week—from the US attack on Iranian nuclear facilities and elaborate diversion flights to the Iranian retaliation against US bases in Qatar and the subsequent airspace restrictions to the fragile cease fire and the gradual opening of airways.
We also ponder why nearly two weeks after the crash of Air India flight 171, investigators have still not reviewed the data from the flight data recorders even as both were recovered just days after the crash. And the NTSB holds its probable cause board meeting for the mid-cabin exit door plug blowout aboard Alaska Airlines flight 1282, find that Boeing’s safety culture and the FAA’s lax oversight contributed to the door plug’s ejection from the aircraft as it passed 15,000 feet last January.
Helpful links for this week’s episode
* The B-2 tanker diversion
* NTSB probable cause summary for Alaska 1282
Thank you for listening!
Thank you so much for listening to AvTalk! Like the podcast? Have suggestions for future shows? Let us know by leaving a review or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Reviews on iTunes not only help us make a better show, they help more people find the podcast! Want to send us additional feedback, just email us. And tell that friend who asked you for a podcast recommendation that AvTalk is the one they want to listen to next.
Click here for a transcript of this week’s episode.
Jun 27
46 min

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, we discuss the crash of Air India flight 171 shortly after take off from Ahmedabad last week. What we know, what we don’t know, and possible avenues of investigation. We also examine the situation in the Middle East to see what effects current hostilities between Iran and Israel are having on commercial aviation. And we dig into the order numbers from this week’s Paris Air Show.
Helpful links for this week’s episode
* Flightradar24 data regarding Air India 171
* Airspace closures in the Middle East
* Paris Air Show news round up
Thank you for listening!
Thank you so much for listening to AvTalk! Like the podcast? Have suggestions for future shows? Let us know by leaving a review or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Reviews on iTunes not only help us make a better show, they help more people find the podcast! Want to send us additional feedback, just email us. And tell that friend who asked you for a podcast recommendation that AvTalk is the one they want to listen to next.
Please click here for a transcript of this week’s episode.
Jun 20
49 min

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, Silver Airways ceases operations immediately and Qantas says subsidiary Jetstar Asia will wind down flights by the end of July. The NTSB releases the preliminary report on the American Airlines 737 fire in Denver. May was a big month for Boeing, with more than 300 orders, while Airbus recorded orders for precisely 0 aircraft. This month’s Paris Air Show has the potential to close the gap.
Southwest is looking at “monetizing its order book,” while American Airlines sends the wrong 787 to Naples. And Condor operates five flights in a failed attempt to get passengers from Zurich to Heraklion.
Note: this episode was recorded prior to the crash of Air India flight 171 on 12 June. Our discussion of the crash will be available in episode 325 next week.
Helpful links for this week’s episode
* Silver Airways ceases operations
* American Airlines 737 Denver Fire NTSB preliminary report
* US restricting aerospace component exports to China
* American Airlines sends the wrong 787 to Naples
* Condor’s five flights to nowhere, A320 D-AICA
* NTSB 3-day hearing scheduled for July 31-August 2
Thank you for listening!
Thank you so much for listening to AvTalk! Like the podcast? Have suggestions for future shows? Let us know by leaving a review or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Reviews on iTunes not only help us make a better show, they help more people find the podcast! Want to send us additional feedback, just email us. And tell that friend who asked you for a podcast recommendation that AvTalk is the one they want to listen to next.
Please click here for a transcript of this week’s episode.
Jun 13
42 min

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, Airbus’ Montreal final assembly line is invaded by a family of raccoons. Newark reopens its main runway a few days early as airlines and the FAA jostle over flight cuts. United and JetBlue announce their Blue Sky partnership, while the IATA annual general meeting generates announcements of its own. A Condor flight misses Munich’s curfew by mere seconds and Air India reveals how much flying around Pakistan is costing the airline.
Helpful links for this week’s episode
* Condor diversion due to missed curfew
* Global Airlines LinkedIn post addressing recent media
Thank you for listening!
Thank you so much for listening to AvTalk! Like the podcast? Have suggestions for future shows? Let us know by leaving a review or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Reviews on iTunes not only help us make a better show, they help more people find the podcast! Want to send us additional feedback, just email us. And tell that friend who asked you for a podcast recommendation that AvTalk is the one they want to listen to next.
Click here for a transcript of this week’s episode.
Jun 6
43 min

On this episode of AvTalk, Ian and Jason and back home from Stockholm and ready to take on the week’s news. The NTSB is out with a handful of reports, including details on the FedEx 767 bird strike in Newark, Frontier’s hard landing and go around in San Juan, and Alaska Airlines’ main landing gear collapse. We also discuss the crash of a Cessna Citation in San Diego last week.
Plus, Boeing says it has a fix for the 777X thrust link problem, which grounded the test fleet for months.
Helpful links for this week’s episode
* FedEx 767 birdstrike preliminary report
* Frontier A321neo hard landing and go around
* Delta 717 nose gear collapse
* Delta 717 engine problems
* Alaska severe turbulence
* Alaska main landing gear collapse
* Rockwell Turbo Encabulator (original)
Thank you for listening!
Thank you so much for listening to AvTalk! Like the podcast? Have suggestions for future shows? Let us know by leaving a review or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Reviews on iTunes not only help us make a better show, they help more people find the podcast! Want to send us additional feedback, just email us. And tell that friend who asked you for a podcast recommendation that AvTalk is the one they want to listen to next.
Please check back soon for a transcript of this week’s episode.
May 30
48 min

This week, Gabe Leigh joins Ian and Jason in Stockholm for a special episode of AvTalk. Gabe recounts his experience on the first Global Airlines revenue flight and we discuss the future prospects for the would-be, all-A380 airline. We also get into the interesting media relations strategy being pursued by Global Airlines CEO James Asquith.
We also cover Etihad’s aircraft order and surprise route announcement to Charlotte. Spanish investigators release their final report on a Lufthansa pilot’s incapacitation near Zaragoza last February. And the story of how the 747 deal between the US and Qatar unfolded gets murkier.
Helpful links for this week’s episode
* Gabe’s video review of the inaugural Global Airlines flight
* Etihad announces flights to Charlotte
* Spanish CIAI report on Lufthansa pilot incapacitation
Thank you for listening!
Thank you so much for listening to AvTalk! Like the podcast? Have suggestions for future shows? Let us know by leaving a review or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Reviews on iTunes not only help us make a better show, they help more people find the podcast! Want to send us additional feedback, just email us. And tell that friend who asked you for a podcast recommendation that AvTalk is the one they want to listen to next.
Click here for a transcript of this week’s episode.
May 23
43 min
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