The aviation industry has such a wonderful safety record that people boarding an aircraft rarely, if ever, think about the possibility of an accident happening to them. Of course the same people will have driven down the highway to the airport similarly unaware that, statistically, they were in a much more dangerous place than on… Continue reading When things go wrong…
Tag: IL-18
The tower with a soul… 4
Wrestling with the “furniture” The huge control panel for the various ground lights, like the taxiway lighting, was next to the ground controller’s console. The control panel was teeming with various switches used to turn various sections of taxiway lights on and off. The panel was variously nicknamed Christmas tree and railway shunting-yard. The multitude… Continue reading The tower with a soul… 4
Same time, same place, same level…11
Animals seen from the tower – chicken in boxes Animals flown by air seemed to create all kinds of difficulties. Our local airline had a number of elderly turboprops, with a few years’ worth of flying time left in them, and these were converted for cargo duty. The catch was they had no big cargo… Continue reading Same time, same place, same level…11
A venerable old lady – the Ilyushin IL-18
She was born at a time when glasnost and perestroika were still only words in the dictionary. A four-engine, turboprop transport that was noisy inside and out, was difficult to fly and needed an oil-well to keep her in the air. Yet she formed the backbone of East European air transport for more years than… Continue reading A venerable old lady – the Ilyushin IL-18
Anniversary – IL-18 HA-MOH crash at Budapest-Ferihegy airport
35 year anniversary on 15 January 2010 Some anniversaries are occasions for sadness and a moment’s silence. An aircraft crash is always sad, a huge loss for everyone involved. When HA-MOH flew into the ground in the early evening of 15 January 1975 only 9 crew members were on board and they all lost their… Continue reading Anniversary – IL-18 HA-MOH crash at Budapest-Ferihegy airport
Same time, same place, same level… 8.
View from the tower There can be little doubt that an airport looks its best from the control tower. True, pilots may lay claim to this, insisting that nothing equals the view from the front office window of an airplane in the final stages of its approach, but for earthbound controllers, the tower is absolute… Continue reading Same time, same place, same level… 8.