AviationCircle

AviationCircle Independent aviation news and real flight stories. Global coverage, verified details, and clear updates you can trust

06/24/2026

Boston Tower and fellow pilots lined up to say their congratulations for Captain Mark Williams' retirement after a 42-year career.

Two photos, taken 27 years apart, same two women, same cockpit seats.In the first, Key and Stephanie are young Southwest...
06/24/2026

Two photos, taken 27 years apart, same two women, same cockpit seats.

In the first, Key and Stephanie are young Southwest flight attendants squeezed into the flight deck of a 737. In the second, they're back in the same spot decades later, a little greyer, smiling just as wide.

Key has been with Southwest for 34 years. Stephanie, nearly 28. They met on a single flight after an unplanned layover and have been close ever since, flying together and serving on the airline's Flight Attendant Interview Team. Then life pulled them apart, and they went about ten years without seeing each other.

Recently they worked a trip together again, and Stephanie says it felt like no time had passed.

The two cockpits tell their own story. The older photo shows the classic 737 flight deck full of round analog gauges. The newer one shows a modern 737, where those dials have been swapped for large glass display screens. Same airline, same aircraft family, two very different eras.

As Stephanie put it: "It's wonderful when you get off the airplane and your cheeks hurt from laughing and smiling all day."

In the US Navy, landing on the wrong aircraft carrier was an embarrassing mistake, and tradition demanded payback. Befor...
06/24/2026

In the US Navy, landing on the wrong aircraft carrier was an embarrassing mistake, and tradition demanded payback. Before sending the plane home, the crew that caught it would cover it in graffiti.

This 1952 photo is one of the best examples ever captured. The aircraft is a McDonnell F2H-2 Banshee from Fighter Squadron 62 (VF-62), assigned to the USS Coral Sea. Its pilot mistakenly landed on the USS Wasp (CV-18) instead, and the Wasp's crew gave him the full treatment.

They covered the Banshee in jokes: "Fouled up," "Airman Adams reporting sir," "From Heaven to Coral Sea via Stinger," and "VF-62 Guard Mail, Original Coral Sea First." But the best line ran right down the fuselage, the worst thing you could say to a Navy pilot: "Must be Air Force."

Before GPS and modern radar, landing on the wrong carrier wasn't hard to do, and it happened often enough to keep the tradition alive. The pilot then had to fly the graffiti-covered jet back to his own ship.

Southwest's newest jet, Independence One, is getting a lot of attention, and many people are calling it the best looking...
06/24/2026

Southwest's newest jet, Independence One, is getting a lot of attention, and many people are calling it the best looking aircraft flying in America today.

The aircraft is a Boeing 737 MAX 8 painted in red, white, and blue for the 250th birthday of the United States. A large "1776" runs down the fuselage in quill-style script, next to the words "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" from the Declaration of Independence. There are thirteen stars for the original colonies and a ring of stars on each engine inspired by the Betsy Ross flag. Even the registration fits the theme: N1776R.

Southwest unveiled the design on April 27, 2026. Two days later it flew its first passengers, from Dallas to Philadelphia, the city where the Declaration was signed.

Southwest isn't the only airline marking America's 250th. United recently rolled out a bold "Stars and Stripes" livery on a Boeing 787-10 and a 737-800, with 50 stars and diagonal red and white stripes. American Airlines, celebrating its own 100th anniversary, painted a 737 and an Embraer E175 in America250 colors. Delta has taken a lighter touch, adding a 250th anniversary decal to a Boeing 757-200. But for many aviation fans, Southwest's Independence One, with its full custom design, is the one that stands out the most.

Independence One also joins two other patriotic Southwest jets, Freedom One, a 737-800 in American flag colors since 2021, and Liberty One, a 737 MAX 8 repainted in the same theme earlier this year. With America's 250th Fourth of July close, it has become one of the most photographed planes in the country.

For more than three decades, the image of Air Force One has stayed almost exactly the same. That's now beginning to chan...
06/24/2026

For more than three decades, the image of Air Force One has stayed almost exactly the same. That's now beginning to change.

The first Boeing 747 to serve as Air Force One was the VC-25A, a modified 747-200. The first one (tail number 28000) was delivered to the US Air Force in 1990 and flew its first presidential mission on September 6, 1990, carrying President George H. W. Bush. Two of these jets have served every president since, wearing the blue-and-white livery first introduced in the Kennedy era. Thirty-five years later, they remain among the most recognizable aircraft in the world.

The newest 747 to take on the role is the VC-25B 'Bridge,' a modified Boeing 747-8. It was revealed last week at Joint Base Andrews and recently began its commissioning flights, the final tests before it can officially carry the president. It's built on the 747-8, the longest and most advanced 747 ever made, with more powerful and efficient GEnx engines, updated systems, and a new red, white, blue, and gold livery.

The two jets show how far the 747 has come. The VC-25A first flew in the late 1980s and is powered by older GE CF6 engines. The VC-25B is based on the final generation of the jumbo, with greater range and modern technology throughout. One has defined the look of Air Force One for 35 years. The other is about to begin its own chapter.

The current VC-25As aren't going anywhere just yet. The Air Force has confirmed both will stay in the executive fleet, likely serving as backups, with retirement scheduled for around 2029 once the purpose-built VC-25Bs are operational, now expected starting in 2028. But after 35 years, the look of the world's most famous airplane is finally about to change.

06/24/2026

A magnitude 5.6 earthquake hit Northern California near Willits today, and it was felt strongly enough at San Francisco International to briefly stop arrivals.

Controllers cancelled a SkyWest jet's landing clearance and put a United flight into vectors while crews checked the airport, estimating about 10 minutes.

A prototype had been flying in secret since 2019, long before the public knew who built it. That aircraft was a demonstr...
06/24/2026

A prototype had been flying in secret since 2019, long before the public knew who built it. That aircraft was a demonstrator for the secret American program that became the Boeing F-47, billed by Boeing and the US Air Force as the world's first sixth-generation fighter. Now, one of the engines that could power it has cleared an important milestone.

On May 11, 2026, GE Aerospace cleared the Assembly Readiness Review for its XA102 engine, confirming the design, manufacturing, and supply chain are ready to build a full-scale prototype. One clarification, though: GE hasn't been chosen as the F-47's engine. It's cleared to build a prototype and keep competing.

The XA102's edge is its adaptive-cycle design. A traditional fighter engine is built for either thrust or fuel efficiency, never both. The XA102 can switch between them in flight, routing air for maximum thrust when needed, or through a bypass stream for efficiency and cooling on longer missions. The result is greater range, better cooling for advanced sensors and weapons, and a lower infrared signature. Industry reporting estimates it will produce 35,000 to 40,000 pounds of thrust.

GE isn't alone. Its XA102 is competing with Pratt & Whitney's XA103, which cleared the same review three days earlier, on May 8. Both companies hold contracts worth up to $3.5 billion through 2032, and the Air Force hasn't picked a winner yet.

Boeing was awarded the F-47 in March 2025 to replace the F-22 Raptor. Aerial testing is expected by 2028, though the first jets will fly with interim engines before the XA102 or XA103 enters service later in the decade.

A United Airlines Boeing 777 headed to Munich turned back to Houston on Friday evening after trouble with one of its eng...
06/24/2026

A United Airlines Boeing 777 headed to Munich turned back to Houston on Friday evening after trouble with one of its engines, and everyone on board was fine.

The aircraft, operating as Flight UA102, had just lifted off from George Bush Intercontinental Airport on June 19 when its right engine, the No. 2 engine, began producing a series of loud bangs and bright flashes. Passengers heard the noise clearly. Among them was former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III, who later said they heard "15 straight loud bangs" and immediately knew something was wrong.

What the engine was experiencing is known as a compressor stall. It happens when the smooth flow of air through the engine is disrupted, causing loud banging sounds and visible flashes. It can look and sound alarming from the cabin or the ground, but it's a condition flight crews are trained to handle.

That's exactly what United's crew did. They leveled the 777 off at 3,000 feet, and although they had no fire warning in the cockpit, they shut the affected engine down as a precaution, a Boeing 777 flies perfectly well on one engine, and reported to air traffic control that they had lost an engine. The jet circled back and landed safely about 40 minutes after takeoff, where fire and rescue crews met it and escorted it to the gate for inspection. None of the 280 people on board, 267 passengers and 13 crew, were hurt.

United arranged a replacement Boeing 777 to take the passengers on to Munich, which departed later that night. The aircraft involved, registration N78009, is a veteran of United's fleet: a roughly 27-year-old 777-200ER that originally flew for Continental Airlines before joining United after the two merged in 2010.

Incidents like this understandably rattle passengers, but they're also a reminder of how the system is built to handle them. The engine experienced the problem, the crew followed their training, the second engine did its job, and a precautionary return brought everyone back safely.

On this day in 1994, a US Air Force B-52H Stratofortress crashed at Fairchild Air Force Base in Washington State while p...
06/24/2026

On this day in 1994, a US Air Force B-52H Stratofortress crashed at Fairchild Air Force Base in Washington State while practicing for an airshow. All four crew members were killed. The crash was caught on video and shown worldwide, and more than 30 years later, it remains one of the most studied accidents in aviation.

The bomber, callsign Czar 52, was flown by Lieutenant Colonel Arthur "Bud" Holland. Coming around for a tight, low turn around the control tower at about 250 feet, Holland banked it far past the B-52's limits. The wings rolled beyond 90 degrees, the bomber stalled, and there was no altitude left to recover. It struck the ground and exploded.

This photo captures the bomber moments before impact. Just below the vertical stabilizer, you can see the copilot's hatch cover, jettisoned as he tried to eject, too late to succeed. The image was taken by a US Air Force photographer who was there to document the "fini flight" ceremony of Colonel Robert Wolff, one of the crew, that was meant to follow the landing.

Along with Holland and Wolff, two other airmen died: Lieutenant Colonel Mark McGeehan and Lieutenant Colonel Ken Huston.

What makes this crash so important is everything that led up to it. Holland had a long, documented reputation as a dangerously aggressive pilot who repeatedly broke safety rules, flying too low and banking too steeply. Many crew members asked never to fly with him. McGeehan had even tried to have Holland grounded, but was overruled, and ended up beside him in the cockpit that day.

The official investigation pointed to three causes: Holland's behavior, the failure of Air Force leadership to act on his earlier violations, and the events of that final flight. The warning signs had been there for years, and the system didn't stop him.

That's why, three decades on, the crash of Czar 52 is a cornerstone case study in Crew Resource Management and aviation safety, taught far beyond the military.

06/24/2026

A United flight approaching Newark hit sudden turbulence the pilot described as "severe, borderline extreme." It lasted only about two seconds — but it was enough to injure a flight attendant, though the aircraft wasn't damaged.

Address

Los Angeles, CA

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when AviationCircle posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to AviationCircle:

Shortcuts

Share