Plane Crash Diaries

By Desmond Latham

What's Plane Crash Diaries about?

I'm a pilot obsessed with flying and all things aviation. This podcast series covers more than a century of commercial aviation and how its shaped the world. Aviation is now safer than its ever been, but it took one hundred years of learning and often through accidents and incidents to reduce the risk of flying.

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Plane Crash Diaries episodes:

02.06.2024
Episode 38 - Newark Airport’s “umbrella of death” and Jimmy Doolittle’s clear ways
This episode we’re going to take a look at commercial airliners that have hit obstacles near runways and how three accidents in the small town of Elizabeth New Jersey in 1951 and 1952 led to rules about clear ways and...
12.04.2023
Episode 37 - Sharing the skies: A short history of bird strikes and improved safety
This is episode 37 and we’re dealing with bird strikes. The most famous of these was US Airways flight 1549 from New York City's LaGuardia Airport to Charlotte. Pilot Sully Sullenberger and first officer Jeffrey Skiles ditched the Airbus A320 in...
09.01.2023
Episode 36 - The 1971 Aeroflot Antonov twin crashes and the ATR-72’s achilles boot
This is episode 36 and its icy cold out there - it’s time to check out the incidents involving icing - starting with a short list and general description of the causes, then focusing on the two Aeroflot Atonovs accidents...
05.01.2023
Episode 35 - The 1986 Aeromexico collision over L.A. that changed aviation
Episode 35 - The 1986 Aeromexico collision over L.A. that changed aviation by Desmond Latham
04.25.2023
Episode 34 - The British Airship accident that was deadlier than The Hindenburg
The British government was focused on making dirigibles the transport of choice in the 1930s - competing with the Germans to produce the largest, most luxurious and most convenient way to travel across its empire. In the summer of 1930...
01.16.2023
Episode 33 - The 1948 Gatow Air Disaster and other military blunders
We’re going to look at a few examples of trigger happy pilots and missile operators, starting with the 5th April 1948 Gatow Air Disaster over Berlin as the Cold War ramped up after the Second World War. A British European Airways Vickers...
11.30.2022
Episode 32 – Payne Stewart’s Learjet decompression death and missing maintenance logs
A listener asked me to take a closer look at the crash of a Lear jet in 1999 that was carrying golfer Payne Stewart so here we are. Of all the crashes we’ve looked at this has to be one...
11.07.2022
Episode 31 - The 1983 Air Canada Flight 797 toilet fire that changed global aviation
We’re focusing on Air Canada Flight 797 that developed and in-flight fire that turned into a conflagration after it landed and the doors were opened. 23 passengers burned to death of were asphyxiated in that terrible incident. The response to...
09.22.2022
Episode 30 - Up up & Astray with Jim Spaeth: TWA behind the scenes shenanigans
This is episode 30 and I am delighted to have special guest Jim Spaeth join us for this episode to talk about his experiences at TWA. His life intersected with a number of accidents and he had a unique view of...
08.09.2022
Episode 29 - The 2019 TOGA switch Amazon Air First Officer panic and a Texas lake death dive
We’re going to cover an example of what happens at low altitude when pilots activate the Take Off/Go Around or TOGA switch by mistake. When there’s turbulence and a lack of situational awareness, this can be deadly as you’ll hear....
05.04.2022
Episode 28 - The Lockerbie Bombing of 1988 and how airline security improved
It was some trepidation that I’ve decided to eventually cover the Pan Am Flight 103 disaster over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988 which killed 259 passengers and crew as well as 11 people on the ground. Very few aviators or people...
03.11.2022
Episode 27 - Emotional distress and the 2018 US-Bangla Airlines crash that killed 51
We’re focusing on the US-Bangla Airlines Flight 211 that came in too high and fast at Kathmandu Airport on 12th March 2018 then slid off the runway and burst into flames. 51 of the 71 on board died including...
02.05.2022
Episode 26 - VOR confusion in 1986: The Tupolev crash that killed Mozambique President Samora Machel
This is episode 26 and we’re focusing on one of the most conspiracy-theory speckled accidents in history, the October 1986 crash of a Tupolev TU-134 jetliner that was carrying Mozamibican president Samora Machel. 37 of the 43 aboard died. To...
12.26.2021
Episode 25 - Two mountains and four CFITs: Air India, Pakistan & Thai Airlines
This is episode 25 – and I’m going to take a closer look at the Pakistan international Airlines Crash in Katmandu in 1992 along with a Thai Airlines accident there a few week earlier. The Pakistan crash comes via a...
09.25.2021
Episode 24 - Alaskan Flight 1866, American Airlines Flight 965 and Don Bateman’s brilliant EGPWS
This is episode 24 and comes courtesy of a suggestion by one of my listeners called Russell – surname withheld as he’s an operating commercial pilot. Don’t want to upset the corporation you know. First of all, a big thank...
07.20.2021
Episode 23 - Imperial Airways and the link between flying boats and passenger briefings
This is episode 23 and we’re dealing with flying boat accidents. You may be surprised to hear but one accident in particular involving an Imperial Airways flying boat in 1939 set in motion the use of specialised carb heaters for...
06.01.2021
Episode 22 - – A History of Traffic Collision Avoidance Systems
This is episode 22 and we’re going to hear more about an accident in the skies over India that was the final push in the drive to deploy traffic collision avoidance systems known as TCAS. Initially we need to go...
02.01.2021
Episode 21 - “An orchestrated litany of lies" the Mount Erebus disaster and a tainted investigation
This is episode 21 and we’re taking a close look at the Mount Erebus disaster where an Air New Zealand McDonald Douglas DC-10 crashed on 28th November 1979, killing all 257 passengers and crew. At first it looked like straight...
12.22.2020
Episode 20 - A catastrophic Chinook gearbox failure and a mysterious RAF crash in 1994
This is episode 20 and it’s all about helicopters. Thanks first of all to Martin Darlington who hosts History by Hollywood podcast and is a highly experienced helicopter pilot and instructor. He has agreed to help with the more technical...
11.04.2020
Episode 19 - Cockpit Voice Recorders (CVR) and Flight Data Recorders (FDR)
It was Australia that initiated the mandatory installation of cockpit voice recorders after an accident in 1960, while we’ll also probe a mid-air collision involving United Airlines and Trans World Airlines aircraft over New York in the same year. That...
09.22.2020
Episode 18 - The Tenerife disaster, CRM part two & the introduction of read back procedures
This episode we’ll probe the Tenerife disaster on 27 March 1977 which remains the most deadly aviation accident in history. 583 people died when two Boeing 747s collided on the Canary Island of Tenerife - one operated by KLM...
07.30.2020
Episode 17 - United Airlines Flight 173 flameout as pilots dither & the May 2020 Karachi crash
This episode explores an accident at a time of Covid-19 – which may be too recent to have a direct effect on civil aviation safety and yet the causes appear to be directly linked to poor Cockpit Resource Management otherwise...
06.25.2020
Episode 16 - The mystery of MH370 & Malaysia’s hapless response
This episode is fraught because we just don’t know what happened to Malaysian Flight MH370 and many pilots would say any sort of scientific conclusion is going to be a jump to a conclusion. However, I am going to take...
05.11.2020
Episode 15 - The first jetliner crash, Comair flight 5191 on the wrong runway & a crocodile in a bag
This is episode 15 and its all about unusual accidents including one that most likely involved a crocodile. But let’s start with what was called the first ever jetliner crash in 1953.That was an incident involving a de Havilland DH-106...
04.15.2020
Episode 14 - Covid-19 crashes Global Aviation but here are the likely future scenarios
This is episode 14 and I was expecting to continue with the planned series but I’m afraid the world has changed in the last few weeks. Needless to say, if anything has to be done right now, it’s to understand...
03.02.2020
Episode 13 - How Iran downed Ukraine Air SR752 & Social Media helped uncover the truth
Unfortunately this week we have an example of where safety was improved over the decades – but the growing tension in the world appears to have reversed some of the gains made. This is largely because of trigger-happy military personnel....
02.02.2020
Episode 12 - The 2019-nCoV coronavirus outbreak & its effect on the global airline business
We are deviating from our flight plan – last episode I said we would be covering Ukraine Air flight 752 shot out of the air by Iranian missiles killing all 176 on board. However, there is now a major crisis that...
12.29.2019
Episode 11 - Fires on board commercial airliners and the mystery of the SAA Helderberg
This episode covers the terrifying examples of fire on board commercial airliners. One of the first was the Imperial Airways Armstrong Argosy II incident in Dixmude Belgium in 1933 where a fire thought to have been started by a...
12.08.2019
Episode 10 - In-Air break ups, the miracle of Juliane Koepcke & the Comet Catastrophe
In this episode we’ll look at in-air breakups of aeroplanes – caused by poor flying, poor design, or poor maintenance and bad weather. In some cases all four of these together. However as with all things aviation, every accident leads...
11.01.2019
Episode 9 - Boeing MAX 8 accidents & the failure of governance
This week it’s the terrible crashes involving the Boeing 737 MAX 8 – one in October 2018 and the other in March 2019. In both cases an automated trim called the Movement Characteristics Augmentation System is believed to have been behind...
09.21.2019
Episode 8 – Japan Airlines JAL Flight 123 & the dangers of shoddy aeroplane maintenance
This episode features an air crash in 1985 is the deadliest single-aircraft plane crash in history where 520 of the 524 passengers and crew died. Remarkably, 4 survived - all women. But this is also a story where the number of...
08.30.2019
Episode 7 – The Lovettsville Air Disaster and lightning strikes on planes
Strap in this week, because its all about lightning. We’re looking at one crash in particular, the Lovettsville Air Disaster which took place on August 31 1940 near the town of Lovettsville in Virginia, the United States. There were 21 passengers and...
08.15.2019
Episode 6 – The 1946 Mistberget & Gauli Glacier Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) crashes
It’s time for that terrible acronym – CFIT – which means Controlled Flight into Terrain. That’s where the pilot is unable to see the terrain for whatever reason, and believes that he or she is higher than they are, or...
08.04.2019
Episode 5 – Miss Macao: The first commercial airliner to be hijacked
I’m your host and pilot, Desmond Latham. Every week we tackle a different area of aviation and this week it’s the history of hijackings. The first ever hijacking of a commercial plane took place on the 16th July 1948....
07.20.2019
Episode 4 – A mid-air collision involving a De Havilland in 1922 leads to the fly to the right rule
This week we’ll feature two accidents from the early 1920s that changed rules. The first is a mid-air collision that took place in April 1922 over Picardie in France, and the second was the response to an investigation into a...
07.05.2019
Episode 3 – Malaysian Airlines MH 17 and how it was shot down by a Russian BUK missile
Every week we delve into the causes and repercussions of plane crashes across the world and how these have led to improved aviation safety over time. This week its the shooting down of Malaysian Airlines MH17 which was hit by...
06.25.2019
Episode 2- Air France 447, frozen pitot tubes & confusion on the flight deck
This is the series that tracks air disasters through history and how each has led directly to the safety we almost take for granted every time we climb aboard an airliner. Last week it was the story of the first recognized...
06.18.2019
Episode 1 - An Airship plunges into a Chicago Bank
This series called Plane Crash Diaries is really about how safe aviation has become. This sounds like a contradiction, but its through the experience of more than a century of commercial aviation that experts have been able to build an...

What's Plane Crash Diaries about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Plane Crash Diaries episodes:

Episode 38 - Newark Airport’s “umbrella of death” and Jimmy Doolittle’s clear ways

Episode 37 - Sharing the skies: A short history of bird strikes and improved safety

Episode 36 - The 1971 Aeroflot Antonov twin crashes and the ATR-72’s achilles boot

Episode 35 - The 1986 Aeromexico collision over L.A. that changed aviation

Episode 34 - The British Airship accident that was deadlier than The Hindenburg

Episode 33 - The 1948 Gatow Air Disaster and other military blunders

Episode 32 – Payne Stewart’s Learjet decompression death and missing maintenance logs

Episode 31 - The 1983 Air Canada Flight 797 toilet fire that changed global aviation

Episode 30 - Up up & Astray with Jim Spaeth: TWA behind the scenes shenanigans

Episode 29 - The 2019 TOGA switch Amazon Air First Officer panic and a Texas lake death dive

Episode 28 - The Lockerbie Bombing of 1988 and how airline security improved

Episode 27 - Emotional distress and the 2018 US-Bangla Airlines crash that killed 51

Episode 26 - VOR confusion in 1986: The Tupolev crash that killed Mozambique President Samora Machel

Episode 25 - Two mountains and four CFITs: Air India, Pakistan & Thai Airlines

Episode 24 - Alaskan Flight 1866, American Airlines Flight 965 and Don Bateman’s brilliant EGPWS

Episode 23 - Imperial Airways and the link between flying boats and passenger briefings

Episode 22 - – A History of Traffic Collision Avoidance Systems

Episode 21 - “An orchestrated litany of lies" the Mount Erebus disaster and a tainted investigation

Episode 20 - A catastrophic Chinook gearbox failure and a mysterious RAF crash in 1994

Episode 19 - Cockpit Voice Recorders (CVR) and Flight Data Recorders (FDR)

Episode 18 - The Tenerife disaster, CRM part two & the introduction of read back procedures

Episode 17 - United Airlines Flight 173 flameout as pilots dither & the May 2020 Karachi crash

Episode 16 - The mystery of MH370 & Malaysia’s hapless response

Episode 15 - The first jetliner crash, Comair flight 5191 on the wrong runway & a crocodile in a bag

Episode 14 - Covid-19 crashes Global Aviation but here are the likely future scenarios

Episode 13 - How Iran downed Ukraine Air SR752 & Social Media helped uncover the truth

Episode 12 - The 2019-nCoV coronavirus outbreak & its effect on the global airline business

Episode 11 - Fires on board commercial airliners and the mystery of the SAA Helderberg

Episode 10 - In-Air break ups, the miracle of Juliane Koepcke & the Comet Catastrophe

Episode 9 - Boeing MAX 8 accidents & the failure of governance

Episode 8 – Japan Airlines JAL Flight 123 & the dangers of shoddy aeroplane maintenance

Episode 7 – The Lovettsville Air Disaster and lightning strikes on planes

Episode 6 – The 1946 Mistberget & Gauli Glacier Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) crashes

Episode 5 – Miss Macao: The first commercial airliner to be hijacked

Episode 4 – A mid-air collision involving a De Havilland in 1922 leads to the fly to the right rule

Episode 3 – Malaysian Airlines MH 17 and how it was shot down by a Russian BUK missile

Episode 2- Air France 447, frozen pitot tubes & confusion on the flight deck

Episode 1 - An Airship plunges into a Chicago Bank