Flight Safety Detectives

August in flight safety: at least 40 reportable events in just 12 days. The Flight Safety Detectives have reason to believe the number of events is even higher.

Worse, the NTSB is putting out inadequate reports. They often provide the obvious cause and do not dig in to find the root cause. Significant questions are left with no answers. Greg Feith notes every accident has a safety lesson to learn.

The NTSB preliminary report for a fatal crash of a Piper J5 Cub that happened on the first of the month, was a situation where the aircraft had been sitting idle for months and likely had an engine problem due to fuel contamination. The investigation documented the engine failure but apparently did not look into whether there had been a thorough preflight of the aircraft.

Another just-released report covers an accident involving a new aircraft being ferried from Canada across the Atlantic to its new owner in Portugal. The pilot and most of the aircraft were not found, but key information, such as the logbooks for the pilot and the aircraft, was recovered. Despite the ample evidence from the crash and information from Canadian authorities and other parties to the investigation, the NTSB probable cause simply stated that the plane impacted the ocean.

More than enough information is available to support a specific root cause. The NTSB did not attempt to address basic questions about the circumstances of the accident, such as what anti-icing or deicing capability the plane had, whether the pilot conducted a thorough preflight plan for the trip, or even if the pilot had the basic qualifications to conduct the flight.

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Interested in partnering with us? Sponsorship opportunities are available—brand mentions, episode integrations, and dedicated segments are just a few of the options. Flight Safety Detectives offers a direct connection with an engaged audience passionate about aviation and safety. Reach out to [email protected].

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The investigation continues into two unusual high-altitude encounters initially described as unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) or drone sightings. Information gathered since the Flight Safety Detectives’ first look at this incident has made these strange events seem like unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) incidents.

In December 2024, a Delta 767 crew reported being shadowed for over an hour at 34,000 feet by multiple flashing red-and-white aircraft over New Mexico and Arizona—well above legal drone limits and invisible to ATC radar. FAA records later indicated four objects maneuvering close to the jet, one within 1,000 feet.

Shortly after, a United 787 at 27,000 feet had a brief, separate encounter with a similar object. FOIA requests revealed details that made these cases more consistent with UAP (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena) than drones, given their altitude, endurance, and performance.

Greg Feith, John Goglia, and Todd Curtis discuss aviation safety concerns, the FAA’s lack of a dedicated UAP reporting system, and the stigma pilots face in reporting such events. Todd plans to mine FAA drone-incident data and Mandatory Occurrence Reports to identify other likely UAP encounters.

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Want to go deeper with the Flight Safety Detectives? Join our YouTube Membership program for exclusive perks like members-only live streams and Q&As and early access to episodes. Your membership support directly helps John, Greg and Todd to deliver expert insights into aviation safety.

Interested in partnering with us? Sponsorship opportunities are available—brand mentions, episode integrations, and dedicated segments are just a few of the options. Flight Safety Detectives offers a direct connection with an engaged audience passionate about aviation and safety. Reach out to [email protected].

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A Cirrus SR22T in North Carolina killed the pilot and his entire family. The known details of this July 2025 crash raise serious questions about pilot decisions throughout the flight.

The pilot was flying from Florida to North Carolina and ran into trouble early in the trip. The plane experienced electrical problems that worsened throughout the trip. Despite having opportunities to land at several airports, the pilot continued. The aircraft ran out of fuel and crashed a few miles from the destination, killing everyone on board.

Several pilot decisions increased the risk of the flight, particularly the choice to continue flying after key systems began to malfunction. Also, the aircraft had a parachute system that would have likely saved everyone on board. However, the deployment handle safety pin was not removed pre-flight so the system would not activate. 

This episode also has some harsh words for the passengers in the recent 737 takeoff incident in Denver who went down emergency exists with luggage. Exiting the aircraft quickly and safely in an emergency is far more important than what is in any carry-on bag.

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Want to go deeper with the Flight Safety Detectives? Join our YouTube Membership program for exclusive perks like members-only live streams and Q&As and early access to episodes. Your membership support directly helps John, Greg and Todd to deliver expert insights into aviation safety.

Interested in partnering with us? Sponsorship opportunities are available—brand mentions, episode integrations, and dedicated segments are just a few of the options. Flight Safety Detectives offers a direct connection with an engaged audience passionate about aviation and safety. Reach out to [email protected].

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The NTSB just finished a 3-day hearing about the fatal January 2025 midair collision between an airliner and a U.S. Army helicopter over the Potomac River. Greg Feith, John Goglia and Todd Curtis tuned in and share their takeaways.

The hearing covered many issues, particularly the role that FAA and Army procedures and systems played in the crash. They credit NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy and Member Todd Inman with assertive questioning that took the FAA to task for lack of cooperation with the NTSB. 

The NTSB can't make regulations and can only recommend them. This independence is crucial, but it limits its power to implement significant changes. The regulatory process and the technological complexity of the air traffic system mean that any recommendations coming from this investigation may take years.

Overall, this accident investigation is being conducted in a way that will advance aviation safety. However, the resources devoted to this investigation may affect the quality of other current NTSB investigations and aviation safety initiatives.

Don’t miss what’s to come from the Flight Safety Detectives - subscribe to the Flight Safety Detectives YouTube channel, listen at your favorite podcast service and visit the Flight Safety Detectives website.

Want to go deeper with the Flight Safety Detectives? Join our YouTube Membership program for exclusive perks like members-only live streams and Q&As and early access to episodes. Your membership support directly helps John, Greg and Todd to deliver expert insights into aviation safety.

Interested in partnering with us? Sponsorship opportunities are available—brand mentions, episode integrations, and dedicated segments are just a few of the options. Flight Safety Detectives offers a direct connection with an engaged audience passionate about aviation and safety. Reach out to [email protected].

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We bring you to AirVenture 2025 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. This annual event attracts hundreds of thousands of aerospace professionals, aerospace enthusiasts, and their families for a unique aviation experience.

John Goglia, Greg Feith, and Todd Curtis talk about the amazing quality and quantity of aircraft at the show. Hear about historical and cutting-edge aircraft on display and in flight and the people from across the aviation industry. The show provides an extensive hands-on education in aviation and aviation safety.

We take you there to hear about it all. Come enjoy Oshkosh with us!

Don’t miss what’s to come from the Flight Safety Detectives - subscribe to the Flight Safety Detectives YouTube channel, listen at your favorite podcast service and visit the Flight Safety Detectives website.

Want to go deeper with the Flight Safety Detectives? Join our YouTube Membership program for exclusive perks like members-only live streams and Q&As and early access to episodes. Your membership support directly helps John, Greg and Todd to deliver expert insights into aviation safety.

Interested in partnering with us? Sponsorship opportunities are available—brand mentions, episode integrations, and dedicated segments are just a few of the options. Flight Safety Detectives offers a direct connection with an engaged audience passionate about aviation and safety. Reach out to [email protected].

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India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has issued an appeal to the public and the media to stop speculating about the cause of the Air India crash. This comes less than a week after the agency released a preliminary report that raises more questions than provides answers. 

The Flight Safety Detectives share this latest development in an investigation that has been poorly handled from the start.

The AAIB has raised many questions that they could and should answer. The preliminary report did not identify any issues with the engines or aircraft systems, leaving pilot decisions and pilot actions as more likely causes of the crash. Key details have not been shared, including identifying who made the statements shared in the report or which pilot took what action.

John Goglia, Greg Feith and Todd Curtis do not support the request in the AAIB appeal that the media and others wait for AAIB and not speculate about the cause of the crash or the investigation. Many people were killed and they have a duty to inform everyone – including other airlines – who want to know if there are any aviation safety issues that need to be addressed.

Don’t miss what’s to come from the Flight Safety Detectives - subscribe to the Flight Safety Detectives YouTube channel, listen at your favorite podcast service and visit the Flight Safety Detectives website.

Want to go deeper with the Flight Safety Detectives? Join our YouTube Membership program for exclusive perks like members-only live streams and Q&As and early access to episodes. Your membership support directly helps John, Greg and Todd to deliver expert insights into aviation safety.

Interested in partnering with us? Sponsorship opportunities are available—brand mentions, episode integrations, and dedicated segments are just a few of the options. Flight Safety Detectives offers a direct connection with an engaged audience passionate about aviation and safety. Reach out to [email protected].

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A Cessna Citation crash in March that killed all aboard appears to be the result of bad pilot decision making. Responding to the interest of numerous listeners, John Goglia and Todd Curtis dig into what happened.

The pilot was completing a cross-country flight in the early morning hours of March 22, 2025. He took off after 11 pm the previous night in Teterboro, NJ, and crashed hours later in San Diego.

John and Todd explore the questionable decision-making by the pilot. Near the end of the flight, the pilot decided to continue with his landing despite the weather information indicating conditions were below the minimums for his approach.

The series of events falls into the Swiss cheese model - many safety factors were ignored, adding up to a tragic result. Risky choices include planning take off late at night and planned arrival before dawn at an airport that had no local weather observations available. Plus, the forecast implied that the visibility at the destination would likely be below the minimums for the chosen approach.

This accident was not caused by technological failures or unexpected weather hazards. Pilot decisions led to this plane crash.

Don’t miss what’s to come from the Flight Safety Detectives - subscribe to the Flight Safety Detectives YouTube channel, listen at your favorite podcast service and visit the Flight Safety Detectives website.

Want to go deeper with the Flight Safety Detectives? Join our YouTube Membership program for exclusive perks like members-only live streams and Q&As and early access to episodes. Your membership support directly helps John, Greg and Todd to deliver expert insights into aviation safety.

Interested in partnering with us? Sponsorship opportunities are available—brand mentions, episode integrations, and dedicated segments are just a few of the options. Flight Safety Detectives offers a direct connection with an engaged audience passionate about aviation and safety. Reach out to [email protected].

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Former US Air Force and NASA Flight Surgeon Dr. Gregory Rodgers discusses first-hand experiences with the NASA space shuttle program. Among his efforts, he helped change NASA procedures that endangered shuttle crews. 

Among his efforts to improve space safety, Dr. Rogers tried to convince NASA to add a repair kit to Shuttle missions to deal with the ongoing issue of protective heat-resistant tiles being damaged during missions. Part of his effort was to write the book "Impact," a fictional novel about a shuttle that was severely damaged and unable to return to Earth. The book was published in 1995. The shuttle in the book was Columbia, which was lost in 2003 due to heat shield damage sustained shortly after liftoff.

He also shares details of a flight test of a disc-shaped vehicle with USAF markings that displayed extraordinary flight characteristics. He kept this 1992 experience to himself for over 30 years until speaking publicly about it in May 2025.

John Goglia adds his experience at the NTSB investigating a possible collision between either an unknown exotic aircraft or a UAP and a general aviation aircraft off the coast of Florida. The wreckage had paint transfer marks that could not be associated with any known aircraft.

Don’t miss what’s to come from the Flight Safety Detectives - subscribe to the Flight Safety Detectives YouTube channel, listen at your favorite podcast service and visit the Flight Safety Detectives website.

Want to go deeper with the Flight Safety Detectives? Join our YouTube Membership program for exclusive perks like members-only live streams and Q&As and early access to episodes. Your membership support directly helps John, Greg and Todd to deliver expert insights into aviation safety.

Interested in partnering with us? Sponsorship opportunities are available—brand mentions, episode integrations, and dedicated segments are just a few of the options. Flight Safety Detectives offers a direct connection with an engaged audience passionate about aviation and safety. Reach out to [email protected].

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Yesterday’s special episode generated a lot of questions about the Air India preliminary report. Facts in hand, the Flight Safety Detectives tackle them head on.

The preliminary report does not identify any issues with the aircraft that directly contributed to the crash. It focuses on the actions taken by the flight crew. 

Hear more detail on why the design of fuel cutoff switches makes it unlikely that a mechanical or electrical issue led to the engine shutdown. The most logical cause was action taken by at least one flight crew member.

John Goglia, Todd Curtis and Greg Feith address concerns and questions generated from previous Flight Safety Detectives episodes. They continue to use the facts in the preliminary report to describe what happened, particularly the actions taken and statements made by the pilots. 

The analyses provided by others online and in the media, particularly by airline pilots, often lack a depth of understanding of the aircraft technology, how it works and how it could fail. The detectives continue to provide sound analysis of available information. 

Don’t miss what’s to come from the Flight Safety Detectives - subscribe to the Flight Safety Detectives YouTube channel, listen at your favorite podcast service and visit the Flight Safety Detectives website.

Want to go deeper with the Flight Safety Detectives? Join our YouTube Membership program for exclusive perks like members-only live streams and Q&As and early access to episodes. Your membership support directly helps John, Greg and Todd to deliver expert insights into aviation safety.

Interested in partnering with us? Sponsorship opportunities are available—brand mentions, episode integrations, and dedicated segments are just a few of the options. Flight Safety Detectives offers a direct connection with an engaged audience passionate about aviation and safety. Reach out to [email protected].

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The preliminary report on the June 12, 2025, fatal crash of an Air India 787 is most notable for what is unstated, vague, and even misleading. The detectives start with the omission of who turned off the engines just after takeoff. Their list of unanswered questions grows from there. 

This crash appears to not be an accident, but rather an intentional act by at least one member of the flight crew. The engines were shut down shortly after takeoff. Although at least one pilot took actions to restart both engines, neither engine could generate thrust before the aircraft crashed less than a mile from the airport.

The report has telltale signs that those writing the report had motives other than to provide factual information about the event and the investigation. Errors and vaguely worded statements in the report make it appear that someone other than an aviation safety professional wrote or approved the report.

Just a few of the issues Greg Feith, John Goglia and Todd Curtis highlight:

• The report did not specify which pilot shut down the engines just after takeoff, even though the voice and data recorders likely had enough information to determine that.
• The report does not say whether other people were in the cockpit other than the two pilots.
• No reason is given as to why Air India was excluded from the investigation.
• An aviation psychologist is listed as one of the subject matter experts on the investigation team, implying that a psychological or even psychiatric issue was a factor in this crash.

In summary, the report points to an event that was not an accident, but a deliberate action. 

Don’t miss what’s to come from the Flight Safety Detectives - subscribe to the Flight Safety Detectives YouTube channel, listen at your favorite podcast service and visit the Flight Safety Detectives website.

Want to go deeper with the Flight Safety Detectives? Join our YouTube Membership program for exclusive perks like members-only live streams and Q&As and early access to episodes. Your membership support directly helps John, Greg and Todd to deliver expert insights into aviation safety.

Interested in partnering with us? Sponsorship opportunities are available—brand mentions, episode integrations, and dedicated segments are just a few of the options. Flight Safety Detectives offers a direct connection with an engaged audience passionate about aviation and safety. Reach out to [email protected].

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