In this post-Christmas episode of the Black Box Aviation Podcast, Tom and Mike recap the holidays, listener corrections, airline life on the road, and dive deep into recent aviation accidents and industry discussions.

The guys break down listener call-outs and corrections from the Christmas episode, talk airline schedules, training culture, and what it’s really like balancing family life with flying during the holidays. From childhood Christmas nostalgia to international travel prep, nothing is off the table.

The conversation turns serious as Tom and Mike revisit the Greg Biffle Citation 550 crash, analyzing what we currently know from the NTSB preliminary findings, including flight path data, CVR recovery, emergency communications, and potential power or configuration issues. They also compare this tragedy to other notable business jet accidents, including the Thurman Munson Citation crash and the Learjet 60 accident involving Travis Barker.

This episode blends aviation safety analysis, airline culture, personal stories, and industry insight—the exact mix that makes the Black Box Aviation Podcast a must-listen for pilots, aviation professionals, and anyone fascinated by flying.

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Welcome back to the Black Box Aviation Podcast, where Tom and Mike talk aviation, travel, pilot life, and the things you NEED—and WANT—to know about flying, with a special Christmas edition of the show.

This episode blends holiday traditions, aviation culture, travel memories, and real-world news, with plenty of laughs and meaningful moments along the way.

🎶 Holiday Talk & Traditions
• Elvis and Christmas music debates
• Favorite Christmas songs (Bing Crosby, Billy Idol, and a few hard passes 👀)
• Wrapping presents: neat vs messy—and why TSA doesn’t love wrapped gifts
• Traveling as a kid during Christmas
• Classic holiday movies through an aviation lens
– Home Alone aircraft discrepancies
– Die Hard (Is it a Christmas movie? 🎄✈️)
– Airport scenes, travel tips, jet lag, and stretches

😂 Funny Stories
• A superfan encounter at Big Y that ends with a holiday cookie pyramid collapse
• Grocery store chaos, laughter, and small-town moments

📣 Shout-Outs
• Dan and Craig (more Elvis—delivered)
• Jim the contractor in Djibouti
• Dedicated listeners and longtime supporters of the show

🌍 Christmas Stories From the Road
• Tom shares a powerful story about spending Christmas and New Year’s on deployment in Africa
• Life at Camp Lemonnier: plywood bases, crew camaraderie, homesickness, church, ice cream, and base generals serving Christmas dinner
• Watching A Christmas Story overseas and finding holiday meaning far from home

📰 In the News – Aviation Safety
• Citation II (Cessna 550) crash near Charlotte
• Discussion of aircraft performance, accident statistics, and pilot factors
• Broader context on Citation safety history and recent tragic accidents

🔮 Looking Ahead to 2026
• Show anniversary approaching
• Returning guests, meaningful aviation stories, and what’s next for the podcast
• A heartfelt holiday message to listeners

📩 Contact the Show: [email protected]
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Please smash the 5-star rating on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Amazon Music—it helps more aviation fans discover the show.

From all of us at The Black Box, Merry Christmas, safe travels, and clear skies—no matter how or where you celebrate the holidays. 🎅✈️

Welcome back to the Black Box Aviation Podcast, where Tom and Mike break down aviation news, airline operations, pilot life, and the stories you don’t hear anywhere else.

In this episode, we cover a wide range of topics—from critical MD-11 fleet updates to big career news, unexpected travel chaos, and a JetBlue flight that narrowly avoided a military tanker near Venezuela.

✈️ What’s in this episode:

• MD-11 Update – New insight into bearing recommendations, inspection differences between FedEx and UPS fleets, Boeing’s role, FAA certification timelines, and the logistical nightmare of repositioning grounded aircraft across international airspace
• Instructor & Pilot Currency Issues – Simulator waivers, FAA considerations, and operational challenges during extended groundings
• BIG NEWS – Mike is officially heading to the Boeing 777
• 777 Stats Breakdown – Payload, range, GE90 engines, and why the “Big Whamma Jamma” earns its name
• Stories From the Road –
– Blue hydraulic failure discussion
– Golf in Aguadilla
– A 21-hour training commute with lounge hopping, upgrades, delays, and inflight chaos
– Escalator near-disaster and bad-luck travel moments
– TSA comments on a Labubu backpack
– Cutting a finger on a sim flap lever
• JetBlue Close Call – Flight 1112 narrowly avoids a U.S. military tanker flying co-altitude with no transponder near Venezuela
• Listener Shout-Out – Thanks to Michael in Kentucky for supporting the show

🎄 Next week: the Christmas Episode!

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Please take a moment to smash that 5-star review on Apple, Spotify, or Amazon — it helps the show reach more aviation fans every week.

Whether you’re a pilot, aviation professional, or just obsessed with flying, this episode delivers real insight from inside the cockpit.

Welcome to the Black Box Aviation Podcast, where Tom and Mike break down the latest in aviation news, airline industry updates, pilot stories, air travel trends, and real-world flying experiences.

This episode is packed with surprises, industry drama, and jaw-dropping aviation stories — including a live FedEx delivery surprise that shows up during the recording!

✈️ What we cover in this episode:

• A surprise gift delivered by FedEx LIVE during the show
• Flying with dogs on seats — a real JetBlue passenger story
• MD-11 cargo aircraft lawsuits and the growing safety concerns
• FAA grounding of MD-11 jets and what it means for cargo airlines
• NTSB investigations and maintenance controversy
• The recent U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds F-16 crash and pilot ejection
• Thoughts on the Netflix aviation documentary “Air Force Elite: Thunderbirds”
• Global Airlines and the push to revive the “Golden Age of Air Travel”
• Deep dive on the Airbus A380 — the world’s largest passenger aircraft
• Delta Air Lines revenue losses tied to government shutdown impacts
• Honest pilot talk about career progression, the Boeing 777, and real-world airline life

Plus, shout-outs to new listeners and swim meet teammates helping grow the show!

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Buckle up — this week in aviation has been absolute turbulence.
From major software recalls to a global cargo fleet grounding, winter runway scares, and wild stories from the road, Aviation Chaos Week breaks down everything shaking the industry.

✈️ This Episode Covers:
🔹 Airbus A320 global software recall impacting airlines worldwide — what caused it, who’s hit hardest, and how long disruptions may last
🔹 UPS MD-11 inspection crisis — why the fleet grounding now appears to be months, not weeks, and how cargo operations will be affected
🔹 Delta Connection runway slide-off in Des Moines — how fast winter weather can snowball into an incident
🔹 Stories From the Road — Bananas at Big Y 🤦‍♂️
🔹 Stories From Home — The Garbage Man episode
🔹 How airplanes get their names — from Pan Am Clippers to FedEx’s Purple Eagle aircraft honoring St. Jude patients

We look behind the headlines and share the pilot perspective — what’s real, what’s assumed, and what passengers never hear about.

🎧 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Amazon Music!
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🛫 Help Boost the Podcast
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It's Thanksgiving — aviation style. 🦃✈️
On this episode of the Black Box Aviation Podcast, Tom & Mike dive into the emotional, hilarious, and downright chaotic reality of spending the holidays as a pilot.

We cover:
🍽 Childhood Thanksgiving traditions (and the family chaos that came with them)
🌨 New England vs Florida — the wildest Thanksgiving weather events ever recorded
⚠️ The Portland Gale tragedy: the 1898 storm that reshaped New England history
🚢 The grounded Venezuelan freighter and Palm Beach flooding of 1984
🛄 Life on the road during Thanksgiving — loneliness, travel disasters, and unexpected moments of joy
💰 The rookie pilot who thought his $100 steak dinner was company-paid… until payday
🦃 Spotting wild turkeys on layovers and finding makeshift holiday meals across the world
🌴 Thanksgiving in Hawaii — sushi, coconut water, and Chinese food instead of turkey

This episode blends aviation, weather history, travel, comedy, and real pilot life — perfect for anyone who’s flown over the holidays or wondered what it’s really like behind the cockpit door.

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Ladies and gentlemen — welcome aboard another adrenaline-charged episode of the Black Box Aviation Podcast, where aviation gets real.

In today’s episode, Tom and Mike break down the chilling story of Swissair Flight 111, an MD-11 that departed New York for Geneva in September 1998… and never arrived. What began as a routine transatlantic flight quickly turned into one of the deadliest and most defining aviation emergencies in Canadian history.

We walk step-by-step through:
✈️ The mysterious smoke in the cockpit
✈️ The crew’s decision-making under pressure
✈️ The rarely practiced “smoke and fumes” checklist
✈️ The catastrophic role of the in-flight entertainment system
✈️ How this disaster reshaped aviation safety forever

From crew resource management to electrical fire procedures, this episode exposes the unsettling complexity of in-flight emergencies and the razor-thin line between control and chaos at 35,000 feet.

Whether you're a pilot, an aviation enthusiast, or someone fascinated by real cockpit drama, this episode is a must-listen.

📩 Contact the Show:
✉️ [email protected]
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📞 Hotline: (203) 699-6792 (Leave your name and message!)

📺 Find our YouTube Shorts: The Black Box Aviation Podcast — clips from every episode.

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Welcome back to The Black Box Aviation Podcast — where we dive into aviation, travel, and the wild, unbelievable stories from the world of flying that you need and want to know. Hosted by Tom & Mike, two pilots who love airplanes and aren't afraid to get technical.

On March 31st, 1992, a 28-year-old Boeing 707-321C departed Luxembourg carrying 70,000 lbs of freight. What should have been a routine climb turned into one of the most incredible saves in aviation history.

⚠️ At 32,000 feet, the crew encountered severe turbulence and a double bang.
💥 Not one — but two engines detached from the right wing mid-air.
🔥 A fire warning blared.
🛑 Systems failed.
👨‍✈️ Control of the aircraft became almost impossible.

With no engines on one wing, limited flight controls, and an unfamiliar runway ahead, Captain Berglund, First Officer Emery, and Flight Engineer Boone pulled off a textbook demonstration in crew resource management, airmanship, and problem solving under extreme pressure.

They landed the aircraft in flames — and every person on board survived without injury.

We break down:

• The technical factors that caused the catastrophic engine separation

• The exact decision-making that saved the flight

• What investigators discovered about metal fatigue and pylon integrity

• How aviation inspections changed after this accident

If you enjoy the episode, it helps us tremendously if you:
➡️ Rate 5 Stars on Apple, Spotify & Amazon Music
➡️ Leave a review — it boosts the show in search!

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Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music

✈️ Today’s Episode: Trans-Air-Service Flight 671⭐ Support the Show📩 Contact the Show🎧 Listen now on:

Welcome back to The Black Box Aviation Podcast, where Tom & Mike dive into aviation, travel, and everything you need and WANT to know about the world of flying.

This week is PACKED:

✈️ Breaking News — MD-11 Grounding

• FAA Air Directive grounding the MD-11, DC-10 & MD-10 fleet

• No inspection or repair guidance released yet

• NTSB briefing findings — CVR captured final 2 hours of audio

• What this means for pilots currently flying the MD-11

• Simulator concerns, schedule cancellations & pilot readiness

🚀 This Day in Aviation History — Skylab 4

• The final mission to Skylab launched November 16

• Chrysler’s surprising impact on the space race

• From Saturn rockets… to the 1990 Chrysler Lebaron (yes, really)

🛩 Stories From the Road

• Teaching kids to drive vs teaching pilots to fly

• Taxiing everything from a T-1A trainer to a C-5 Galaxy

• The stress of right-seat 180° turns in a jet with a 223-ft wingspan

• Real-world perspective on spatial awareness after recent CRJ-900 mishaps

💰 SPONSOR
Check out Nate Ehlers — The Backseat Pilot
🔗 thebackseatpilot.com
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💬 Leave a written review — it helps aviation fans find the show

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In this chilling episode of The Black Box Aviation Podcast, Tom and Mike take listeners back to one of the most haunting winter aviation disasters in U.S. history — Air Florida Flight 90, the Boeing 737 that crashed into the icy Potomac River moments after takeoff from Washington National Airport in 1982.

This episode explores how improper de-icing, pilot error, and misjudged procedures led to tragedy — and how brave civilians and first responders turned a day of horror into a story of heroism and sacrifice.

Tom, an active airline pilot, also revisits key winter operations procedures from last week’s episode — including de-icing fluids, taxi operations in snow, and engine anti-ice techniques — breaking down what went wrong that fateful day and what modern crews do differently now.

🧊 Inside This Episode:

• The deadly chain of errors behind Flight 90’s failed takeoff

• Why winter ops training is critical for every airline pilot

• Heroic rescues from the frozen Potomac that inspired the nation

• How Air Florida’s mistakes reshaped cold-weather flight protocols

✈️ Hosted by Tom & Mike, your go-to aviation duo for real talk about flight, safety, and the stories that changed the skies.

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⭐ Be sure to rate and review us on Spotify, Apple, or Amazon — your support helps Black Box reach more aviation fans around the world.

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