NOTAMs – notices to air missions (formerly notices to airmen) – are critical to safe operations because they contain the details of, well, everything and anything going on at airports and airspaces, which might impact flight operations. New York (KJFK | JFK) is fixing up a taxiway? The details will be in a NOTAM. North Korea fired a missile that might encroach of Japanese airspace? Check the NOTAMs. Large flocks of birds are hanging around Mumbai? You got it, there is a NOTAM for it. Actually, we rather like this one about highly endangered birds for Chiang Mai, although sadly ..read more

The Indonesian volcano Semeru, Mount Ruang on remote Tagaulandang island in Indonesia has erupted, causing significant disruption to flight operations in the region. The Darwin VAAC (Volcanic Ash Advisory Center), responsible for monitoring volcanoes in the southern Asian region, has issued an ash advisory coding the latest eruption as orange – moderate impact for aviation. The primary eruption resulted in an ash cloud rising to approximately 5km, however due to meteorological cloud in the area, satellite imagery is currently unable to determine the level of volcanic ash in the region. FV ..read more

As Iran launched a retaliatory attack on Israel last weekend, airspace in the region was restricted, impacting thousands of flights that normally navigate the busy airways of the Middle East. Comparing the days preceding the attack to the days after gives an idea of the importance of the region to global air travel as well as the gravity of the dangers facing flights in the area. Closing airspace FIR boundaries and airways in the region. Click to enlarge When Iran launched hundreds of projectiles in the direction of Israel, Jordan was the first to close its airspace, “for operational reas ..read more

As the popularity of flight tracking has grown, each time an aircraft “squawks 7700,” thousands of users turn to Flightradar24 to follow the flight. As more users enable push notifications for these flights, their following has grown to push these flights to the top of our most tracks flights list any time they occur. But has the actual number of squawk 7700 events increased? What is Squawking 7700? The phrase “squawking 7700” comes from the universal transponder code for “General Emergency.” All aircraft broadcast a four digit “squawk code” assigned by air traffic control. There are thre ..read more

Indonesian investigators released their preliminary report last week regarding a Batik Air flight from Kendari to Jakarta where both pilots fell asleep during the flight. Both pilots were asleep on the flight deck for nearly 30 minutes. Batik Air flight 6723 departed Kendari (KDI) at 00:05 UTC (08:05 local time) for Jakarta, with a scheduled flight time of 1 hour, 25 minutes. The flight climbed to a cruising altitude of 36,000 feet 32 minutes after takeoff. According to the preliminary safety recommendation report released by Indonesian investigators, the pilot in command (PIC) began ..read more

Ten years ago today, one of the most tragic and baffling events in the history of commercial aviation unfolded off the coast of Malaysia. The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight 370 confounded authorities and focused the world on implementing a global system for tracking aircraft in distress. 10 years later the ICAO Global Aeronautical Distress and Safety System (GADSS) is helping to ensure aircraft are always able to be located.  Flightradar24 as it looked in 2014 displaying data received from MH370 How MH370 changed flight tracking The initial information provided by Malaysia ..read more

Autonomous flight is just over the horizon, with multiple companies working on pilotless aircraft. But Daedalean is a key company in attempting to bring artificial intelligence into general aviation. As the company’s first product nears certification, we take a look at the steps in reaching full autonomy, with a few words from the company’s CEO.  The three main parts of autonomous flying To create a system capable of adequately flying a full flight, the Daedalean team identified three main challenges to overcome. The first, positioning and navigation (the system can correctly identif ..read more

A Ural Airlines A320 operating from Sochi to Omsk was attempting to divert to Novosibirsk when the aircraft ran out of fuel and was forced to land in a field about 175 kilometers west of the city. No one onboard the aircraft suffered any serious injuries. Hydraulic failure leads to diversion The pilots reported a failure of the A320’s (RA-73805, formerly VP-BMW) green hydraulic system on approach to Omsk. The crew discontinued the approach and elected to divert to Novosibirsk. The runways at Novosibirsk are 3600 meters long, compared to Omsk’s 2500 meters. With a failed green hydraulic sy ..read more

The military leaders of Niger’s coup have closed the country’s airspace, citing the possibility of military intervention from neighboring states. Flights already in the air when the airspace closed were rerouted or diverted. While the initial NOTAM is scheduled to end on 7 Aug at 23:59 UTC, there is a high likelihood of extension. Niger’s NOTAM NOTAMs or Notice to Air Missions are published official warnings for airspace and airport issues. They can range from alerts about construction at a certain airport to total airspace closures. The following text is the NOTAM issued by Niger: A0990 ..read more

A Delta 767-300ER en route from Prague to New York on 7 July 2022 experienced a loss of aileron control as it neared the Canadian coast. After descending in preparation for an emergency landing in Canada, the pilots regained full control of the aircraft and were able to continue to New York. The NTSB this week issued their final report on the incident. Pilots become plumbers Two of the lavatories aboard the Delta 767 were leaking, one from an area near the toilet and the other from an area near the sink. The 767 was being operated by two complete crews, so the two pilots not flying invest ..read more