It’s common for airline Cabin Staff to be treated will little respect and the travelling public assume that they are little more than waitresses. However, if you have a heart attack, suffer anxiety, need oxygen or directions in the case of an emergency evacuation it’s these highly trained professionals who will be the ones to help you. Some are also brave and resourceful beyond all expectations. One of those was Neerja Bhanot and this is her story.
A poster for the film made about Neerja.
The hijacked Pan Am 747, flight 73.
Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to the Indian Government and aussieairliners.org
There is a particular class of Military personnel who, at least in my time, were referred to as Capture Prone. Whilst for me it was something that was treated as a mild annoyance, during conflict, being captured represents a true hazard. For the crew of a downed B-24 Liberator, Wham Bam Thank You Ma’am, during WW2 who faced the fury of the German people, it would be deadly.
A Consolidated B-24 Liberator
Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Jerry J. Jostwick and the US Gov/USAF archive.
Six turning and four burning… what a sight it must have been to see the mighty Convair B36 Peacemaker fly. Less of a welcome sight would be watching a nuclear weapon being dropped by one in Canadian territorial waters only a few hundred miles North of Vancouver! This is the story of Bomber 075 and its sad ending!
The later marks of the Peacemaker had an additional 4 jet engines!
Convair XB-36 main landing gear.
The US Mk4 nuclear bomb.
Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to the USAF and the US Gov.
Hong Kong’s old airport, Kai Tak, was always a challenging approach for any pilot, particularly during the Typhoon season but what was it like to actually fly around the Checker Board. Hopefully, this Tale explains all.
One particular Captain’s very last Kai Tak landing.
Aircraft on the approach would just clear the apartment blocks of Kowloon.
How the airport looked in the late ’60s before the IGS was built.
A 747-400 ran off the end of Runway 13 into the harbour. The military blew off its fin because it jutted up into the take off path.
Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Christian Hanuise, Barbara Spengler and Ywchow.
On the APG show we have been discussing why the percentage of airline pilots in a stable relationship is so much higher than the average population. In this interview we discover what it’s like to be a pilot’s wife.
The photograph I took of Mrs A on the day we met.Taking the kids on their daly ride around the Base to see the kangaroos!The Airline Pilot’s Wife.
