Aviation | Technology | Innovation| Space
The exchange between the pilot and the air traffic controller obtained from voice recordings is hilarious, and it is just as well that the passengers could not hear it. I am not at your airport! “I assume I’m not at your airport”, says one of the pilots of the Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 Flight …
An accident investigation hearing is conducted by non-flying experts who need six months to itemize all the mistakes made by a crew in the six minutes it had to do anything. – Anonymous Aviation does not waste any crisis… The aviation industry does not waste any aircraft accident or serious incident. Every aviation accident or …
Crash investigations focus on ‘Why’, and not ‘Whodunnit’ Read More »
By Dan Odido The saying that no news is good news is so true in aviation. The whole of 2017 passed without news of onboard fatalities in commercial aviation. Indeed there were no crashes of airliners on scheduled flights in the period between December 2016 and February 2018. This was the safest recorded period for …
The Boeing 737 Max 8 – Taking no chances with technology Read More »
By Dan Odido Space enthusiasts keenly followed the landing of a space vehicle on planet Mars on Monday 26th November. The landing of InSight on the surface of the red planet was the second great space technology event of the decade. It was preceded by the 2012 landing of the Curiosity Mars Rover. The really …
InSight Mars Landing Should Inspire Local Space Activity Read More »
By Dan Odido It is a classic case of putting a bandage on your foot because you have a toothache. The cheeky gambit by beleaguered Kenya Airways to run East Africa’s largest airport is an act of desperation, a case of a drowning man grasping at straws. Kenya Airways has undoubtedly had a horrible decade. …
Kenya Airways should focus on core business, forget JKIA Read More »
By Dan Odido When German engineer Rudolf Diesel invented the efficient engine that now bears his name, the idea was to provide affordable energy for smaller industries and farmers. He initially powered his engine using peanut oil and coal dust, and indeed he designed the engine to use vegetable oils. Diesel eventually discovered that the …
By Dan Odido A great injustice is being perpetrated against Kenyans, but they seem not to be aware of it. Or maybe they are helpless, and have just adopted the usual stoic countenance in accepting all that is handed to them. The injustice is about the airspace. The airspace is a natural resource, just …
State should provide new and bold aviation policy Read More »
By Dan Odido Engineers in Kenya are a quiet lot. They generally abide by the practice of ‘action, not words’ and take a fact-based approach to issues. However, being so self-effacing often works to their disadvantage. As the saying goes, ‘the hinge that squeaks is the one that gets oiled’; reticence has resulted in …
By Dan Odido Earlier this year in February a Robinson R22 helicopter collided with a drone resulting in a crash-landing in South Carolina, USA. The occupants of the aircraft fortunately escaped without injuries. This was the first reported aircraft crash involving collision with a drone. See: Probe after ‘drone made helicopter crash’ Another collision …
By Dan Odido Ride hailing taxi drivers on strike Ride hailing companies had a bad week. Their drivers were on the streets and not in their cabs. They were on strike demanding an increase of their cut of the earnings. The premier ride hailing company Uber, for example, pockets 25 percent of …
Passenger drones: Moving from ride hailing to flight hailing Read More »