The World’s Most Dangerous Airport Approaches

The World’s Most Dangerous Airport Approaches

Share this story Most airport approaches are boring. You descend on a three-degree glideslope, the ILS holds your hand, and the runway appears out of the haze exactly where it should be. The autopilot could do it. Often, it does. Then there are the approaches that...
Why Some Contrails Stretch Across the Entire Sky

Why Some Contrails Stretch Across the Entire Sky

Share this story Look up on a clear day and you will see them: white lines drawn across the sky by aircraft cruising at 30,000 feet and above. Some vanish almost instantly, dissolving into nothing within seconds of forming. Others stretch from horizon to horizon,...
The Five Most Dangerous Minutes of Every Flight

The Five Most Dangerous Minutes of Every Flight

Share this story The flight is one hour long. For 55 minutes of it, practically nothing bad can happen. The aircraft is at cruise altitude, the autopilot is engaged, and the most dangerous object in the cockpit is probably the coffee. But the first two and a half...
Iraq Reopens Airspace After 40 Days of War

Iraq Reopens Airspace After 40 Days of War

Share this story For forty days, Iraq’s skies were empty. No airliners climbed out of Baghdad. No cargo flights departed Basra. No pilgrims flew into Najaf. The entire country’s airspace — closed since February 28, when the first American and Israeli...
Space Force Budget Doubles to $71 Billion

Space Force Budget Doubles to $71 Billion

Share this story The United States Space Force is six years old, has fewer personnel than the New York City Police Department, and just asked Congress for $71 billion. If approved, the 2027 budget request would nearly double the service’s funding in a single...