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Alaska Airlines Flight 261: Investigating what caused the tragedy

Aerotime

What should have been a routine flight turned into a tragedy after a part of the tail assembly failed. Twenty-five years on from this terrible accident, we look back at what led up to the crash, what was learned from it, and why the pilots Ted Thompson and Bill Tansky are now hailed as heroes for their actions during the incident.

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Helicopter that crashed in Hudson River not equipped with flight recorders: NTSB

Aerotime

RELATED Hudson River helicopter crash: what we know so far and who were the victims The agency said that the main fuselage, including the cockpit and cabin, along with the forward portion of the tail boom, the horizontal stabilizer finlets and the vertical fin, have been recovered.

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Tailless Aircraft: How Airplanes Fly Without a Tail

Pilot Institute

Have you ever seen an airplane with no tail and no vertical fin, but with just a sleek wing? They prove that with the right aerodynamic tricks, you dont need a tail to fly. Key Takeaways A tailless aircraft has no other horizontal surface besides its main wing. Directional (yawing) stability from the vertical stabilizer.

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Mach Number Explained: What It Is and Why Pilots Use It

Pilot Institute

Why do jet pilots talk about speed in terms of Mach number? Why don’t they use Indicated Airspeed just like the pilots who fly slower aircraft? Pilots switch to Mach number at high altitudes to avoid inaccuracies in IAS due to compressibility effects. And why should pilots be wary of Mach 1? Here’s why. Here’s why.

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Voices from Combat: The Consolidated PB2Y Coronado Becomes a Bomber

Vintage Aviation News

A short 18 months later, on August 13, 1937, the XPB2Y-1 took to the skies for the first time, revealing plenty of room for improvement lateral instability was a major problem for the deep-hulled boat, so the single tail fin was augmented by two smaller fins on the horizontal stabilizers. ” Smith said.

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This Incredible Plane: Transavia PL-12 Airtruk

Plane and Pilot

It was short, stubby, very tall, and had two wings and two tails. To that he added wings and tail, and placed the pilot behind all this. The unique twin tails completed this one-of-a-kind design and became the signature feature of the entire line. The pilot moved from behind the hopper to the top of it.

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Flight Test Files: Grumman F-14 Tomcat

Vintage Aviation News

The F-14s unique roll control setup, which relies on differential horizontal stabilizers and spoilers rather than traditional ailerons, provided effective control at various speeds but also introduced side forces that could contribute to spin entry. View of the cockpit of NASA’s F-14, tail number 991.