7 Stories That SHOOK Aviation In January 2025!

Love this format. Thank you so much

I fly drones recreationaly! These drone operators infuriate me! WE are not all stupid like these people! I never fly when manned aircraft are within miles of my drones! and I usually remain below 100 ft Pictures from above 100ft above ground are usually to far away and useless anyway! Flying near any emergency situations or vehicles are strictly forbidden. Just because they can afford a drone doesn't mean they should be allowed to fly them!!!

Now that Elon Musk and DOGE are part of the federal government in the USAutocracy, let's see what kind of investigation emerges from the SpaceX incident.

As I am sure you are aware, there was a medical transport plane that crashed in Philadelphia shortly after that helicopter/airliner crash in Washington, DC. I was hoping that you would cover that crash as information is being kept quiet. Also the patient being transported was a young child and her mom. Very sad.
Separately, I wanted to say that I am hoping that you will be able to keep this channel going. You do such an amazing job of explaining what did or might have happened to cause whatever you are talking about. A monthly brief rundown of what is happening in the world of aviation currently is a great service. Thank you.

insane that in the space of eight days, an American Airlines jet plus a military helicopter go down in DC, a Cessna medevac goes down in Philadelphia, and a Bering Air flight vanishes over Alaskan waters. this doesn't even feel real. they're all different airlines, manufacturers, and consumer demographics, and all the crashes were caused by completely different things, so it's obviously a coincidence, but... it's hard not to read into a series of devastating and horrifying coincidences that don't seem to be slowing down at all

Hey, Petter. Thanks for saying what you did about 5342 and the military helicopter. My father lost one of his students in that flight. It’s been hard for him and I, but a lot of news are turning it into a political issue, and I just want the facts. I didn’t know that about the military helicopter, and that’s making a tad bit more sense as of what has now come out.

WOW! you are so much more than an a aviator, you teach all the technical and political aspects .I have much respect for YOU...!

WHAT!? You mean the world might tariff him back‽

There has been a suggestion to give that airport over to the military and a larger safer airport put in about 0-20 miles from D C. There are congestions not being addressed for this airport. After all, what government would put a strategically important airport to our center of government not closed but to only that power. This airport because of directives for all uses is way too tight. The accident proved the point.

1. Can drones be prevented from flying by blocking the specific bands that they use? Or are those bands used for other things as well?

2. I think you've touched on the ATC shortage in other videos as well (or if not it's worth touching upon) but are there systems being worked on to automate any part of ATC jobs to reduce their workload?

Like you, Petter I get so amazed and fascinated by the big, super scoopers and planes that fight fires- no doubt there are some of the bravest pilots on this earth!

Boeing had an issues with their space craft star liner which stranded two astronauts on the ISS. That does not include their Boeing Max issues which never been resolved. I have zero trust in the Boeing company since safety is not of their concern and priority.

January and February the plot thickens, Since you had done this episode (within THREE WEEKS, there has been now TWO additional crashes, less than a minute after taking off from Philadelphia, a Lear Jet 55 medic flight bound for Tijuana, suddenly nosed over and dived crashing upon a commercial part of Philly one engine literally exploding just before contact with a pavement, 7 souls were lost inclusive of a girl who came to Philly to the Paediatric Hospital of Philadelphia for specialised care.

Then in Alaska, near Nome, a Cessna 208-B Grand Caravan crashed into the sea just before stabilising for landing. 10 (or 11?) people perished. Cause is unknown and under NTSB investigation. It is a large plane for a single engine Cessna (I thought it rather foolish to design a large plane with only ONE engine, it was a P&W PT-60 (I think). THREE crashes within a three week period - unprecedented! Petter, if you haven't already done so, you might want to also cover these other two accidents as well. Keep the blue side up. Thanks

FAA investigation into Elon is over, Elon sacked the head of the FAA.

Sean Duffy is a Lawyer and has been in reality shows... Someone who hasn't done anything with transportation has become the head of transportation...

Too many photos of Trump! Even one is too many.

Add what, 3-4 more collisions since this video went live?

Consumer protection in the USA is really a joke.. 75$ or more for delays over 3 hours? wtf..
Now as soon as that flight starts or lands in an EU airport, you have EU air passenger rights which set 350€ for short-haul, 400€ for medium-haul and 600€ for long-haul flights as compensation with min. 3h delay at arrival.
Not a shitty voucher, but hard cash!
And if they dont pay, you can easily find a company willing to sue them with no upfront cost to you, they take like 15-25% of the compensation as their reward.

Same with getting back paid taxes on the ticket-price if you didnt fly. 5min work and easy 60€ back.

Go drones!!!! Screw the airplane. They just to hog the airspace for themselves. Sadly Petter has also decided to join that hogging and bullying.

What do I think about tariffs? I think the Mexicans and Canadians, should tell the Californians to put the next fire out themselves. 🖕

I have suspicion that we will wait for the results of the proper investigation for years, more specific, more than 4 years...

Since you posted this 10 days ago, there have been an additional three fatal accidents in the US. Are you planning on providing an update on what is potentially going on right now?

So you disagree with dt that it was women and black people who caused the crash?

I'd be curious what you think about the changes to the FAA and fact that there was no acting administrator of the FAA when the collision in DC, and if that's going to affect whether or not you want to fly to/from/in the US

Will you do an episode about the near miss over Phoenix the Saturday before the AA crash? A Delta and a United flight came within 1000 feet of impact above Phoenix on approach and TCAS was activated to avert disaster.

Yes, anything that goes (or potentially) through flight space needs to be regulated by the FAA. Not that will happen under perident Musk.

While I understand the idea of tariffs seems good on the surface, as you stated, counter tariffs usually follow. So, in the end, consumers are who pays more for it for no perceived benefit. I especially don't like the idea for ally nations.

Excellent! Great coverage of the month.

Editing Note: the United States Postal Service official abbreviation for Kansas is "KS". Yes it's counterintuitive, but what else might one expect from government.

Not to be a pendent, but their was a fatal crash involving a US passenger carrier. PenAir Flight 3296 (marketed as Alaska Airlines Flight 3296) overran the runway at Dutch Harbor (Unalaska) in 2019, resulting in one death and an additional serious injury and several minor. It's actually a pretty interesting case. Lots of disagreement about the underlying cause and culpability that's still being litigated. Basically, the pilots were really low time on type and landed with a tailwind probably exceeding the maximum demonstrated, but they probably could have stopped in time if the break anti-skid system hadn't been wired backward during its last overhaul, but Saab made it so it was a pretty easy mistake to make.

If you have any influence in the non-US based aviation industry please advocate for these carriers to cease operations into or out of the US until the safety situation is resolved and the government employees that provide the safety component are returned to work. These include air traffic controllers and ground safety personnel along with inspectors and other regulators.

How come you never accuse china of violating diversity equity and inclusion?

Yet obviously show off Comac workers, hey European JD Vance called out Hypocrites like you. Accountability follows you everywhere, Pilot.

Gonna be a year huh?

F c k Boeing

The hits just keep coming! 😮
Flying is unsafe now, all of a sudden?😮

The Nimitz carrier "Truman" was hit at sea. Does that count as the entire airwing being involved in a collision?

yeah, flying a drone in the aircraft space is not only dangerous but so stupid, like anyone with common sense should have known, not to do it.

Yes, I remember Skylab coming down over Australia. It was a real problem then and a greater problem now. It's fundamentally about risk management, but the consequences of debris hitting an aircraft suggest exclusion zones are necessary. The problem is predicting them given the inherently unpredictable nature of spacecraft failure. More is better than less I think despite the disruption potential.

Under Trump the FAA can not be trusted (if it ever was). European Regulators MUST go over ANY new Boeing Aircraft with a Microscope to ensure the safety of European Air Passengers.

I'm confused about how the tariffs will effect us here in Canada, in terms of aviation. Will prices for american flights go up?

Notice only countries that already have tariffs against the US are being targeted. Probably in an effort to decrease those tariffs and make the cost of exports/ imports equal between those countries and the US. Since WWll the US has exported it's economy to help other countries rebuild and recover by allowing those countries to charge a tariff while not charging anything in return. It is unfortunate that those countries still need tariffs, likely because of mismanagement, in order to stay viable and stable as independent countries. Lets hope the world can survive the US weaning the babies from the teat.

What si happening with aviation? They have been too obscure months.

Looking at Chinese efforts in large domestic building projects, I'm not sure about flying in a Chinese aircraft....... and with the US shredding it's regulators, it looks like Airbus for me

I don’t like the idea of fining airlines for late flights as I think it going to lead to pressure on pilots from airlines to rush flights or takeoff in unsafe conditions.