• Wheee! Flying upside down in a super-fast jet

    Denis Balibouse / Reuters

    Pilot Christophe "Douky" Deketelaere flies his L-39C Albatros aircraft during a media presentation flight of the Breitling Jet Team, Sept.14.

    Denis Balibouse / Reuters

    L-39C Albatros aircraft from the Breitling Jet Team perform over the Rhone Valley during a media presentation flight ahead of the Sion Air Show ,Sept.14. The air show will take place in Sion from September 16 to 18.

    Dominic Favre / EPA

    The Breitling Jet Team flies during a press demonstration before the airshow of Sion, Switzerland, Sept. 14. The Breitling Jet Team is the world largest professional civilian aerobatics team performing on jets. It's made up of seven L-39C Albatros aircrafts, Czech-made twin-seater military training jets.

    By Phaedra Singelis, NBC News

     Looks like fun! But I wonder how the photographer managed to get the horizon straight while spinning and without getting sick.

     

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  • Chile: All 21 aboard crashed military plane died

    Eliseo Fernandez / Reuters

    Members of the Chilean navy transport the landing gear of a crashed plane near Juan Fernandez islands about 420 miles off Chile's coast, Sept. 3. All 21 people aboard a military aircraft that crashed into the Pacific Ocean off the remote Juan Fernandez islands perished, Chile's government said on Saturday, as rescuers and fishermen searched for bodies.Search and rescue teams have recovered four bodies so far from Friday's crash, one of Chile's worst air disasters in recent years.

     

    The Chilean CASA 212 plane crashed Friday afternoon after two failed attempts to land in difficult weather on the islands.
    "After a search involving the commander in chief of the FACh (Chilean air force) the conclusion has been reached that the impact was so powerful it would have led to the instant death of those on board the plane," said Defense Minister Andres Allamand.

    Read more here.

    Mario Ruiz / EPA

    People gather outside the National Chile Network, placing messages and lighting candles, one day after after a military aircraft crashed in the Juan Fernandez archipelago. Among the occupants of the aircraft was Felipe Camiroaga, one of the most popular entertainers of Chilean television.

  • Juergen Mahnke / AP

    Firefighters and rescuers stand near a Cessna sport plane in the city of Stockstadt am Main, Germany, on Aug. 28. The pilot of the private plane clipped the side of a house and a lamppost while guiding his Cessna into an emergency landing on a 16-foot wide residential street in western Germany. Police in Stockstadt am Main say no residents were injured and the 47-year-old pilot and his co-pilot suffered minor injuries in Sunday's crash in the densely populated area, the news agency dapd reported. They said the plane was forced down due to a technical problem, but gave no details.

    Small plane makes emergency landing on residential street in Germany

    By Katie Cannon, Senior Multimedia Editor

    Considering how narrow the pilot's 'runway' looks to be, it is amazing that everyone in the plane and on the ground escaped serious injury.

  • Jet from New York crashes in Guyana; no deaths

    Jules Gibson / AP

    The broken fuselage of a Caribbean Airlines' Boeing 737-800 is seen after it crashed at the end of the runway at Cheddi Jagan International Airport in Timehri, Guyana, Saturday, July 30. Caribbean Airlines flight 523 from New York touched down on the rainy runway, slid through a chain-link fence and broke apart just short of a ravine but there were no immediate reports of death among the 163 people aboard, despite several dozen injuries.

    By Katie Cannon, Senior Multimedia Editor

    I can't believe a taxi driver had the nerve to charge one of the crash survivors fare to get to the terminal. Read below.

    AP reports:

    Geeta Ramsingh, 41, of Philadelphia, who said passengers had just started to applaud the touchdown "when it turned to screams," she said. She hopped onto the wing and then onto the dirt road outside the runway fence, apparently suffering only bruised knees.

    Nobody had yet showed up to rescue her, "but a taxi driver appeared from nowhere and charged me $20 to take me to the terminal. I had to pay, but in times of emergencies, you don't charge people for a ride," she said, sitting on a chair in the arrival area surrounded by relatives. She was returning to her native country for only the second time in 30 years.

    Read the full story here.

  • Fighter jet rises from the bottom of the sea

    Reuters

    A Greek Air Force Mirage 2000 fighter jet lays on the bottom of the Aegean sea near the Greek island of Samos after it crashed on June 9, 2011. Both pilots ejected before the crash and were rescued unhurt by a military vessel.

    Reuters

    Divers salvage a Greek Air Force Mirage 2000 jet fighter from the bottom of the Aegean sea near the Greek island of Samos after it crashed on June 9.

    Reuters

    Divers salvage a Greek Air Force Mirage 2000 jet fighter from the bottom of the Aegean sea near the Greek island of Samos after it crashed on June 9.

    Reuters

    A Greek Air Force Mirage 2000 fighter jet is lifted from the Aegean sea near the Greek island of Samos.

    By Jonathan Woods, msnbc.com

    I'm guessing this jet stands about as good of a chance of coming back to life as my iPhone 4 after it fell in the lake.

    This jet crashed a couple weeks ago during an exercise between the Greek islands of Samos and Fourni. The cause of the crash still remains unknown.

  • World War II-era US plane found buried in mud in Thailand

    Chaiwat Subprasom / Reuters

    Thai Air Force officials excavate the wreckage of a U.S. World War II combat aircraft, a P-51D Mustang, in Pathum Thani province on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand on June 9.

    Reuters reports:

    The plane was shot down during World War II as it was dropping bombs at a military camp in Don Muang in then Japanese-allied Thailand. The owner of the land recently discovered the wreckage and alerted officials who plan to display the remains in the Thai Air Force museum in Bangkok.

    The plane, a P-51D Mustang, was uncovered on the outskirts of Bangkok. TODAY.com's Dara Brown reports.

  • Terrified passengers aboard blazing jetliner

    SINGAPORE — Terrified passengers aboard a blazing jetliner prayed together before the plane made an emergency landing on Monday. An engine on a Cathay Pacific Airbus A330-300 caught fire in midair.

    Beawiharta / Reuters

    Passengers on Cathay Pacific flight CX715 prepare to disembark from the aeroplane after it landed safely at Changi Airport in Singapore on May 16. The A330 flight, which was enroute to Jakarta, experienced engine trouble shortly after takeoff and had to return to Singapore. Its right engine was burnt, according to pilot Bradley Chic.

    Cathay Pacific said the jet, bound for Jakarta with 136 passengers on board, landed back in Singapore "without incident" just before 2 a.m. It said the crew shut down the engine after receiving a "stall warning." Continue reading.

    Beawiharta / Reuters

    Passengers on Cathay Pacific flight CX715 disembark from the aeroplane after it landed safely at Changi Airport in Singapore on May 16.

    Reuters photographer Beawiharta was aboard the aircraft with his wife, two sons and daughter. As any good photographer knows, and as these dramatic images prove, you should always have your camera on you.

    Beawiharta / Reuters

    Firefighters try to put out a fire on the starboard engine of Cathay Pacific CX715, an Airbus A330 passenger jet, after it made an emergency landing at Singapore Changi Airport on May 16.

  • Chuck Kirman / The Ventura County Star via AP

    Firefighters battle a blaze at Wells Cargo Self Storage after a single-engine plane crashed into one of the storage buildings, Saturday, April 9, in Camarillo, Calif.

    Small plane crashes into California storage facility

    By Katie Cannon, Senior Multimedia Editor

    I have to admit that as I grow older, I'm not a huge fan of flying even though I have been around planes my whole life since my father is an aerospace engineer, had his pilot's license and was at one point certified to fly a 737. While this crash involved a small plane, I remember seeing a show a number of years ago that suggested that passengers should count the number of seat rows between themselves and the nearest exit so as to be able to feel their way out in a smoke-filled plane. Another tip was to wear sturdy shoes that would be suitable to wear in a debris-filled situation and clothing made of natural fibers like cotton or wool, as these materials will not melt into your skin like synthetic fibers...gross, I know. Call me paranoid, but I always count rows, wear a good pair of boots and cotton clothing. Read more about the plane crash in California here in which everyone fortunately survived.

  • Auto-mechanic builds DIY airplane for $395

    Sheng Li / Reuters

    Ding Shilu, an automobile mechanic, drives his self-made aircraft for a test-flight on the outskirts of Shenyang, Liaoning province, China on Feb. 25. The aircraft, which weighs about 287 lbs and is made of recycled materials including three motorbike engines and plastic cloth, cost about 2600 yuan ($395), local media reported.

    Sheng Li / Reuters

    Ding Shilu carries out a test-flight for his self-made aircraft on Feb. 25.

  • Shakil Adil / AP

    Pakistani volunteers and firefighters struggle to extinguish a fire at the site of a plane crash in Karachi, Pakistan on Sunday, Nov. 28. A cargo plane crashed into a housing complex in Pakistan's largest city soon after takeoff Sunday, setting off a huge blaze. The aircraft had eight crew on board, the civil aviation authority said.

    Cargo plane crashes in Pakistan killing eight Russian crew, ground casualties likely

    Read the full story here.

  • Rob Yuill/ Albanpix via Rex USA

    A glider piloted by Mike Newman, 35, loses air speed before crash-landing during an air show at the Shoreham airport in West Sussex, England, on Mon, Aug. 23.

    Rob Yuill/ Albanpix via Rex USA

    The wing of the glider bends as it makes contact with the ground.

    Rob Yuill/ Albanpix via Rex USA

    After making impact in front of 15,000 horrified fans, Newman is dangerously exposed as the cockpit breaks apart.

    Rob Yuill/ Albanpix via Rex USA

    The pilot, attempting aerial acrobatics, lost airspeed and crashed while performing for the Swift Aerobatic Display Team during the Royal Air Forces Association airshow at the Shoreham airport in West Sussex, England.

    Rob Yuill/ Albanpix via Rex USA

    The glider comes to a halt on the runway.

    asdf

    Newman crawls from his glider. He suffered three cracked vertibrae but is anticipated to make a full recovery.

    A brush with death

    By Jonathan Woods, msnbc.com

    This is an incredible sequence of images of a plane crash during an air show captured by photographer Rob Yuill.

    In an interview with the Daily Mail, Photographer Rob Yuill talked about the nature of the crash.

    "He had a very lucky escape indeed. I realized the glider was at the wrong angle as its nose went down. He had lost air speed and headed straight into the ground. The nose section just crumpled. It was an awful thing to see. There was a silence from the crowd as people took in what had happened around 400 feet in front of them."

    "I felt a real sense of relief when the pilot crawled away. I had feared the worst because it was such an awful crash."

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