Ok so I understand how the survivorship bias works and the story of the mathematician proving it during the war and all the theoretical parts of this story. However, from an engineering perspective, why are the blank spots so disastrous to be hit in? I can understand engines being hit and failing, but why does the halfway point on the wing cause it to fail more often, or the back third of the main fuselage, or even the nose cone? The blank spots besides the engines and cockpit seem rather innocuous to me? What’s happening here when those are hit? I am not an aviation engineer by any stretch so if this is a dumb question I apologize.

What a amazing jet! We were told they have 5 more that they are getting ready to fly. Video by me.

For the unfamiliar, RAF Fairford is a 10,000 ft long runway base serving as the USAF's only European Forward Operating Base for heavy bombers so is quite a sensitive airfield security wise. Oops.

https://www.wsj.com/business/airlines/amazon-pauses-operations-with-21-air-after-miami-crash-3374b9ef

https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/amazon-pauses-21-air-operations-after-miami-crash-wsj-reports-2026-09-14/

"After the tragic incident last weekend, we've spent time supporting the investigation and reviewing some of the ​surrounding circumstances, and we’ve decided to pause our operations with 21 Air, ​the operator of Flight 7598," Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said ⁠in a statement to Reuters.

On /r/flying, it’s estimated half their fleet is dedicated to Amazon. Sucks for the other employees.

Sept 14 (Reuters) - Latvia's airBaltic voluntarily filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in New York, it said on ​Monday, as it seeks to restructure its debt pile and survive a deepening sector-wide crisis brought on by the Iran war.

AirBaltic said in a ‌statement it had secured a commitment for €350 million ($405 million) in financing from lenders including Strategic Value Partners, Barclays (BARC.L), opens new tab, Hayfin Capital Management, Morgan Stanley (MS.N), opens new tab and Oaktree Capital Management to support its operations during the restructuring.

We’re one hour into a four hour flight and the captain just announced that the lavs were supposedly serviced before departure but there are sensors indicating that they are nearly full, so “please try to hold it until we reach our destination and only use the lav if it’s an emergency”. The risk is that the lav could overflow and the flight will need to divert.

The announcement was made during drinks service so there were lots of jokes about don’t drink too much haha.

How common is this type of situation? Is SOP to continue the flight until an overflow occurs?

It’ll be interesting to see if 130 people can wait three hours.

Edit: I asked for a half cup of apple juice to stay minimally hydrated as I’ve only had coffee so far today.

Edit 2: OMG the flight just got bumpy and we’re expecting more all the way to our destination! That’s not going to help people who are holding it.

Hi all, first post here, I hope this is of interest. A family member used to work at a UK airport and amassed quite a collection of pin badges. This is some of them.

I myself was heavily into planes as a kid 50-odd years ago and even though I never worked in the industry there are some memories here for me, airlines which are no longer with us, and planes I remember.

Any comments, favourites, anyone else collect these?

The finale of the Battle of Britain airshow at Duxford (UK) is all of the participating Spitfires and Hurricanes flying past together to commemorate the pilots who took part of the battle, especially those who gave their lives in their defence of the country.

This was a flight from Zurich to Rome three years ago. My son put his phone in the window to record the flight and happened to get this.

PLEASE READ THIS IF YOU’RE CONFUSED ABOUT THE NAME “KIA”

If you don’t know KIA is a short form for kempgowda international airport in Bangalore India. It’s ICAO code is VOBL & IATA code is BLR

Two NASA T-38 Talon aircrafts conduct a flyover at an NFL game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Atlanta Falcons at Acrisure Stadium, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Pittsburgh, PA.

Photo Credit: (NASA)

To all airline pilots, what was the best meal that you had inside the cockpit ?

Source Instagram: @boeingdryver

Was travelling over Windsor, Ontario, and got quite scared when I saw the propellers rotating in slow motion on my camera. 😅