Alongside the rest of the airshow and aviation industry, we are deeply saddened by the passing of Major Maciej Krakowian during a rehearsal display in Poland yesterday.
Maciej, also known as SLAB, and his aircraft starred in the flying display at this year’s Royal International Air Tattoo in what was a highlight for many of our visitors.
Our thoughts are with his loved ones during this time.
@vcdgf555@flightradar24 Both of them show up on tracking sites as still being in Sweden. It is highly unlikely that any of them will be delivered until Sweden gets the first GlobalEye
Jag heter Orvar Bäcklin. Jag är specialistofficer (fj) i flygvapnet.
Jag har jobbat mer eller mindre heltid med skjututbildning de senaste åtta åren, från värnpliktsutbildning via kadetter vidare till att vara lärare på de apex-utbildningar i skjutteknik som genomförs i FM.
I was a Blackhawk helicopter crew chief in the Army.
I was even a Flight Instructor. This means that I trained Crew Chiefs and ensured that they completed all training annually to maintain their flight ratings.
One massive responsibility we had was to be the eyes for the pilots. We handled airspace obstacle avoidance and communicated potential risks to the pilots.
Quite often we would train as a flight of 2 or 3 birds flying in formation.
It was my job to have my head out the window and tell the pilots that the aircraft behind us was "staggered right at 3 discs". (We measured close distances in terms of the diameter of our rotor discs).
I can tell you after doing this for hundreds of hours, even when you know EXACTLY where a Blackhawk is, and you have night vision goggles on, it is EXTREMELY hard to SEE the aircraft.
These birds are designed to be hard to see at night.
The red and green lights on the side get lost in the lights of the city below. The only "lights" on top of the aircraft are called "slime lights" because they are a very very very dim green.
Incredibly difficult to see.
If you are above the helicopter, even if it has it flood light or spot light (2 different lights) on, underneath it, it is still hard to see the bird because all of that illumination is below the airframe.
Another thing people should know is just how busy things can get on the aircraft.
Pilots are talking to each other about what they are observing on the instrument panels. This means neither are looking outside the aircraft.
The crew chief might be conducting a fuel check, where we would also be looking up into the cockpit at the fuel gages and the clock.
This CAN lead to moments where all 3 people on the aircraft are all looking inside the aircraft.
It's not supposed to happen that way. We are supposed to announce when we are "coming inside" or are "back outside" the aircraft. But that doesn't always happen.
Also, in cities like DC, the radio traffic is constant and can make it hard to filter out what is important for you to listen to.
Checking instruments, doing math, reading checklists, and listening to multiple radios all at the same time is HARD. Mistakes happen.
Anyone out there telling you that they find the aircraft collision to be suspect, have NEVER been in a flight crew and they have ZERO idea what they are talking about.
Ignore them all. Better yet, mock the hell out of them.
999 times out of 1000 aircraft incidents always come down to a series of pilot and crew errors.
Humans are involved. They aren't perfect.
Tonight, my heart and mind is with the families of those involved in this tragic event.
I won't join the chorus of idiots making speculations.
New Glenn safely reached its intended orbit during today's NG-1 mission, accomplishing our primary objective. The second stage is in its final orbit following two successful burns of the BE-3U engines. The Blue Ring Pathfinder is receiving data and performing well.
We lost the booster during descent. We knew landing the first stage on the first try was ambitious. We'll learn, refine, and apply that knowledge to our next launch in the spring. We're thrilled with today's outcome. More: https://t.co/5cF4ACgm3X
The Starship team is go for prop load, and weather is looking ideal for today's flight test!
The launch webcast will go live ~35 minutes ahead of liftoff which is currently targeted for 7:25am CT
Hello Earth -
We are so grateful for all the support! Please enjoy two recent photos from our mission and stay tuned for our next message 🎶
Sent to you from space over a beam of Starlink laser light 🛰️ - Crew of Polaris Dawn
SpaceX and the Polaris Dawn crew have completed the first commercial spacewalk!
“SpaceX, back at home we all have a lot of work to do, but from here, Earth sure looks like a perfect world.” — Mission Commander @rookisaacman during Dragon egress and seeing our planet from ~738 km
Alpha is coming to Esrange! Together with @fireflyspace, SSC is establishing an orbital launch service in Sweden. This new partnership will unlock a capability for the expanding European satellite market, aiming at a first launch in 2026 🚀🤩🇺🇸🇸🇪
https://t.co/0CgHuqqpiy
Alpha is going international! Together with @SSCspace, Firefly is expanding Alpha's launch capabilities to Esrange Space Center in Sweden starting in 2026. This new partnership will unlock a long-awaited capability for the European satellite market. Get the details here: https://t.co/vtVVJWG7lu
@ku315888603@ZAC_BlazeA It's in no way suspicious if you think of it from an opsec pov.
Posting real time videos/pictures from a hostile area is just stupid.
Maybe he just found a nice video and reposted it, not so uncommon actually.