Airplanes

Bankruptcy of U.K.'s Largest Travel Operator Strands Thousands of Vacationers

The U.K. government is undertaking the largest repatriation effort since WWII to bring home 150,000 Thomas Cook customers

Ameila Earhart standing in front of the Lockheed Electra in which she disappeared in 1937.

Why the Much-Publicized Mission to Find Amelia Earhart's Plane Is Likely to Come Up Empty

The explorer who discovered the 'Titanic' is searching for the lost aviator. A Smithsonian curator doesn’t think he’ll find it.

A picture of the XF8F-1 Bearcat. David L. Mandt was flying the same model when he crashed into the Chesapeake Bay.

Traces of WWII Veteran’s Doomed Final Flight May Have Been Located in the Chesapeake Bay

Few definitive traces of either the pilot or his plane have materialized since the 1945 crash

Robert Friend photographed in 2016 in Los Angeles, California.

Robert Friend, Tuskegee Airman Who Flew in 142 Combat Missions, Dies at 99

The World War II veteran also led Project Blue Book, a classified Air Force investigation of unidentified flying objects, between 1958 and 1963

This Company Is Using Vintage Seaplanes in Their Quest to Become the First All-Electric Airline

Vancouver-based Harbour Air will soon outfit its classic seaplanes with battery-powered aviation motors

Archaeologists, Tour Operators, Locals Raise Alarm Over International Airport at Machu Picchu

They are petitioning the government to reconsider the project, which is planned to be completed by 2023

Desert kites, stone structures used for hunting, discovered in the U2 images.

U-2 Spy Plane Images Reveal Ancient Archaeological Sites in the Middle East

Two patient archaeologists organized and scanned the images to find structures destroyed or covered up over the last 60 years

Roxie Laybourne's work changed the role of museums in public life by turning the Smithsonian’s collection of thousands of birds into an applied science tool.

Meet Roxie Laybourne, the Feather Detective Who Changed Aviation

A new Sidedoor episode tells the story of Roxy Laybourne, a Smithsonian scientist who pioneered the field of forensic ornithology

The June 6, 2019, event will mirror paratrooper landings on D-Day

What to Expect for 'D-Day 75'

Preparations for the 75th anniversary of D-Day are already underway, and will include the flight of 30 Douglas C-47 Skytrains

Why Aren't There Electric Airplanes Yet? It Comes Down to Batteries.

Batteries need to get lighter and more efficient before we use them to power energy-guzzling airplanes

U.S. Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft fire chaff and flare countermeasures over the Nevada Test and Training Range Nov. 17, 2010.

The Woman Whose Invention Helped Win a War — and Still Baffles Weathermen

Her work long overlooked, physicist Joan Curran developed technology to conceal aircraft from radar during World War II

A time-lapse image showing the plane flying across a gymnasium.

MIT Flies Model Airplane Powered by the Blue Glow of Electric Fields and Ionic Winds

The model plane, with no moving parts, could pave the way for new flight technology that emits no pollutants

The 2000 crash of Flight 4590, says author Samme Chittum, was a perfect storm of chemistry gone wrong, a disaster as remarkable in its own way as the Concorde’s typical grace in flight.

This Freak Aviation Disaster Brought Supersonic Idealism Down in Flames

In a just-released Smithsonian Book, author Samme Chittum assesses the Concorde’s demise with the keen eye of a crime reporter

World War II Bombing Shockwaves Were Strong Enough to Reach Edge of Space

Analysis of radio records in the ionosphere showed that Allied Forces' bombing runs over Germany altered the upper atmosphere

In July 1942, the "Lost Squadron," a unit consisting of two B-17 bomber planes and six P-38 fighters, landed on a remote Greenlandic glacier

The Wreck of a WWII Fighter Plane Will Be Unearthed from a Greenland Glacier

The P-38 fighter is a member of the famed Lost Squadron, which landed on ice caps after running afoul of poor weather in July 1942

The Air Force's X-37B space plane.

The U.S. Military Has Been in Space From the Beginning

While the proposed branch of the armed forces may be controversial, the history of the so-called "Space Force" is longstanding

Sean D. Tucker says the Oracle Challenger III is "truly a magic carpet—just a dream to fly."

This One-of-a-Kind Biplane Embodies the Thrill of Airshow Flight

The Air and Space Museum’s new “We All Fly” gallery will encourage imaginations to soar

Remains of Tuskegee Airman Found in Austria

Researchers and archaeologists have recovered the remains of distinguished flyer Lawrence E. Dickson whose plane crashed during a mission in 1944

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When Air Traffic Control Realized a 9/11 Flight Was Gone

As news starts pouring in of an attack on the World Trade Center, concerned air traffic controllers begin to suspect the worst

This Sailor Got Sucked Inside a Fighter Jet Engine

From getting sucked into a fighter jet engine to a misjudged landing by an approaching jet fighter, an active flight deck is a minefield of danger

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