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In the early hours of December 4, 1966, dozens of enemy fighters slipped onto Tan Son Nhut Air Base near Saigon and atta...
09/24/2026

In the early hours of December 4, 1966, dozens of enemy fighters slipped onto Tan Son Nhut Air Base near Saigon and attacked with mortars and explosives. The first warning came from the base's sentry dogs. The attack was beaten back, but it cost the lives of 3 dogs and 1 handler, and some of the attackers were still hiding inside the base.

That night, a US Air Force sentry dog named Nemo went out on patrol with his handler, 22-year-old Airman Bob Throneburg, to hunt for them.

Near a graveyard on the base, Nemo alerted. Throneburg released him, and the hidden fighters opened fire.

In the first moments, Throneburg and Nemo took down 2 of the attackers. Then Throneburg was shot in the shoulder. And a bullet hit Nemo under his right eye and exited through his mouth.

What the wounded dog did next made him famous. Shot through the face, Nemo threw himself at the attackers again. The seconds he bought let Throneburg radio for help before he collapsed from his wounds. Then Nemo crawled to his unconscious handler and covered Throneburg's body with his own. When security forces reached them, the bleeding dog would not let anyone touch him. Airmen had to pull Nemo away before medics could treat the man he was guarding.

Both survived. Throneburg was evacuated by helicopter and recovered. He received 2 Purple Hearts and the Bronze Star with V for valor. While he was still in the hospital, Nemo was brought to see him.

Nemo's eye could not be saved. In 1967, the Air Force flew him home, and he became one of the first sentry dogs ever officially retired by the US military. He was given a permanent retirement kennel at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, home of the military's dog program, and spent his retirement as its ambassador, helping recruit the next generation of war dogs.

Nemo died at Lackland in December 1972. His memorial kennel and a stone in his honor still stand there today.

In the images: Nemo after recovering from his wound, and Throneburg, still in the hospital, seeing Nemo for the first time after the attack. Images courtesy of the Security Forces Museum.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy addressed concerns about the FAA's new AI-powered air traffic management system...
09/24/2026

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy addressed concerns about the FAA's new AI-powered air traffic management system, emphasizing that human controllers will remain in charge of American airspace.

The system, called SMART, brings together information from 200 data streams, including weather, flight paths, air traffic and controller staffing. It uses AI to predict congestion and potential disruptions, helping FAA personnel make adjustments before delays develop.

However, SMART will not control aircraft or replace air traffic controllers. Its recommendations must be reviewed by FAA personnel, and local air traffic management officials will decide whether to implement them.

The FAA began using the system in a limited capacity around Washington, D.C., on September 21, covering the region's major airports, including Reagan National, Dulles and Baltimore/Washington. A gradual expansion to other parts of the country is planned.

The FAA hopes the technology will reduce delays and cancellations while improving traffic management, but its effectiveness has yet to be demonstrated on a nationwide scale.

On Tuesday, September 22, a pilot was rescued from the Pacific Ocean at night after his fighter jet lost engine power an...
09/24/2026

On Tuesday, September 22, a pilot was rescued from the Pacific Ocean at night after his fighter jet lost engine power and crashed about 6 miles northwest of Morro Bay, California, during a US Navy training mission.

"Mayday, mayday, mayday. I have lost thrust in my engine," the pilot radioed, in a recording from air traffic control.

The aircraft was a Hawker Hunter, a British fighter designed in the 1950s, flown by a civilian contractor pilot supporting Navy training. It took off from Naval Air Station Point Mugu and was flying exercises off the California coast when its single engine failed. The jet fell from more than 32,000 feet. The pilot ejected, according to the NTSB, and came down in the ocean in darkness and fog.

A Navy MH-60S Seahawk helicopter from Station Search and Rescue Lemoore, which keeps helicopters on alert for exactly these emergencies, located him and hoisted him from the water at about 7:30 pm, roughly 40 minutes after the crash. He was flown to a hospital in Fresno.

The next day, the company that operates the jet said the pilot was in "great condition, great spirits, and no significant injuries."

Companies like this one fly older fighter jets as practice opponents, so US Navy and Air Force crews can train against realistic threats.

Two giant pandas will fly from China to Atlanta in the coming days, as a sign of friendship between the 2 countries. Whi...
09/24/2026

Two giant pandas will fly from China to Atlanta in the coming days, as a sign of friendship between the 2 countries. Which plane will carry them has not been announced yet. But panda flights have a long aviation history. And the last one to the US was remarkable.

In October 2024, a FedEx Boeing 777 freighter flew Zoo Atlanta's 4 pandas from the US back to China, ending the city's 25 years of giant pandas. Then the same jet, with "FedEx Panda Express" painted on its nose, turned around and carried 2 new pandas across the Pacific, to the National Zoo in Washington. One aircraft, a round trip of more than 10,000 miles, with pandas aboard in both directions.

FedEx has been flying pandas for many years, painting panda markings onto different aircraft for these special missions. But it is not confirmed that FedEx will fly this pair too.

And the tradition is even older. In April 1972, giant pandas Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing landed at Andrews Air Force Base at 5 in the morning, aboard a military plane, a gift from China. 20,000 people came to see them on their first day on display at the National Zoo in Washington.

Now it is Atlanta's turn again. The 2 new pandas are named Ping Ping and Fu Shuang. Ping Ping is a male, Fu Shuang a female, and both were born at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China. Their move has been known since April, when Zoo Atlanta announced a new conservation agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association. But the timing was confirmed for the first time only today: the pandas arrive within days.

On June 29, 1972, Air Force pilot Steven Bennett was flying his OV-10 Bronco near Quang Tri, Vietnam. The man in his bac...
09/24/2026

On June 29, 1972, Air Force pilot Steven Bennett was flying his OV-10 Bronco near Quang Tri, Vietnam. The man in his back seat was his observer, Marine Captain Michael Brown, directing gunfire from US Navy ships offshore.

After 3 hours, they were about to head home when a call came in. About 50 South Vietnamese soldiers were about to be overrun by a much larger enemy force. No other aircraft were available, and the ships could not fire: the enemy was too close to the friendly troops.

Bennett's small plane was lightly armed. He attacked anyway. 4 strafing runs, and the enemy began falling back. On the 5th run, a missile hit the plane.

The left engine caught fire. Bennett told Brown to prepare to eject. Brown answered that his parachute had been shredded by the missile.

Bennett's parachute was fine. His Medal of Honor citation records what that meant: "he knew that if he ejected, the observer would have no chance of survival."

So Bennett turned toward the sea to crash-land in the water instead. He knew what that choice was. In the citation's words, "a pilot of this type aircraft had never survived a ditching." On water impact, the OV-10 was known to break apart at the front cockpit. The pilot's seat.

The plane hit the water and cartwheeled. The front cockpit was crushed. Brown fought his way out of the sinking wreck, then dove back down, again and again, trying to reach the man who had just traded his life for his. The plane sank. A helicopter pulled Brown from the sea.

Bennett was 26. His body was recovered the next day and brought home to Louisiana.

In 1974, his widow and his young daughter received his Medal of Honor.

09/24/2026

A retiring captain said the meowing on frequency would probably continue, because he was never that guy.

09/24/2026

Reagan National controllers advise pilots of B-2s and F-22 Raptors preparing for a White House flyover.

Captain Karen Ruth learned to fly before she could drive. Growing up in Minnesota, she was inspired by two Northwest Air...
09/24/2026

Captain Karen Ruth learned to fly before she could drive. Growing up in Minnesota, she was inspired by two Northwest Airlines pilots who lived next door and helped introduce her to aviation.

She started her career flying fishing charters, transporting cargo and working for a small commuter airline, where she loaded passengers' luggage herself before climbing into the cockpit to fly them.

In 1985, she applied to both Delta and Northwest Airlines, but both turned her down, saying she needed more experience. Republic Airlines hired her instead, beginning a career that eventually brought her to Delta following its merger with Northwest.

After more than four decades in aviation, Ruth retired as Delta's longest-serving female pilot, ranking 17th in seniority among approximately 17,200 pilots. Both of her daughters followed in her footsteps. Kate flies for Delta, while Molly flies for Endeavor Air, Delta's regional subsidiary.

On April 18, 2026, Ruth completed her final flight aboard a Delta Airbus A330 from Dublin, Ireland, to Minneapolis, with her husband and both daughters accompanying her. Airport firefighters welcomed the aircraft with a ceremonial water-cannon salute, while between 100 and 150 people gathered to celebrate her retirement. During the celebration, Ruth presented each of her daughters with a set of her captain's wings, marking the end of her own flying career and the continuation of her family's aviation legacy.

In April 1980, a mission to rescue the American hostages held in Tehran ended in disaster, taking the lives of 8 US serv...
09/24/2026

In April 1980, a mission to rescue the American hostages held in Tehran ended in disaster, taking the lives of 8 US servicemen. The hostages remained captive.

Within weeks, planners began working on a second attempt. This time, the aircraft would land inside the Amjadieh soccer stadium in Tehran, across the street from the US Embassy compound. The stadium was barely 600 feet long, ringed by stands and 90-foot obstacles. Rescue teams would rush the hostages aboard, and the plane would take off again from inside the stadium.

No aircraft on Earth could do that. So they built one.

In about 90 days, a secret program modified a C-130 Hercules with exactly 30 rockets. 8 fired forward, to stop the plane almost instantly. 8 fired downward, to cushion the landing. 8 fired backward, to throw it back into the sky. The rest kept it stable.

The crews who volunteered to fly it into Tehran were veterans of the failed first rescue.

In testing over Florida, it flew like nothing before it. In one test, it was airborne within 150 feet.

Then, on October 29, 1980, came the full dress rehearsal. The braking rockets fired a moment too early, while the plane was still in the air. It dropped hard. A wing broke. The aircraft erupted in flames.

The fire was out within 8 seconds. Every crew member escaped.

The crashed aircraft was dismantled and buried on site to keep the program secret.

That winter, negotiations advanced, and the second rescue was cancelled before it was ever needed. In January 1981, after 444 days, the hostages were released.

The stadium landing never happened. One of the program's aircraft survives in a museum today: a C-130 built with rockets, for a single rescue that never came.

The ejection seats in every F-35 and almost every US Navy fighter jet trace back to a story of 2 best friends.In 1934, e...
09/24/2026

The ejection seats in every F-35 and almost every US Navy fighter jet trace back to a story of 2 best friends.

In 1934, engineer James Martin and famous World War 1 pilot Valentine Baker founded a small aircraft company in England. Martin designed the planes. Baker, his closest friend, flew them.

On September 12, 1942, Baker was testing their new fighter prototype when the engine failed. He tried to put the plane down in a field. At the last moment, a wingtip caught a tree stump and the aircraft flipped. Baker lost his life.

His death changed Martin forever. He kept his friend's name on the company. And in 1944, when the British government asked him to find a way for fighter pilots to escape their aircraft, he made it his life's work.

Nobody knew how much upward force a human spine could survive. So a company fitter named Bernard Lynch volunteered. On January 24, 1945, Lynch rode a test rig 4 feet 8 inches into the air, the first person ever fired up an ejection seat. On July 24, 1946, he ejected from a jet flying 320 mph at 8,000 feet. His parachute opened. He landed safely. The seat worked.

On May 30, 1949, pilot Jo Lancaster became the first person whose life a Martin-Baker seat saved, ejecting from an experimental aircraft at 5,000 feet.

The company has counted every single life since. Each survivor is invited to join its Ejection Tie Club and receives a tie, a certificate and a membership pin.

This Wednesday, a Royal Air Force training jet crashed shortly after takeoff in Wales. Both pilots ejected in Martin-Baker seats and survived. Police said their injuries were believed to be minor.

The company updated its count: 7,829 lives saved.

Sir James Martin died in 1981. His family still runs the company today. More than 90 air forces fly with its seats.

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