David Learmount

London

Consulting Editor at Flightglobal

Consulting Editor at FlightGlobal. I aviate therefore I am. Also at https://t.co/3PQ9RtdV7t

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Articles

How year-end losses skewed our review of airline safety performance in 2024

2 months ago | flightglobal.com | David Learmount

Two high-profile fatal accidents in late December created the impression that airline safety began a downward trend in 2024. But although global airline safety performance did see more fatal accidents and fatalities than during any year since 2018, the difference was in fact not statistically dramatic once compared with the annual average of the past 10 years.
Solution to cabin air contamination looms

Sep 11, 2024 | davidlearmount.com | David Learmount

Aircraft cabin air contamination, a persistent issue for airlines because their crew and passengers face the risk of consequent neurological harm, may soon be alleviated by advances in chemical science, according to a new scientific paper published in the UK-based Journal of Hazardous Materials.
Will “coming home” do the trick for Boeing?

Aug 8, 2024 | davidlearmount.com | David Learmount

There are those who attribute Boeing’s ongoing quality control scandals to its decision to move its HQ out of its Seattle engineering base to Chicago in 2001. Others blame the 1997 merger with McDonnell Douglas for a dramatic change in company culture in favour of cost-cutting and upping shareholder pay-outs.
How close calls overshadowed airlines’ safety figures in first half of 2024

Jul 17, 2024 | flightglobal.com | David Learmount

Immediately following an exceptionally safe 2023, the first week of this year woke the air transport industry up with two almighty shocks. On 2 January a Japan Airlines (JAL) A350-900 collided with a Japan Coast Guard De Havilland Canada Dash 8-300 on landing at Tokyo Narita airport. Then, on 5 January, there was a door-plug blowout on a Boeing 737 Max 9 climbing through 16,000ft near Portland, Oregon.
A Messy business at RAF Scampton

Oct 22, 2023 | davidlearmount.com | David Learmount

An official recognition of architectural merit and historic significance have combined to proffer a glimmer of hope to many who want to stop one of the Royal Air Force’s most famous stations – now closed – becoming a compound for asylum seekers in rural Lincolnshire. The Officers Mess at RAF Scampton has been accepted as a Grade II listed building, which means that it, at least, must be preserved.
Aviation changing warfare

Oct 16, 2023 | davidlearmount.com | David Learmount

About two years ago I posted a nine-episode serial about early military flying called “Leonard’s War”. This story follows an RFC aviator on his journey from flying lessons at Brooklands, Surrey in 1915 to Squadron Commander over Flanders in 1918. Once in France, he flies with 7 Sqn over Ypres, 15 Sqn over the Somme, and commands 22 Sqn over Passchendaele and Cambrai. If you missed “Leonard’s War” at the time, I recommend you try it.
Time for a change of direction

Aug 3, 2023 | aerosociety.com | David Learmount

One of the biggest changes in aerial navigation is now under way as the aerospace industry prepares to transition from Magnetic North to True North. DAVID LEARMOUNT provides an update on Mag2True progress. In 2023 it may seem unlikely that any full-time aviation professionals still do not know that the global industry is preparing to change its navigational heading reference from Magnetic North to True North (Mag2True).
Par Avion, but not as we know it

Aug 1, 2023 | davidlearmount.com | David Learmount

Amazon has been promising drone package delivery for a while, but the British Post Office is doing it. This exercise has a certain experimental feel about it, with the remote Orkney Islands to the north of Scotland as its testing ground. Not exactly a high-rise urban environment, but a good start.
Happy birthday to the Whale. Where now?

Jul 31, 2023 | davidlearmount.com | David Learmount

The Airbus A380 is 15, and Emirates, the world’s largest operator of the type by far, is celebrating the success it has brought. While aviation geeks delight in comparing its looks with those of Boeing’s great classic, the 747 – which usually wins in the popular beauty stakes – nobody who has flown the A380 as a passenger doubts that it provides an unparalleled travel experience.
Despite exceptional 2023 figures, airline safety faces scrutiny after wake-up calls

Jul 16, 2023 | flightglobal.com | David Learmount

No sooner had 2023 ended – boasting an exceptional world airline safety record – than the new year delivered a sharp reminder that relaxing vigilance is not an option for the aviation industry, even when things seem to be going well.