Jeff Wise

3 weeks ago | nymag.com | Jeff Wise

You'd think that no one needs a new jet less than Donald Trump, who already not only owns his own customized Boeing 757, but also as president has free use of a pair of heavily modified 747 jumbo jets that collectively make up Air Force One. But both of his current rides suffer significant disadvantages that Qatar's " flying palace" 747 would overcome.

4 weeks ago | nymag.com | Jeff Wise

On January 29, at 8:47 p.m., an American Airlines flight landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter a half-mile shy of the runway at an altitude of about 300 feet. Nineteen seconds prior to impact, the jet had received a warning about the helicopter's presence when its Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) generated an audio alert - "TRAFFIC, TRAFFIC!" - and displayed a yellow dot on the cockpit navigation system's screen.

1 month ago | nymag.com | Jeff Wise

The tourist helicopter that crashed into the Hudson River on Thursday afternoon appears to have fallen victim to a well-known hazard known as "mast bumping," according to aviation experts. Eyewitness video showed the rotors and the body of the helicopter separating in midair. The phenomenon is unique to helicopters with semi-rigid rotors, like the Bell 206L4 LongRanger that fell out of the sky while flying a family of Spanish tourists.

2 months ago | nymag.com | Jeff Wise

Not so long ago, the F-35 fighter jet was the hottest ticket in the international arms market. Though it had suffered teething pains in development, going over budget by 50 percent in its first decade, Lockheed Martin's Lightning II glowed up into a remarkably capable weapons platform. Stealthy, supersonic, and able to both dogfight and strike targets on the ground, it's arguably the most sophisticated weapon in the U.S. arsenal and undeniably the most sought-after.

Feb 26, 2025 | nymag.com | Jeff Wise

The third search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 has begun, 11 years after the plane practically vanished. On Sunday, a ship belonging to the American maritime-survey company Ocean Infinity arrived at a remote stretch of the Indian Ocean where the plane is believed to have crashed. It then deployed a trio of advanced robot subs three miles under the waves to scan the seabed using sonar waves.