A mid-air engine fire, a tyre separating from the landing gear, several emergency landings—what the hell is happening in the aviation industry this week?

Here are the latest headlines: 

  1. ZeroHedge (Tuesday): “Plane Was Nosediving”: United Airlines Boeing 737 Engine Erupts In Flames Over Texas
  2. CBS News (Thursday): American Air jet clipped Frontier Jet on Miami International Airport tarmac
  3. ZeroHedge (Friday): United’s Boeing 737 Max Jet Veers Off Runway In Houston, Marking Third Incident In Week
  4. ZeroHedge (Friday): Tyre Separates From Boeing 777, Crushes Cars In San Francisco Parking 
  5. ABC7 News (Friday): SFO-MEX United flight makes emergency landing at LAX due to hydraulic failure: officials

US Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is silent on this week’s incidents. 

Some X users blame the series of aviation failures on the possibility of airline companies focusing on disastrous DEI policies.

Others ask the question, “Sabotage, shoddy maintenance, or other?” 

What still haunts frequent flyers is the early January incident when a door plug ripped off the fuselage of a Boeing 737 Max. 

Meanwhile, on Saturday morning, NBC News quickly pushed out an article titled “Aviation incidents seem to be proliferating, but experts say there’s no reason for alarm,” which read like a damage control piece by the aviation industry to calm fears. 

“This is not a safety trend,” said John Cox, a pilot and the president and CEO of Safety Operating Systems LLC, of the recent spate of aviation incidents.

Let’s not forget the twin Boeing 737 disaster that killed 346 people five years ago.