There are some things that look harmless from the ground but can become extremely dangerous when viewed from the cockpit of an aircraft. A laser pointer is one of them. For someone standing on the ground, pointing a laser at an aircraft flying overhead may appear to be a harmless prank, an experiment, a way of attracting attention or simply an act of curiosity. But inside the cockpit, particularly during takeoff, approach or landing, that apparently tiny beam can suddenly become a serious aviation-safety threat. The latest figures released by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) show that the problem is declining, but it remains far too common. On September 17, 2026, the FAA reported that pilots had reported 4,470 laser strikes in the United States during 2026, representing a 24 percent decrease from the same period the previous year. This is the third consecutive year in which reported laser strikes have declined. However, the FAA says the numbers remain too high...
Hurray I cleared one more mission of the Jumbo Jet Flight Simulator mobile game. The mission was to land the aircraft which was Lockheed L-101 Tristar safely as its trim malfunctioned. The horizontal stabilizer jammed as I tried to land the aircraft at Catalina Airport. The airplane started to drop rapidly as the trim for the horizontal stabilizer stopped working. The airplane was controllable manually only. The first thing I did to stop the rapid fall of the aircraft was to put down the flaps to full. I don't know if this is the correct procedure or not, but this is what came to my mind. During the after-analysis of the gameplay walkthrough video of the Jumbo Jet Flight Simulator, I found that the simulator itself suggested lowering the flaps to regain some pitching-up action. I was successful in landing the aircraft on the third attempt. In the first attempt, I was taken by surprise. I was not familiar with where the runway was. I was high as I passed over the ...