Patrick Smith is an airline pilot. His column is archived here.

Patrick Smith's Salon stories

Thursday, Dec 10, 2009 14:10 EST

The inside story of Northwest 188

Plus, Congress gets it right, for once: Tough new hiring rules for airlines and pilots
Thursday, Dec 3, 2009 14:03 EST

Whatever you do, don't dis Brazil

A columnist who criticized the handling of a crash inquiry is being sued for defaming the country's honor. Huh?
Thursday, Nov 19, 2009 13:20 EST

Who's flying this thing?

It's time to put to rest the idea that planes fly themselves. And who wants a pilotless jetliner anyway?
Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 13:13 EST

Is your pilot drunk?

Do I have to worry about my pilot showing up under the influence? Plus: A safety milestone goes quietly unnoticed
Thursday, Nov 5, 2009 14:05 EST

The real distractions for pilots

The scolds in Congress pushing for legislation banning nonessential gadgets from the cockpit are on the wrong track
Thursday, Oct 29, 2009 17:30 EDT

Boredom and fatigue at 35,000 feet

Do two distracted Northwest pilots portend a frightening breakdown in air safety? No. Plus: A personal note
Friday, Oct 16, 2009 00:07 EDT

Watch the pilot!

View the landing of a Boeing 767, from the cockpit. Behold the glory of approach lights at dawn. Plus: A tutorial
Friday, Oct 9, 2009 00:07 EDT

Ask the pilot

What is proper etiquette during an emergency evacuation? Plus: Confused pilots and angry readers
Friday, Oct 2, 2009 00:06 EDT

All your questions about in-flight horrors

Plus: What happened to "The Simpsons"? And REM? The weird phenomenon of pop-culture tailspin
Friday, Sep 25, 2009 00:08 EDT

Airplanes, oxygen and the media

Why do people keep insisting that pilots manipulate the air supply in planes? It ain't true, folks
Friday, Sep 18, 2009 03:18 EDT

The somber beauty of air crash memorials

Is it morbid to want to see them all? Plus: Pirates, the TV blues, and a plug for airport food
Friday, Sep 11, 2009 03:17 EDT

Are we safer than we were eight years ago?

We're still looking for pointy objects when we should be looking for bombs. Time for a leaner, meaner operation
Friday, Aug 28, 2009 03:11 EDT

How we're blowing airline security

The TSA wastes a lot of time and money on an inefficient fight against the wrong enemy
Friday, Aug 28, 2009 03:10 EDT

Timeline: The golden age of air crimes

A look back at some of the worst airline-related terrorism of the '70s, '80s and '90s
Friday, Aug 21, 2009 03:18 EDT

How new legislation will affect air safety

A look at pilot fatigue, hiring standards and the strange practice of "commuting"
Friday, Aug 14, 2009 03:15 EDT

Airtime

Severe turbulence, a midair collision and the latest stuck-on-a-plane horror story
Friday, Jul 31, 2009 03:30 EDT

Information: The good, the bad and the ugly

Airworthy planes, "dangerous" airports, and baby talk from the cockpit
Friday, Jul 24, 2009 03:23 EDT

Crash

Already in 2009, 11 major accidents involving commercial jets. We're in trouble, right?
Friday, Jul 17, 2009 03:18 EDT

Why are airline passengers such slobs?

Plus, a crash in Iran spotlights the safety of Russian-built planes, and the latest misinformation from the press
Friday, Jul 10, 2009 03:10 EDT

Is the Airbus a lemon?

Two Airbus crashes in two months: Should we worry? Plus: Welcome to the Six Continent Club!
Friday, Jun 26, 2009 03:24 EDT

Some stories just won't fly

I'd love to move on from the Air France crash, but the media insist on getting things wrong again
Thursday, Jun 18, 2009 03:18 EDT

When a pilot dies mid-flight

Are passengers at risk? Plus: Plenty of flotsam and jetsam, but no real answers in Air France crash
Monday, Jun 8, 2009 11:30 EDT

Flight 447's perfect storm

The media loves the "wrong speed" theory, but a lightning strike and electrical failure are more likely culprits.
Tuesday, Jun 2, 2009 08:03 EDT

Why the Air France plane crashed

Flight 447 shouldn't have gone down, but it did. Were normally non-dangerous phenomena the culprits?
Friday, May 22, 2009 03:34 EDT

Ask the pilot

Do pilots have a "romper room"? Do they fly the same routes over and over? Those questions and more

Currently in Salon

Other News

Michele Bachmann Compares Tea Partiers to Doomed 'Light Brigade' Republican McInnis Leads Incumbent Ritter in Colorado Governor Race Copenhagen: U.S., China Battling Over Emissions Polls Differ on a Thompson Challenge to Gillibrand in New York 22 Million Bush Administration E-Mails Recovered Read more stories »