Colleen Mondor

@chasingray.bsky.social

4404 Followers 504 Following

Aviation journalist, especially on Alaska. Never met a federal database I didn't love. "Probable Cause" newsletter is here: https://colleenmondor.substack.com/

Book cover: Game Plan for Disaster by Clark Mollenhoff
Pic of very gnarly belly damage on a Lear 35
For commercial pilots and air carrier/air taxi operators, the potential ramifications of Jouppi's trial are troubling. But according to Gustaf Olson, an assistant district attorney for Alaska, there is little cause for concern for the innocent. "The question ultimately hinges on 'knowingly,'" Olson wrote in an email. "If the pilot or charter has actual knowledge of the alcohol transported (or attempted to be transported) obviously he is liable. However, the pilot is also liable if the pilot 'turns a blind eye' to the bootlegging and through willful blindness chooses to ignore signs or obvious indicators of bootlegging activity."
What we know The aircraft was providing tactical support for a water bomber at a fire west of the community of Fort Simpson. The left wing, horizontal stabilizer, and vertical stabilizer were not found at the accident site. An aerial search for the missing aircraft components was not successful. The accident site is located in muskeg with ponds, small lakes, and rivers nearby. There was an active forest fire in the immediate vicinity of the accident site. At the time of the accident, the aircraft airframe had 5386.2 hours since new and 7348 airframe cycles.
still from yellowstone/bison video
Forced landing the bush with everyone 100% okay!
Pic of Alaska pilot Louis Knapp - on left - getting cheered & applauded in AKP after his perfect forced landing a week ago in the Brooks Range.
In Washington, Trump’s dreams have been slowed by lawsuits. The Cultural Landscape Foundation, Birnbaum’s Washington-based nonprofit, has filed a challenge to Trump’s renovations to the Reflecting Pool and joined as a co-plaintiff on suits related to the president’s plans for the Kennedy Center and a “National Garden of American Heroes” in West Potomac Park. Trump’s proposals for a ballroom and an arch also face legal challenges. Some of the suits are aimed at proving that the Trump administration is avoiding the normal review process for federal projects that would reshape the capital landscape in ways that it hasn’t been in decades. Birnbaum said that he has been “gobsmacked” that the careful layout of the city and the legal protections that have been in place for more than a century are being upended.
Cover of COLLISION COURSE by Joseph McCartin
Excerpt from Freddie deBoer's interview with John Warner over on substack: What Substack offers is a different kind of precarity, not an escape from it. My income is entirely contingent on 65,000 people continuing to find me worth reading and 6,000 of them finding my work worth paying for, which is not exactly a pension. I think about it constantly. Sometimes I lie awake at night about it! But here’s the thing—it’s legible precarity. I know exactly where I stand. I know what I earn, I know what I owe my readers, I know what happens if they leave.
Picture of a Cessna 182 on fire in the air after an illegal box of pyrotechnics for a night skydiving jump caught on fire. I still cannot believe someone thought this shit was a good idea. (Everyone lived - including the pilot who also, thank goodness, had a parachute.)
A table showing the leading causes of skydiving accidents with fuel starvation due to pilot, poor maintenance & unk engine loss as leaders.
A table of flight time for skydiving accidents over the past 20 years showing flight time groups as correlating to probable cause.
photo of boat after the 1964 AK Earthquake spawned tidal wave hit Valdez
This Vast Enterprise: A New History of Lewis & Clark. By Craig Fehrman. Apr. 2026. 544p. Simon & Schuster/Avid Reader, $35 (9781982174248); e-book (9781982174262). 917.804. REVIEW. First published March 1, 2026 (Booklist). In this riveting and revitalized new history of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, acclaimed historian Fehrman (Author in Chief, 2020) draws from not only the written documents of Thomas Jefferson, Meriwether Lewis, and William Clark to tell the story but also centers chapters around Corps of Discovery member John Ordway, Shoshone translator Sacajawea, multiple Native Americans who encountered the expedition, and, most significantly York, an enslaved Black man owned by Clark who was critical to the expedition’s success. By writing from various points of view, Fehrman broadens the long-held narrative of the expedition, enriching what we know of its successes and failures. Grounded in outstanding scholarship documented in significant bibliographic essays on his sourcing and two outstanding appendices in which he discusses how specific research was conducted, Fehrman provides a model for revisiting long-studied aspects of our nation’s past. York proves to be the moral center here, while the dichotomy between Clark’s thoughtful decisions with the rest of the corps versus his refusal to acknowledge the horrors of slavery that directly tormented a man who embodied all the honor the corps sought to achieve is nothing less than startling. Fehrman has done a great service to American history in this must-read. — Colleen Mondor
My father while stationed in Spain, 1963.
The commercial pilot was conducting a skydiving flight with a night aerial pyrotechnic display. According to the pilot and the lead jumper, who was also one of the airplane's co-owners, a pyrotechnic box was installed on a step on the airplane's left main landing gear assembly spring leg just before the flight. The pilot and the lead jumper reported that, after departure and as the airplane arrived at the planned jump area and altitude, the skydivers were given the go-ahead to jump, and one of the jumper's activated the sparklers in the pyrotechnic box. Shortly thereafter, they heard an explosion and then saw damage to the bottom of the left wing with fuel pouring out of it. The left wing became engulfed in flames, and the skydivers successfully jumped out of the airplane. The pilot shut off the fuel and performed a slip maneuver in an attempt to extinguish the fire to no avail. After realizing the airplane would not be able to reach the nearest airport, he tried to aim the airplane toward a field and then jumped out of the airplane. The airplane subsequently impacted a house, and most of the airplane and the house's interior were consumed by fire. Examination of aluminum metal pieces from the pyrotechnic box revealed a high degree of fragmentation, fractures along the fold lines, outward deformation, curling of some of the edges, and cratering from high-velocity particle impact, consistent with an explosion originating from inside the pyrotechnics box. Shrapnel from the box, which was located near the left wing, likely punctured the left wing fuel tank, which led to the subsequent fuel leakage and fire. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane before the explosion. The pilot added that the co-owner told him the pyrotechnic box was approved and properly tested. When he asked the co-owner about the box, the co-owner said that it was a sparkler box and that its installation was considered a minor alteration because it…
Shows handwritten note from NTSB investigator of phone call. Tex reads: Was a weight and balance form completed for the accident flight? Not for each flight. If people are large, they get accurate weights using a scale they have. Was anybody with the accident pilot when added fuel? Likely it was only him there. She will work on a timeline of flights since fueling. Discussion of pilot info: She indicated the accident pilot was not on their insurance policy. He started flying for them in the Spring of 2022 flying until the end of October 2022 with some intermittent flying in the winter, weather permitting.
The Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music is the home of the Bruce Springsteen Archives, which serves as the official repository for materials related to Springsteen and the E Street Band, including photos, historic memorabilia, oral histories, and more. Joining Springsteen and Bon Jovi performing over the two nights include Jackson Browne, Rosanne Cash, Kenny Chesney, Gary Clark Jr., Dion, Dropkick Murphys, Shemekia Copeland, Valerie June, Keb’ Mo’, Nils Lofgren, Darlene Love, Public Enemy, David Sancious, Tony Trischka and Sister Sadie, Mavis Staples, Trombone Shorty and the New Breed Brass Band, Stevie Van Zandt, and Jimme Vaughn. Van Zandt’s band, The Disciples of Soul, will serve as the house band. Each artist is scheduled to perform landmark songs from American music history, with blues, bluegrass, rock, hip-hop, folk, jazz, country, and gospel genres all represented.
The Best Breaking News Submission - sponsored by Honeywell Sonja Agata Biscan - Europe Is Betting On Space - TVP World Linus Höller - Heavy Russian cargo plane lands in Caracas amid US-Venezuela tensions - Defense News Colleen Mondor - Twenty Seconds of Task Saturation at LaGuardia - The Atlantic Guy Norris - Satellite Images Reveal New Chinese Widebody Transonic Test Site - Aviation Week Jon Ostrower - Air India crash investigation focuses on movement of engine fuel control switches - The Air Current Steve Trimble - Project Lotus, Northrop Grumman’s Secret Autonomous Aircraft Revealed - Aviation Week
In addition to the new staffing model, the FAA said it will explore the use of automation to modernize scheduling and workforce management. Absences have forced the agency to either reduce traffic or rely too heavily on mandatory overtime. But it believes modern tools could mitigate fatigue, surge staffing to facilities experiencing high traffic, and increase controller time-on-position from four to five or six hours per eight-hour shift. The Strategic Management of Airspace Routing Trajectories (SMART) system, which officials discussed in April in Washington could support those efforts. Per an executive of Thales—one of three companies reported to be bidding on SMART—the FAA envisions the system predicting weather, traffic, and other airspace conditions up to six months in advance. The FAA’s Friday news release notes its plans to use “artificial intelligence and machine learning tools to better simulate and manage NAS performance before the day of departure”—a possible allusion to SMART.
“Of course it meant something to me to be the son of immigrants.” Sinatra said to me once. “How could it not? How the hell could it not? I grew up for a few years thinking I was just another American kid. Then I discovered at – what? five? six? – I discovered that some people thought I was a dago. A wop. A guinea.” An angry pause. “You know, like I didn’t have a fucking name.” Harry [James] wanted me to change my name, I said, no way, baby. The name is Sinatra. Frank fucking Sinatra.”
DOT said that FAA cut inspector staffing by 25% but was wrong to do so and DOT saved it. Sen Ford said that was a lie and FAA was hamstrung by DOT's low staffing limits.
Owen Martin, 47, is facing a fourth-degree assault charge and four counts of assault in the presence of a child after he hit and slapped a family member several times during an argument at a Wasilla home, according to an initial charging document filed Thursday. The altercation, prompted by an argument over a phone, resulted in the other person bleeding from their head and suffering small cuts on their hands, Trooper Caleb Mertens wrote in a sworn affidavit included with the charging document. Martin “was the primary physical aggressor in this case,” Mertens wrote.
four sleeping puppies!
puppies in lower right!
In 2019 following three crashes in ten months that killed eight and seriously injured 15, investigators learned a small Alaskan commuter/tour company had cycled through at least four and possibly five Principal Operations Inspectors (POIs) in two years12; according to the manager of the Juneau office, they had two POIs on staff but should have had eight13. For a time, several Southeast Alaska companies had POIs assigned from South Carolina. In 2020, after the charter crash that killed Kobe Bryant and eight others, that company’s POI told investigators the Long Beach district office had two POIs but should have six; he was responsible for over sixty operators of varying complexity14. In 2021 after a medevac crash in El Cajon that killed four, the manager for the San Diego office noted they were without a frontline manager and short three POIs15. In 2022, after a small commuter crash north of Seattle that killed ten, the POI said he was responsible for twenty-four commercial companies and an unknown number of general operators. When asked how he got the job done he said, “It’s not humanly possible.16” In 2024 after a charter flight crashed near Halloran Springs killing six; the POI said at one point the Van Nuys district office had ten POIs but now had four or five; he was responsible for thirty-four commercial operations17.
FB post from Air Line Pilots Association - final farewell to Spirit pilots
Photo of three men in restaurant. Man in center holds a cigarette, smiling for the camera, as a drink is poured.
#47: NTSB records show White House wrong on claim against Board Member....The claim that J Todd Inman failed "to attend at least half of NTSB meetings" is incorrect.
ATC Controllers Schedule and Experience There were two controllers on duty in the ATC tower at the time of the accident, consistent with the mid-shift basic watch schedule. Both were qualified and current on all control positions at LGA. The LC, who had about 18 years of experience, was responsible, in part, for the arrival and departure of aircraft on assigned runways, aircraft operating within assigned airspace, and all runway surfaces. The LC had been on position for about 42 minutes at the time of the accident. The ground controller (GC) was also the controller-in-charge (CIC), had about 19 years of experience, and was responsible, in part, to taxi aircraft on a first come first serve basis. As circumstances permitted, the GC/CIC ensured that the instrument landing system critical areas were protected, sequenced departure aircraft, provided guidance and goals for the shift, monitored and managed traffic volume and flow. The GC/CIC was on position for about 51 minutes at the time of the accident. Prior to the accident, the GC/CIC had been coordinating ground operations with an airplane that had performed two rejected takeoffs, followed by a ground emergency at terminal B, which included communicating with the airplane that declared the emergency, ramp operations, and ARFF. As the GC/CIC continued to coordinate the emergency, the LC took over transmitting ATC instructions on both the GC and LC radio frequencies.
Though Mr. Brown’s office was never lawfully vacated, on January 13, 2026, President Trump nominated John DeLeeuw to fill Mr. Brown’s NTSB seat and to serve for the unexpired portion of Mr. Brown’s term. On March 16, 2026, following Senate confirmation, Mr. DeLeeuw took the oath of office and purported to assume the NTSB seat that Mr. Brown still rightfully occupies. See John DeLeeuw, NTSB, https://perma.cc/KEA2-E9AQ (last visited Apr. 12, 2026).
error message for ntsb.gov
This Vast Enterprise: A New History of Lewis & Clark. By Craig Fehrman. Apr. 2026. 544p. Simon & Schuster/Avid Reader, $35 (9781982174248); e-book (9781982174262). 917.804. REVIEW. First published March 1, 2026 (Booklist). In this riveting and revitalized new history of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, acclaimed historian Fehrman (Author in Chief, 2020) draws from not only the written documents of Thomas Jefferson, Meriwether Lewis, and William Clark to tell the story but also centers chapters around Corps of Discovery member John Ordway, Shoshone translator Sacajawea, multiple Native Americans who encountered the expedition, and, most significantly York, an enslaved Black man owned by Clark who was critical to the expedition’s success. By writing from various points of view, Fehrman broadens the long-held narrative of the expedition, enriching what we know of its successes and failures. Grounded in outstanding scholarship documented in significant bibliographic essays on his sourcing and two outstanding appendices in which he discusses how specific research was conducted, Fehrman provides a model for revisiting long-studied aspects of our nation’s past. York proves to be the moral center here, while the dichotomy between Clark’s thoughtful decisions with the rest of the corps versus his refusal to acknowledge the horrors of slavery that directly tormented a man who embodied all the honor the corps sought to achieve is nothing less than startling. Fehrman has done a great service to American history in this must-read. — Colleen Mondor
The services include airport escorts and specialized customer service for lawmakers. The Capital Desk, a dedicated reservations line that helps members book trips at government rates, make last minute changes and reserve seats on multiple flights on the same day, will remain open, the company said in a statement. “Next to safety, Delta’s No. 1 priority is taking care of our people and customers, which has become increasingly difficult in the current environment,” the company said. Under the suspension, the company added, members of Congress would instead be treated like regular passengers based on their SkyMiles status, which refers to the airline’s customer loyalty program.
The pilot of the helicopter reported that he was taking a passenger up for a "hog hunt" flight. He added that he lifted off the ground, about 40 to 50 ft, and the passenger's gun became lodged in the cyclic control. He instructed the passenger to move his gun multiple times, but the passenger "seized up and panicked." The helicopter impacted the ground, and the fuselage and empennage sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that it was the second hunt with the passenger and that he had provided a safety briefing before the accident flight. He added that, during the safety briefing, he discussed gun safety, when and where to shoot, and instructions on avoiding areas with the flight controls. He added that, as a safety recommendation, he will conduct a more thorough safety briefing, including an on-ground, engine-off cockpit simulation and a lesson on firearm safety. Probable Cause and Findings The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be: The passenger's gun becoming lodged in the flight controls during takeoff and his failure to remove it, which resulted in impact with terrain.
Probable Cause finding: pilot's failure to maintain clearance from elk while maneuvering at low altitude
If I can be serious for just a moment, everyone watching right now around the world is all too aware that these are very chaotic, frightening times. It’s at moments like these that I believe “The Oscars” are particularly resonant. Check it out: 31 countries across 6 continents are represented this evening. And every film — every film — we salute is the product of thousands of people speaking different languages, working hard to make something of beauty. We pay tribute tonight not just to film but to the ideals of global artistry, collaboration, patience, resilience and that rarest of qualities today, optimism. So let us, please, celebrate. Let us celebrate not because we think all is well but because we work and hope for better in the days ahead.
An excerpt from King of Kings by Scott Anderson on how the Shah of Iran was surrounded by sycophants in 1970.
Mr. D’Onofrio reiterated the message that The Post was losing money and said that since 2020, the number of articles published per reporter had dropped by 36 percent, while total page views for news and opinion had declined by 48 percent, according to recordings of the meetings. He noted that executives discovered in some areas it cost “multiple thousands of dollars to publish a single story.” Also in the works, he said, is an “audience value score” — a number from 0 to 100 that incorporates the amount of time readers are engaged with an article, the number of times it’s shared, user registrations and subscription starts. “Basically anything over 70 is extraordinarily good,” Bryan Flaherty, The Post’s managing editor for content strategy, said in one of the meetings.
Photo of Ben Eielson and others standing in front of his aircraft prior to the first US mail flight in Alaska in 1925. (Ben Eielson was just about as cool as it gets.)
Picture of 5 members of the NTSB from 2024. Caption reads: In this picture, NTSB five-member board, Tom Chapman, J. Todd Inman (left), Jennifer Homendy (center), Alvin Brown, Michael Graham (right).​
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced today the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is issuing a new mandatory “Operations Specification” (OpSpec) requiring all commercial airlines to formally commit to merit-based hiring for pilots. While the FAA has raised performance standards, dismantled DEI offices and contracts, and revised absurd Biden-Buttigieg era directives that wasted time renaming cockpits to flight decks, allegations of airlines hiring based on race and sex remain. Under this new mandate, all U.S. carriers will be required to certify that this practice is terminated. Failure to do so will subject airlines to federal investigation. “When families board their aircraft, they should fly with confidence knowing the pilot behind the controls is the best of the best. The American people don’t care what their pilot looks like or their gender—they just care that they are most qualified man or woman for the job,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. “Safety drives everything we do, and this commonsense measure will increase transparency between passengers and airlines.” This action is in accordance with President Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order on Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity and his Presidential Action on Keeping Americans Safe in Aviation. “At the FAA, the safety of passengers is our number one priority,” said FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford. “It is a bare minimum expectation for airlines to hire the most qualified individual when making someone responsible for hundreds of lives at a time. Someone’s race, sex, or creed, has nothing to do with their ability to fly and land aircraft safely.”
Picture of the cookbook author in bed with a ton of fabulous looking deserts and a caption that reads "Whipped Cream Should Be The Whole Desert"
Screenshot of three articles on the Probable Cause newsletter including two parts of the DC airspace story and a look at three fatality crashes involving Guardian Flight.
Photo of AK lawmaker aid who has been charged with sex trafficking. Screenshot is from Anchorage Daily News which reports he was fired today.
Book review: Environmental historian Elmore’s (Citizen Coke, 2014) substantial research and outstanding attention to detail makes this investigation of the Monsanto chemical and agribusiness corporation riveting from start to finish. Beginning with the company’s founding in 1902, the author takes readers through struggles and successes (including a critical caffeine-fueled relationship with Coca-Cola) to its development and manufacture of such products as Agent Orange, NutraSweet, and Ambien. The Roundup Ready system of seeds and herbicides receives the most authorial attention, and for good reason. Elmore’s careful reportage shows how Monsanto remade the commodity crop industry by offering seeds resistant to its herbicides, then, as weeds adapted to each Roundup iteration, manufactured different herbicides and different seeds, thus creating a costly cycle from which few farmers could break free. As Monsanto did everything it could to dominate the market, farmers fell into debt; Roundup poisoned nearby fields; and farm workers became ill. The worst part is that, as lawsuits have exposed, the company knew exactly what it was doing. Combining elements of the film Erin Brockovich, Robert Bilott’s Exposure (2019), and Patrick Radden O’Keefe’s exposé of the Sackler family, Empire of Pain (2021), Seed Money is a galvanizing achievement that will leave readers deeply impressed, impassioned, and infuriated.
Book review: Hematologist and oncologist Nabhan, who specializes in treating non-Hodgkin lymphoma, served as an expert witness in three trials seeking damages from the Monsanto corporation. The so-called Roundup Trials conclusively proved a link between the herbicide Roundup’s primary ingredient, glyphosate, and lymphoma, resulting in millions of dollars for the victims. Nabhan takes readers through each phase of his participation, from the moment lawyers first reached out to him to his stress-filled depositions and court testimony. Lucidly tackling the development, regulation, and complexities of glyphosate’s history, this narrative reads like the most riveting of legal dramas and even references pertinent documents (many of which are included in the text) in the mode of a diligent investigative journalist. An avowed workaholic, Nabhan admits that the cases came close to overtaking his life, but the more he learned, the more determined he was to fight. As Monsanto’s lawyers dig in, and the EPA’s regulatory missteps become more glaring, Nabhan, wielding his lacerating intellect, faces off in one tense courtroom battle after another. Intense, inspiring, enlightening, and enraging from beginning to end, Toxic Exposure strikes a blow for consumer safety. Coupled with a self-deprecating, witty writing style, this is a must read.
#42: Sen. John McCain's 1998 Demands for DCA Airspace: Part 2 in a Series: Teaser: Sen. John McCain saw no reason for constraints on Washington National and in 1998 his demands changed everything. This is Part 2 of my series on DCA Airspace, the NTSB & Congress. Then image of a 1998 WaPo news article on Sen. John McCain's demands for increased air traffic at National. He claimed that airport officials had been rude to him so he would not engage with them on the subject and wanted 12 more round trips and an increase in the 1,000 mile perimeter rule. He did not mention concerns about aviation safety.
Like many of his neighbors, Mr. Trump, who is currently trying to buy the Eastern Airlines shuttle for $365 million, is fighting mad. The New York real-estate tycoon last year called a press conference to suggest that the airport be moved 10 miles south. Since then, he and George Petty, a Canadian paper magnate who has a $3.7 million Spanish-style oceanfront home nearby, have rallied the citizenry. "There's a real revolution taking place in Palm Beach," Mr. Trump says. But so far, the revolutionaries have received a drubbing. In November elections, two candidates for the Palm Beach County Commission who had been feted by Messrs. Trump and Petty with a $1,000-ahead fund-raiser, were shellacked by opponents capitalizing on an anti-Trump backlash. James Quigley, one of the defeated candidates, winces at being called a Trump puppet, a yo-yo and worse. "I had to take some real good blows," says Mr. Quigley, whose mother, one of the original Rockettes, once danced at Mar-a-Lago. "A lot of people say the Donald Trump thing was my downfall." While Mr. Trump has more or less left the local limelight since his candidates bit the dust, Mr. Petty has made a political union with neighborhood groups in West Palm Beach. The new coalition filed a suit against the Palm Beach County Commission Monday, charging it had failed to live up to noise standards agreed to in 1983. The anti-noise campaign is well financed. A public-relations woman works full time on the project. A 15-minute video and a briefing book as thick as a telephone directory help to press the homeowners' case. On the chimney of his house, Mr. Petty has installed a microphone plugged into a $50,000, computerized recording system that picks up and graphs every noise "incident." Fingering a strand of pearls, Mrs. Verner C. Reed, a Palm Beach grande dame, says the call to arms has heartened the poor people of Palm Beach, who for years had quietly borne the awful noise. "The natives are restless," says Mrs. Reed...