Author: FlyMarshall Newsroom

NORDO (No Radio) Aircraft that cannot or do not communicate by radio when radio communication is required are referred to as “NORDO.”

“It was completely out of the blue. It was just amazingly quick. My crewmates definitely saw that I was in distress. It was all hands on deck within just a matter of seconds.” Source: NASA astronaut Mike Fincke’s narrative about how he experienced a medical issue on January 7, roughly five and a half months into his Crew-11 mission. While preparing for a spacewalk and eating dinner, Fincke reportedly suddenly lost the ability to speak. This issue persisted for around 20 minutes and triggered immediate coordination between the crew and flight surgeons on the ground.

CENTCOM has released photos of F-16s loaded with cluster bombs for operations in Iran, a week after BLU-91/B ‘Gator’ anti-tank mines were found on the ground. The U.S. Central Command has released on Apr. 4, 2026, new photos of U.S. Air Force F-16CM Fighting Falcon fighter jets (specifically Block 40s from Aviano, Italy) being refueled in the air during Operation Epic Fury. Notably, the fighters can be seen each armed with four cluster bombs, two under each wing installed on a triple ejector rack. GATOR Mines Just a week ago, photos emerged online showing anti-tank mines scattered in the southern…

I hope everyone is having a nice weekend so far, and happy Easter to those who celebrate. I’m at home with family for a couple more weeks, before heading off on my next adventure, so I hope to make good progress getting caught up on trip reports before then. On the points & travel front, this week we saw some US carriers increase checked bag fees, Trump revealed plans to increasingly privatize airport security, United announced a new basic business class product, TAP Air Portugal moved closer to belonging to a major airline group, and more. With that out of…

Almost the same time as an F-15E Strike Eagle went down over Iran, the U.S. Air Force lost an A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft near the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. officials told NYT that the jet’s pilot was safely rescued.  While search and rescue efforts for at least one of the crew members of an apparently Lakenheath-based F-15E Strike Eagle that went down in unclear circumstances over Iran on Friday Apr. 3, 2026, anonymous U.S. officials have now revealed that an A-10 Thunderbolt II, commonly known as a Warthog, was also lost near the Strait of Hormuz around the same…

A video shared by CENTCOM shows the destruction of an Iranian clone of the RQ-170 Sentinel, which was reverse-engineered after crashing in Iran 15 years ago. An Iranian clone of the secretive U.S. RQ-170 Sentinel ISR drone was apparently destroyed in an airstrike, an Apr. 2, 2026 video by the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) showed. The drone can be distinguished by its flying-wing design, small size similar to the RQ-170, and two ‘humps’ on the wings. Iran has produced a few examples of the drone over the years, reverse engineered and modified from the RQ-170 that was recovered after a…

The loss of an F-15E Strike Eagle in Iran prompted specialized Combat Search and Rescue units to spring into action, with a multitude of assets working together to recover all missing aircrew. Here’s how. On Apr. 3, 2026, multiple specialized units sprang into action for a complex mission they train extensively for but hope never to execute: Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR). As we reported, an F-15E Strike Eagle was lost over Iran and an A-10C Thunderbolt II crashed in Kuwait after being hit by enemy fire while supporting the CSAR operation. The Ongoing Effort Early in the morning, videos…

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During my exotic journey to Bangkok via Paris, I flew Air France’s Boeing 787-9 business class from Montreal (YUL) to Paris (CDG). Prior to that, I had the chance to spend some time at the Air France Lounge Montreal Trudeau International Airport, which I’ll be reviewing in this installment. The Air France Lounge Montreal was last renovated back in 2021. While it’s primarily intended for Air France-KLM passengers, it’s also available to those with Priority Pass, at least over select hours. This is physically a beautiful lounge with great views, and it has a pretty decent food and drink selection as well.…

In recent times, I’ve been writing a series about some of the world’s best small luxury hotel groups, including Airelles, Aman, BVLGARI, Capella, Cheval Blanc, Oetker, One&Only, Ritz-Carlton Reserve, etc. I’ve also written about some of the bigger luxury hotel groups, like Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, etc. I’d like to dedicate this post to Rosewood, a hotel brand I’ve never written a dedicated post about (though I’ve written about many of the new hotel openings, I’ve reviewed some of the properties, etc.). I think Rosewood might just be the fastest growing and most interesting hotel group that’s scaling right now. While it’s probably most directly a competitor to…