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Business Jet Hits Truck on Raleigh-Durham Taxiway

A small business jet on an airport taxiway with a ground service truck and crew nearby, control tower in the background

A small business jet collided with a delivery truck on a taxiway at Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina on Wednesday. The crash happened moments after the jet landed, and it forced the airport to briefly close part of its airfield. No one was hurt, but the aircraft suffered serious damage.

Read on to find out why the truck was allowed onto the taxiway in the first place — and what it tells us about how airports keep vehicles and aircraft apart.

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Roleplay: Windshear Go-Around at Geneva

Pre-brief

Aircraft: Airbus A320
Callsign: Swiss 621
Route: London Heathrow (EGLL) to Geneva (LSGG)
Current state: On final approach to runway 22 at Geneva, descending through 1,500 feet in gusty conditions. The Captain is the Pilot Flying; you are working the radio. Just as you continue the approach, the tower passes a windshear warning.
Souls on board: 150
Your role: First Officer, working the radio (Pilot Monitoring)

Before you listen, predict the first call you will need to make when the tower reports windshear, and what the controller will need from you afterwards; then listen to check.

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Aviation Explained: How a Twin-Engine Jet Crosses an Ocean

Aviation Explained banner: an open book, a lightbulb, gears and a passenger jet in a blue-bordered frame

When the first of Qantas’s ultra-long-range A350s lifted off from Toulouse this month, it revived a question the industry settled long ago but rarely explains: how is an aircraft with only two engines permitted to fly for hours over open ocean, hundreds of miles from the nearest runway? Aviation Explained looks at the rule that made it possible — and at why almost every new airliner now has just two engines.

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Structure: ‘Although and despite’

What’s the difference between ‘although’ and ‘despite’?

Both although and despite introduce a concession — a surprising contrast between two facts. They carry the same meaning, but they use different grammar structures. Knowing which to use — and what comes after each one — is a key skill at Upper-intermediate level.

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Wing Cracks Force Emergency Checks on 16 Airbus A380 Jets

Emirates Airbus A380 parked at Dubai International Airport with Dubai skyline in background

European aviation regulators have ordered the urgent inspection of 16 Airbus A380 aircraft after cracks were discovered in a critical structural part of their wings. The emergency directive, issued on 22 June 2026, requires five of those aircraft to be grounded and inspected before their next flight.

Why are these inspections so urgent, and what does the directive tell us about how aviation safety regulators respond to emerging risks?

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Listening: Takeoff Miscalculation at Amsterdam

How to do this dictation

Listen to the recording and fill in the missing words as you go. Replay as many times as you need. When you’re ready, type each answer into the boxes and click Check for instant feedback, then read the full transcript to see the complete text.

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