Les Abend

CNN Aviation Analyst

Les Abend is a Boeing 777 captain for a major airline with 31 years of flying experience. He is a CNN aviation analyst and senior contributor to Flying magazine.
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Les Abend
Les Abend
CNN

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TOPSHOT - This photo provided by Jiji Press shows a Japan Airlines plane on fire on a runway of Tokyo's Haneda Airport on January 2, 2024. A Japan Airlines plane was in flames on the runway of Tokyo's Haneda Airport on January 2 after apparently colliding with a coast guard aircraft, media reports said. (Photo by JIJI PRESS / AFP) / Japan OUT (Photo by STR/JIJI PRESS/AFP via Getty Images)
STR/JIJI PRESS/AFP/Getty Images
Opinion: One pilot’s early take on the Tokyo airport runway collision
Jan 3, 2024
Credit is due the cockpit and cabin crew of Japan Airlines Flight 516 after all those on board were safely evacuated in a collision at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, writes Les Abend.
Rescue teams work to retrieve bodies at the crash site of an aircraft carrying 72 people in Pokhara in western Nepal January 15, 2023. Bijay Neupane/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES.
Bijay Neupane/Reuters
Opinion: What every pilot should know before landing in the Himalayas
Jan 17, 2023
From low cloud to less dense air, “high terrain operations can be challenging for pilots,” writes former pilot Les Abend, reflecting on the Yeti Airlines crash in Nepal on Sunday.

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