The de Hoofilland Constellation is the world's largest passenger airliner, capable of carrying 1200 passengers and crew halfway around the world. Since its launch, it has become an icon in the world of civil aviation and a major status symbol for Equestria - until one of them mysteriously falls out of the sky, leaving only a sole survivor. Horrified by the plane's sudden failure and the horrendous loss of life, Princess Celestia and Sultan Solaris of Saddle Arabia open up a joint inquiry into the loss of the ill-fated leviathan, with Twilight Sparkle leading the investigation. Will they be able to find the cause? Will the Constellations' image remain tarnished forever? And will the survivor live to tell the tale?
Contains references to real-life aviation disasters. Reader discretion is advised when reading this story.
The crashes featured here are largely based on the calamitous in-flight break-up of the real-life de Havilland Comets, the most notorious of which was the loss of BOAC Flight 781 for London. This story is dedicated to the victims' memories.
Please tell me this story involves an Airbus A380-800?! Please tell me ^^
5916338 I'm afraid it doesn't, unfortunately. There's an Airbus (or Airwain in this case) A340 in a later chapter, but I haven't really found a suitable place in the storyline in which to even mention the A380 without it looking deus-ex-machina.
5916379 aww ok, still gonna read it though there is no A380... sounds like a good story tho!
been waiting for this story for a few months. Looks good so far.
hey you waifu wailers. either grow up or get out.
5916668 I'm not having shipping wars on my stories, thank you so very much. If you don't like Flashlight, then that's fine; but it doesn't give you the right to castigate others just for showing their appreciation of it.
This story looks really promising
I'm just not sure if you can use the de Havilland Comet's cause of failure for the Constellation - I think that if the manufacturers manage to reach such scale (1200 passengers!), they would be aware by now of the possible problem...
Really looking forward for Twilight's investigation and the rest of the story!
5918037 Oh, it's not the manufacturers who are at fault, nor the designers. All I can say at present is that there's a bit of a twist as to what caused them to fail.
5921196
I see...
I'm curious about how Twilight would conduct her investigation - a lot of the modern aircraft accident investigation *was* created almost from zero due the crash of BOAC Flight 781 (Rewatched the Seconds from Disaster episode due this fic). Would she do the same or there will be specific techniques avaliable?
And there is the hinted political aspect: how the governments of Equestria and Saddle Arabia deal with the crash aftermath and the investigation? Would (or even *could*) Celestia (and her Saddle Arabian counterpart, Sultan Solaris) keep the Constellation fleet on the ground or they will be forced to let it keeping flying?
Definitely tracking this fanfic!
As a freshly minted Brony and college aviation student, this story feels like a dream come true, mixing two things I love. The one thing that pleasantly surprised me was the fact that the plane you decided to use was the Comet. For being the first commercial jetliner, it's not a terribly well known airplane. It really was a innovation at the time, and in case you decide to use the real reason it crashed as a major plot point, I won't ruin it, but looking back on the plane, it was a somewhat stupid reason for it to have the problem it did.
All in all though, in two weeks since I found this site, I've read a lot of stories on here, and I feel that yours will be one of my favorite.
If you like helicopters read, Scootaloo flys a Huey. .She doesn't wad it up or make a smoken hole....
fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2014/341/e/a/scootaloo_flys_a_huey_by_hillbe-d891l3o.jpg
They went down in the Titanic!
Why I think that a rainbow-maned one is one of them?
It is progressing nice - good touches with the political and the possible foul play angles.
I just wish that they (the investigators) get the news that there was at last one survivor...
5936359 They will. You'll find out in the next few chapters.
Blueblood is being a jerk as always. Wondering how Twilight is going to react
*facepalm* I was wondering about political pressure... and Blueblood comes and delivers
apologize
spike
5950727 I appreciate that you're trying to help me with my grammar, etc., but there are a couple of things I'd like to point out. Firstly, the reason I spelt "apologise" the way I did is because I'm British, and that's the way we spell it over here. Yes, I use a fair bit of American vernacular, but with respect, I'd rather stick with the British English spelling. Secondly, I meant exactly what I typed when I put "a pike" - basically, I'm referring to a weapon that resembles a spear.
5950902
I was wondering about the pike part. And now that I know you do British spelling, I won't flag those. Sorry.
5951412 Nah, it's okay. I know you were only trying to be helpful.
5951415
*huddles up in ball in corner*
I'm eager to see how you frame the cause, since the Constellation is an expy of the Comet but is the first superjumbo instead of the first jetliner. As you're no doubt aware, the Comet's structural fatigue issues went honestly undetected despite extensive pre-service safety testing because no previous airliner had ever gone so high and fast on a repeated basis. The bit with McPommell seems a clear hint that the Constellation's crash isn't going to have exactly the same causes as the Comet's, even if it wasn't sabotage; I'll be interesting to see how you lay out the evidence to the conclusion.
and this is why I really do not like that spoiled good for nothing prince bluefart.
Yeah, I take pride in insulting him.
Can there be like a scene where flash had a near death? Cuz ya know, Flash is pretty badly injured. :3
5954045
Something random, but I always enjoy seeing whether people spell it "Flashy" or "Flashie".
And that would be interesting
Words words words
That was a smart solution to the mystery of the cause of the crash. Now let's see how Twilight's trap will work.
Three stupid moments.
1. Flash should of strike him unconscious when he had the element of surprise.
2. There should at least been like three other guards (one a unicorn) also hiding in the hanger.
3. A pony with a brain would of just killed Flash and hide his body.
5961253
Unless they're the type that like to make ponies suffer.
I'M GONNA BE THE ONE TO BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN! WITH THE COMBUSTIBLE LEMON!!!!!!!!!!!!!
5961362
You're just jumping to conclusions. I never intended this to be a Flashlight hatred story, and I certainly don't intend it to be anything of the sort right now. The villains will get their just desserts, Flash and Twilight will survive, and the story will end well. Now could you guys please just give me a break and let me upload the rest of the story in my own time instead of castigating me for giving them a sticky end before I'm even finished?!
5961317 Suffer or not, it would've been more logical and effective to kill him. How do you think James Bond is still alive?
Eh, too lazy to try.
now we get to the good part.
replygif.net/i/187.gif
mmmkkayy
Great climax!
A question: visually, the Constellation resemble which aircraft?
5968659
The Antonov An-225 Mriya?
5968659 Well, essentially I'm aiming for it to resemble the Comet, especially on the nose cone, but with some major tweaks to the design. First and most obvious, the windows will be rounded instead of the defective square pattern; but in addition, its wings will be a slightly swept-back Delta pattern with winglets at the tips, the tailplane will be T-shaped, and the passenger area will be a double-decker configuration. The four jet engines will be situated under the wings close to the fuselage, and will resemble those of the Concorde. Essentially it's somewhere between Comet, Concorde and the Airbus A-380 in appearance.
5968793 Thank you for the clarification.
WORDS AND WORDS AND WORDS.
5970269 This is supposed to be a fanfic, not a shipping war zone. Now if you don't have anything nice to say about it, then you can jolly well keep your opinions to yourself!
Nice ending.
But it was wise only banish Tailstrike? Is not better keep him in prison to prevent that he manage to continue his criminal activities out of the country?
And the tidbit at the end - hint of upcoming stories?
5970314 I'm surprised that Tailstrike wasn't executed.
5972295 In my headcanon, that practice hasn't been allowed for centuries.
5970314 Yeah, in retrospect, it's probably not the most sensible punishment I could have given him unless he were dumped in the middle of the Everfree Forest or it turned out he had been deported to somewhere like Saddle Arabia or wherever for imprisonment or penal servitude. If anything, it leaves an open window for him to return in a future story, and frankly I'm not sure whether to feel pleased or disappointed about that.
As for the final bit with Loco, Button Mash and the toy spaceship, that's only meant to be a bit of comic relief to end the story on a high note. I don't have any plans as yet to send a pony into space, and if I do, it probably won't be either of those two.
I don't think you can clap with hooves so.... *hugs* good story!
Hey Locomotion,
Great job on the story! Great job!
Finally, found a clever fanfic
I'm so excited 
Before I read it, what is the Dark tag for ?