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UAP FILES: Navy pilots describe a “Tic-Tac” object outmaneuvering an F/A-18 HEROIC: The co-pilot who landed a 767 with zero engine power over Canada BIZARRE: The flight attendant who survived a 33,000-foot fall. Read the case HISTORY: Inside the deadliest day in aviation: two 747s, one foggy runway SCARY: The cockpit voice recording no pilot forgets UAP FILES: Navy pilots describe a “Tic-Tac” object outmaneuvering an F/A-18 HEROIC: The co-pilot who landed a 767 with zero engine power over Canada BIZARRE: The flight attendant who survived a 33,000-foot fall. Read the case HISTORY: Inside the deadliest day in aviation: two 747s, one foggy runway SCARY: The cockpit voice recording no pilot forgets
Legal

Privacy Policy

What we collect, why we collect it, and the third-party services this site depends on, written in plain language, not legalese.

Last updated: August 2026

Who We Are

Flight Crew Files (“we,” “us,” “the site”) is an independent aviation enthusiast publication at flightcrewfiles.com. This policy explains how we handle information when you visit the site, submit a story or tip, comment on an article, or contact us.

Information You Provide To Us

Several forms across the site collect information you choose to give us: the Tip Line, the Community Hub's discussion form, and the Contact page. All of these are optional and clearly labeled:

  • Name: optional on every form. Leave it blank to submit anonymously.
  • Contact email: optional on the Tip Line and Community Hub, used only if you'd like us to be able to follow up. Required on the Contact page so we can reply to you.
  • Story or message content: whatever you write in the form.

Form submissions are delivered by email to our small editorial team via a third-party form processor, FormSubmit.co. We don't operate a public database of submissions. Everything is reviewed manually before anything is published, and identifying details are stripped from anything we post.

Cookies

This site uses a small number of cookies and browser storage items:

  • Advertising cookies: Flight Crew Files is supported by Google AdSense, which may set cookies to serve and measure ads, including personalized ads where permitted. See Google's how Google uses cookies in advertising page for details.
  • Analytics cookies: we use Google Analytics 4 to understand which pages are read and how people arrive at the site. It sets cookies that record a randomly generated identifier, not your name. See how Google uses data when you use our site.
  • Preference storage: we use your browser's local storage (not a traditional cookie) to remember a single choice: whether you accepted or declined our cookie banner, so we don't ask you again on every visit.

You can clear cookies and local storage at any time through your browser settings, and most browsers let you block third-party cookies entirely.

Third-Party Services

Parts of the site embed or link out to services operated by other companies, each with their own privacy practices:

  • Google AdSense: displays advertising across the site.
  • Google Analytics 4: measures traffic and page popularity. We see aggregate reports — page views, referrers, approximate country, device type. We do not see your name, email address or precise location, and we have not enabled Google Signals or advertising personalisation features in our Analytics configuration.
  • FormSubmit.co: processes and delivers form submissions (Tip Line, Community Hub, Contact) to our inbox.
  • Giscus: powers article comments and requires visitors to sign in with a GitHub account to comment; GitHub's own privacy policy governs that sign-in.
  • YouTube: video content on the Video Feed page is embedded directly from YouTube.
  • Flightradar24: the live map on the Live Flights page is embedded from Flightradar24.
  • LiveATC.net: the Listen Live page links out to live scanner audio streamed by LiveATC.net.

We don't control these services' data practices. We'd encourage reading their individual privacy policies if you have concerns about a specific one.

Analytics And What We Actually See

Every page on this site loads Google Analytics 4. What that gives us is aggregate: how many people read a given case file, which pages they arrived from, roughly which country they were in, and whether they were on a phone or a desktop. It does not tell us who you are. We do not upload, attach or cross-reference any personal identifier to analytics data, and we do not use it to build advertising audiences.

If you would rather not be counted at all, Google publishes an official browser opt-out add-on, and most browsers' tracking-protection settings will block it too. Nothing on this site is withheld from readers who block analytics.

How We Use Information

We use the information described above to: review and, where appropriate, publish reader-submitted stories and tips (anonymized first); respond to contact inquiries; moderate comments and discussions; and keep the site funded through advertising.

We do not sell personal information, and we never have. We do not share it with data brokers, and we do not trade or rent contact details to anyone. We don't maintain a mailing list beyond the optional newsletter signup, which you can unsubscribe from at any time via the link in every email.

Children's Privacy

Flight Crew Files is intended for a general audience and is not directed at children under 13. We don't knowingly collect information from children under 13.

Your Choices

  • Decline non-essential cookies via the banner shown on your first visit, or through your browser's own cookie controls.
  • Submit anything to us (a story, a tip, a comment) without providing your name or a contact email.
  • Request a copy of, or the deletion of, any submission or contact information you previously sent us. Email hello@flightcrewfiles.com and we will action it within 30 days. You do not need to explain why.
  • Opt out of analytics entirely using Google's opt-out add-on or your browser's tracking protection.

Changes To This Policy

We may update this policy as the site changes. Material changes will be reflected by updating the date at the top of this page.

Contact

Questions about this policy, or any request relating to your data: email hello@flightcrewfiles.com, or use our Contact page. Data requests are handled by the editorial team directly.