2023 Aviation Week Photo Contest Editors’ Picks: Commercial Aviation
December 05, 2023
Erickson Aero Tanker’s MD-87 does a drop at July’s Rabbit Fire near Moreno Valley using a new retardant made by a company called Fortress. This was taken in the late afternoon as the Sun was setting. This year, the MD-87 does not have to lower its landing gear when dropping.

An Air Canada commercial passenger jet flies through a massive rainbow at Montreal-Trudeau International Airport. My son and I took this photo while at the airport.

This departing JetBlue A320 lines up nicely between the setting Sun and the lens flare as the aircraft leaves Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida on a busy seasonal route.

A Beta Technologies ALIA-250 electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft flies over the trees during a flight test in Vermont.

A United Airlines Boeing 787 red-eye flight approaches Runway 24R at Los Angeles International Airport.

Photographed from high on Reptile Ridge, a British Antarctic Dash-7 VPFBQ flies over icebergs after departing Runway 36 at Rothera Research Station, Antarctica. Icebergs congregate around the northern end of the runway due to currents and a prevailing northerly wind.

Joby Aviation’s electric vertical-lift air taxi prototype glides into a golden sunset in Marina, California. The prototype has helped push the company’s exhaustive flight test program past more than 30,000 mi. Photographed with a Sony A1 mirrorless digital camera from a chase helicopter.

The last Boeing 747 to roll off the production line comes in for a landing at Paine Field in Everett, Washington, its wingtip vortices producing a heart of sorts.

Boeing 757-232: 7.57 mi. away. The Sun: 93 million mi. away. Delta Air Lines Flight 8841, traveling from St. Louis to Miami, was photographed as it passed in front of the Sun at 457 kt. Details: 1/4000, f10 and ISO400 with a Canon R5/RF100-500mm with 1.4x TC and a solar filter. Standard safety rules apply: Don’t look at the Sun without protection.
Advanced air mobility aircraft makes an impressive debut among this year’s entries. Firefighting aircraft and commercial aircraft round out the competition.
View the Aviation Week Photo Contest to see winners, Editors' Picks and other galleries.