Patrick Smith wrote the "Ask the Pilot" column for Salon.com for 10 years, ending last year. His writing was always very insightful and very entertaining at the same time.
One of my favorites: http://www.askthepilot.com/essaysandstories/the-exploding-to...
It seems he came back to slate.com as a one-time thing, but you can read his archived work at Salon and at www.askthepilot.com. He seems to have a book as well now.