Passenger To Pilot

[Deepwater6]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24457836

 

Some of you know my fear of planes and the recurring strange dreams of a large jetliner headed straight for me. So close I can see the rivets on the nose of the plane and the look of complete distress on the pilot faces as it heads right in the very spot I'm standing.

 

Yeah, yeah, I know, it's weird, but this real situation must have fallen squarely in the holy s**t category for this passenger. :o

 

I believe his attitude surely played a role in his safe landing. Thankfully it was a smaller plane. I watch documentary's about large jet crashes and how they come about. I watched one recently about a modern plane running out of fuel miles from their destination. It turns out that someone in the ground crew calculated the fuel wrong. The pilots of the huge plane were both veteran pilots. The captain also had a lot of experience with gliders and good thing too. To bring the jet in at the right angle and speed he needed to turn the aircraft in such a way that it caused drag on the plane. (slipping) As he came in he gauged his landing by adjusting this drag. In other words landing planes is not a science, its an art.

 

I think the first four attempts helped this passenger get a feel for the plane. This in itself helped to build his confidence. It gave him an idea of what to expect and gave him the impression that what he was doing was possible.

 

Even so, the first few minutes after the situation started and before this guy could assess the situation I can't imagine what was going through his mind. What the **** :blink:

[Deepwater6]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24471093

 

They solved the overheating battery banks by encasing them in a secondary fireproof box. Which is supposed to starve any fire of oxygen. If that fails there is a vent line that sends the fumes to a external hole on the bottom of the plane rather than into the cabin.