Re: Why we fight (there was an old B&W movie by that name IIRC)

adrian.johnson@sympatico.ca wrote:

>  I think it was in Sioux City that an aircraft actually made
> >it to the ground, with no hydraulics and only the having the throttle
to
> >control the aircraft, two thirds of the passengers and crew survived
the
> >breakup of the aircraft, as it cart-wheeled off the runway.	This has
also
> >never been duplicated in the simulator.
> >
>
> Actually, NASA took a big interest in that particular situation.  The
pilot
> managed to use differential engine thrust to get himself and the plane
all
> the way to an airport, steer to the runway, land almost properly, but
one
> of the wings dipped and his control wasn't fine enough to get it up
again
> before the wingtip hit and the plane rolled.	As you said, he saved
more
> than half the passengers and his flight crew, by *inventing a method
of
> flying that was never taught, discussed, or anything* because he had
to do
> *something*.
>
> This guy had great big brass ones...	 He *really* deserved a medal.
>

[snip]

>
>
> Just the thought of that pilot's presence of mind is boggling...

It helped that one of the passengers was the instructor pilot who had
written
the airline's pilot manual for the type.  He concentrated on the
throttles
while the pilots told him what they wanted the plane to do (along with
what the
plane was doing).  It was a coordinated effort.

The irony is that all three were absolutely despondant that not everyone
got
out of the plane.  The rescue crews required a bit of time to figure out
how
the gawkers had beaten them to the crash, as they were surprised that
anyone