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Learning on the Fly

posted by janrinok on Wednesday June 01 2022, @06:56AM   Printer-friendly
from the meh-amateur dept.

pkrasimirov writes:

HARRISON: "I've got a serious situation here. My pilot has gone incoherent. I have no idea how to fly the aeroplane."

CONTROL: "ATC: 333 Lima Delta, Roger, what's your position?"

HARRISON: "I have no idea. I can see the coast of Florida in front of me but I have no idea."

CONTROL: "Maintain wings level and just try to follow the coast, either northbound or southbound. We're trying to locate you."

On 10 May at 10,000 feet above the ocean a Cessna 208 Caravan pilot suffers aortic dissection and collapses. The other two people on board are passengers without piloting experience -- Russ Franck, 69, and Darren Harrison, 39. The plane goes into a dive. Harrison takes control, slowly levels the aircraft, establishes radio communication and gets assistance from ground controller Robert Morgan, a seasoned Cessna flight instructor. One hour later, after what Franck describes as "a normal landing", the pilot Kenneth Allen, 64, is rushed to Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center where his life is saved for second time that day.

The story:
• May 11 https://www.flightradar24.com/blog/passenger-safely-lands-aircraft-after-pilot-incapacitated/
• May 11 https://medium.com/faa/miracle-in-the-air-air-traffic-controllers-guide-passenger-to-land-plane-safely-27362004f07c
• May 12 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-61416384
• May 12 https://people.com/human-interest/air-traffic-controller-speaks-out-after-helping-passenger-land-plane/
• May 16 https://people.com/human-interest/passenger-who-landed-airplane-with-no-flying-experience-speaks-out/
• May 17 https://people.com/human-interest/pilot-has-miraculous-recovery-after-health-emergency-led-to-passenger-landing-plane/
• May 26 https://people.com/human-interest/pilot-who-had-medical-emergency-speaks-out-after-passenger-landed-plane/
--
Ever wanted to know how to fly an airplane just in case?

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 01 2022, @06:02PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 01 2022, @06:02PM (#1249493)

    Yes, that's the one! He's still a hero for steering the plane away from populated areas before it crashed. RIP.

  • (Score: 3, Informative) by tangomargarine on Wednesday June 01 2022, @06:17PM

    by tangomargarine (667) on Wednesday June 01 2022, @06:17PM (#1249497)

    Ha, double-ninja'd. I thought of that crash, too. "I bet I could find--oh."

    Then I go to read it again, come back to quote

    Crash investigators concluded that Prodromou's experience was insufficient for him to be able to gain control of the aircraft under the circumstances.[4]: 139  However, Prodromou succeeded in banking the plane away from Athens and towards a rural area as the engines flamed out. There were no ground casualties.[11] Ten minutes after the loss of power from the left engine, the right engine also flamed out,[4]: 19  and just before 12:04, the aircraft crashed into hills near Grammatiko, 40 km (25 mi; 22 nmi) from Athens, killing all 121 passengers and crew on board.[4]: 19

     

    Dangit not again!

    Cf. United_Airlines_Flight_232 [wikipedia.org], where they lost all their hydraulics:

    Air traffic control (ATC) was contacted and an emergency landing at nearby Sioux Gateway Airport was organized. Haynes kept his sense of humor during the emergency, as recorded on the plane's CVR:

    Fitch: "I'll tell you what, we'll have a beer when this is all done."[9]
    Haynes: "Well I don't drink, but I'll sure as hell have one."[10][11]

    and later:

    Sioux City Approach: "United Two Thirty-Two Heavy, the wind's currently three six zero at one one; three sixty at eleven. You're cleared to land on any runway."[9]
    Haynes: "[laughter] Roger. [laughter] You want to be particular and make it a runway, huh?"[9]

    A more serious remark often quoted from Haynes was made when ATC asked the crew to make a left turn to keep them clear of the city:

    Haynes: "Whatever you do, keep us away from the city."[12]

    Haynes later noted, "We were too busy [to be scared]. You must maintain your composure in the airplane, or you will die. You learn that from your first day flying."[13]

    --
    "Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"