You know, let's hear it for airline pilots.....

(For disclosure purposes, my dad does fly this aircraft for an American Airline...so perhaps I'm a little biased).



Extreme sink rate, and they cleared the fence. :applause:

This is why I laugh when I hear people say the computer flies the plane.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7194569.stm

Air accident investigators will piece together the events leading to the crash-landing of BA flight 038 before being sure what lay behind the drama.

But as the full facts emerge, it may well be that the 152 people on board - and perhaps many more on the ground - are shown to have had an extraordinary escape from tragedy.

Early information suggests the plane suffered some sort of drastic technical failure, pitching the pilot into a struggle to control the final moments of descent.

Failure to make it to the outer reaches of the runway area - or a fire or break-up on landing - could have spelt disaster.

Bad time to lose power but he pulled it off. When I was a new private pilot, they told me "any landing you can walk away from.".......I hope the owners are as grateful considering it's their $40 plus million dollar plane in pieces on the tarmac. I, personally, never bought that theory.

because it's still a crash.

Of course, the reality is they saved everyone's life.

I can't imagine what it would have been like hearing the ICAS screaming "sink rate, pull up," knowing it was the real deal.

But a big salute to the pilots for pulling it out... whoa!

Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing.

If you can use the plane again, it's a great landing.

Good on the BA pilots! :applause:

As a pilot myself, I'm sure they did a fine job. But on my end, I'd tip my hat first to the flight attendants, who I'm sure did a heroic job in getting everyone off the plane. I'd be very interested in finding out what happened.

Either way, nice job ladies,,,, and guys!!!

I'm very interested in finding out what happened too.

In abnormal circumstances, you want something thought-capable in charge, like a trained, experienced human.

Who would feel comfortable on a pilotless aircraft?

I've logged almost 300,000 "passenger miles". I have the highest respect for the pilots that have taken me safely on those many flights.

Small price to pay for everyone walking away.

as a life long user of the airlines because all other forms of long travel makes me ill, I appreciate them no end. :thumbsup:

is truly incredible.

After it happened, they ran simulation after simulation, and in none of those computer-assisted scenarios did the result turn out better than what actually happened with the pilots in control.

all of its hydraulics and the pilots had practically zero steering capability, save for using engine power from the #1 and #3 engines.

Ah, the Brits mastery of the understatement!

-Hoot