> Hi Folks -- > > I suppose you've heard about the Airbus A320 that ditched > in the Hudson river, in the shadow of downtown Manhattan, on > Thursday. As crashes go, it must be considered a success, > since there were no fatalities and almost no serious > injuries. > > Around here it has received around-the-clock news coverage. > The commentators are amazed at how lucky the passengers > were. They all use the same word: It's a miracle. > > I disagree. Any time your airliner loses both engines is > *not* your lucky day. And while a successful ditching may > involve a small amount of luck, it mainly and primarily > involves a large amount of skill.
Many of you recall the hijacked airliner than ran out of fuel ten or fifteen years ago. The resulting ditching didn't turn out so well, with most people drowning. That was on the ocean near the shore. In the recent case, it appears that everything worked right. The crew - trained for such an emergency - reportedly performed admirably. The passengers did well. Emergency services and boat captains played a vital role. I can imagine that a ditching in the open sea and on a river are in two remarkably different environments, with the river being much more conducive to a ditching. If one engine catches a wave before the other, that could be enough to finish everyone off. I'd imagine that the aircraft *must* land straight forward without rolling, and maintain structural integrity and buoyancy long enough to allow everyone to get out. On my recent trip from Houston to Honolulu (with my entire family, including four kids aged 6 to 12), this was one of my concerns, flying in a two engine aircraft. No matter how skillful the pilot is, [s]he cannot control the ocean state. At the time we flew, there were two tropical storms south of us. I'd imagine that this recent case will be a valuable data point for study to make future ditchings more survivable. Jon ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This SF.net email is sponsored by: SourcForge Community SourceForge wants to tell your story. http://p.sf.net/sfu/sf-spreadtheword _______________________________________________ Flightgear-devel mailing list Flightgear-devel@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/flightgear-devel
