To non-aviation types, it really seems incredible that somebody could land on the wrong runway at the wrong airfield.

During the Gulf War and OIF, when we were operating 2-3 aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf, it happened several times where a pilot landed on the wrong carrier. They'd be flying back from their mission low on gas and it would be distracting enough to their overal situational awareness that when they saw a bunch of planes circling overhead a ship on their radar, they'd join the crowd.

This is a great example of crew coordination in a T-45 Goshawk. They hit a bird. Instantly the pilot pitches the nose up and gains a little altitude in exchange for the excess airspeed they have. They talk in calm tones while trying to re-start the engine with no luck. The instructor pilot makes sure the student is in a proper ejection position before calling for the handle... and even manages a radio call.

This is probably the best I've ever heard. Crew coordination doesn't have to be within the same plane. The guys wingman takes care of eveything for the dude so he can concentrate on simply flying the plane... even reminding him to jettison his tanks. There's a large portion of the event that is cut out for some reason at :20.. at least a several minutes. I've heard the full version and the guys wingman is just plain freaking awesome in this event.

WOW! Damn good job dead-sticking that F-16 in, they don't call those lawn darts for nothing.

Wow.. I never would've thought to use one of these wheels on Aluminum, guess that's a good thing! It was brand new and only used it for about 5 minutes on Sch40 pipe. Was cutting great right up to the point where it exploded..

Very interesting videos, Sam. That's some serious professional flying right there.

No military pilot gets very far without going through some major emergency procedures. You can't typically make it through flight school without at least 2-3 declared emergencies. I had 2 while in primary and at least 5-6 in advanced while flying the Hawkeye. I've never had a full-blown inflight fire, but I've had smoke-in-the-cockpit a few times. I've had a compressor section rupture on the catapult stroke and tons of oil/temp/pressure issues with engines resulting in shutdowns and flying single-engine. I can't count how many "little" emergencies I've had.

Everybody has probably heard the ATC recording from Flight 1549 that ditched in the Hudson. "Sully" was a household name for a few months. I've never heard the actual cockpit recording but if somebody has a link, please post it. Anyways, his voice is cool and calm without sounding rushed and he was in the process of deadstick ditching an airliner.

On the other hand, the guy was an F-4 pilot in the Air Force... so I can promise you that ditching an Airbus probably wasn't half as hard some of the noshit moments he had in the Phantom. Point is, the airlines love ex-military pilots because they've already had the living shiz scared out of them in dozens of actual emergencies and have the training and decisionmaking skills that a lot of civilian-trained pilots lack.

:rofl:








Can't get enough epic sax!!

I've tried to find it as well- all I have is an MP3 of the departure recording (without the simulated engine sounds) though the transcript is here: http://dms.ntsb.gov/public%2F47000-4...0%2F420526.pdf

For those interested, and who can sort of hear the other recording in their heads, it fills in the gaps. Gives you an appreciation for how quickly things happen, as the ATC recording only captured what they were transmitting, and not what was actually going on inside the airplane. They were still working the engine restart checklist when they ran out of sky, but they maintained situational awareness throughout, flying the plane and even managing to squeeze off a few radio transmissions.


What I found amusing:

There's an old maxim in flight that one much never run out of altitude, airspeed, and ideas all at the same time.

The second-to-last words exchanged between the Cpt and FO prior to the water impact:

Captain: Got any ideas?

First officer: Actually not.

I wish I could actually hear the tone in which that was spoken. Given that they were clearly out of altitude and airspeed, I like to think that they got a slight chuckle out of this exchange.

7 points -- sloppy landing.

Not a single ---- was given.

sometimes i wish i liked drugs.

So lucky the car didnt roll over one more time.

Because racism.