Bravo Ted Striker
Crippled Jet Lands Safely at L.A. Airport (AP)
As someone who absolutely hates to fly, tonight’s emergency landing of JetBlue’s flight 292 put visions in my head of a best-case scenario in which the front landing gear buckles and the plane skids uncontrollably in some life-threatening scenario. Instead, the pilot of this flight utilized 95 percent of the 12,000 foot runway to precisely ease the nose down in such a way as to prevent the failed front landing gear from snapping off.
This pilot deserves a huge amount of credit for getting that balance exactly right.
it was amazing to watch. Damn fine landing!
I’m an undergrad at the University of North Dakota as a commercial aviation major and a bunch of us were all watching the coverage in one of our dorm rooms cheering the pilot on. Great piloting indeed–hell of a soft field landing!
Many of us begrudge the money a good pilot makes for a commercial airline, but this is a good reminder of what they’re paid to do when things go very wrong.
As I watched the landing, I had nothing but praise for the skills of the pilots, But, the one thing that bothered me was the lack of an in flight fuel system in the Airbus Aircraft. But then again, Airbus had to cut some corners for them to be able to compete with Boeing, Cutting costs is OK, but not at the expense of safety. If an emergency ever happened that required an Airbus to land quickly, I hate th think about the consequences of trying to land an overweight aircraft. Doesn’t it figure that the Airbus is French made.
Herb, what in-flight fuel system are you talking about? Are you referring to the ability to dump fuel from the tanks? I’m no expert but I think all planes can do that. Why they didn’t I don’t know. FYI the Airbus A320 was the first passenger jet to incorporate a fly by wire system. I’m not even certain Boeing has any that has that capability, maybe the 777? Technologically, the A320 remains a very impressive aircraft.
DC, apparently Herb is right about the A320 not being able to dump fuel.
I seem to recall that the 757, 767 and 777 all have fly-by-wire. Presumably the new 7E7 as well.
McGeehee, I did a search and the only Boeing with FBW is the 777. The 757 and 767s came out in the late 70s or early 80s which were still using good old hydraulic controls.
I’m curious if anyone knows anything about the pilot’s background & training. If prior military: Air Force, Navy or USMC? Anyone know?