I’m a sports sailboat captain with a fascination with airplanes. I watch Mentour Pilot a lot. The Air India accident brought back memories.
We used to race to an island some 80 nautical miles north of our beach club. Once a captain commented that he was unsure of his position but seeing a private plane flying in the estimated direction he decided to follow it because airplane pilots know what they are doing. At the island a private plane captain commented that he was not quite sure of the direction but seeing sailboats he followed the same heading because sailors know what they are doing.
My management company bid on a contract with the Venezuelan Dredging Company. A number of our consultants were flow on a DC3 to the dry dock where one of their dredges was being serviced and flown back to Caracas in a Cessna 172 Skyhawk. I sat behind the pilot gawking at the instruments. As we approached the Caracas airport the pilot commented that he had to be on the lookout for the “Holy Cow,” the presidential plane, becase they never reported their position flying down the gulch from Caracas. A few minutes later he got into an argument with the airport controller who reported that there were two private planes in the vicinity who were not sure of their position. Mentour Pilot talks a lot about “Situational Awareness.” I was taking it all in but said nothing until the tower asked at what altitude we were flying. The pilot responded, “5,000 feet” but the instrument showed “4,500.” I broke my silence and pointed to the altimeter. The pilot said the Spanish equivalent of “Oh Sh.t” as he pulled on the yoke. He never said another word to me but concentrated on “Situational Awareness.”
So many contradictory opinions about the Air India crash including AI Garbage! The one I disliked the most was one that talked mostly about the 737-Max crashes, a new model vs. one with over a decade of reliable service. The only conclusion one can draw from the preliminary report is that they found no fault with the airplane.
The Captain
BTW, we beat out Booz Allen and Hamilton, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, and a local management consulting firm for the largest contract I ever managed.
Sometimes, pilots go funny in the head. iirc, there was a case, some years ago, when a pilot was sitting in a jump seat, behind the crew flying the plane, and he reached up and tried to shut the engines off…just a little funny in the head.
I’m always terrified of the one that happened in Florida. There was a light out on the control panel. Not an instrument, just a tally light on the landing gear. Both pilots got so involved in crawling around looking for a loose wire they didn’t notice the autopilot had disconnected, and even when the tower called and said something generic like “You guys OK?” They didn’t look up and flew the plane right into the swamp.
The FAA decreed that ATC and pilots should use more direct, even brusque language like “Hey, you guys! You’re flying into the ground!”
Eastern Airlines 401, December 1972. Frightening stuff.
Oh, I had an experience flying back from the Radio Shack annual meeting in Dallas, in the 80s. American Airlines, DC-10, flying into ORD, a combination that had a certain reputation in the 80s. Hit hard on the gear on one side. Bounced back into the air. Hit hard on the main gear on the other side. Bounced back into the air. Hit hard on one wheel a third time. Passengers shouted HEY!!! as that wretched DC-10 shuddered. They had the closed circuit TV to the cockpit on. I watched as the pilot reached over and hit the copilot’s hands. The copilot let go of the yoke, holding both hands in the air. The pilot wrestled the plane back under control, using a lot more shoulder english than I ever did parallel parking a car without power steering. That was TOO CLOSE for my liking.
Cross wind landings can be tricky. Often one wheel hits the ground first while they work to quit flying with a stall at the right time.
That was no normal crosswind landing. The main runway in Kalamazoo is north/south. Prevailing wind is from the west. I have seen planes bank into the wind as they make their approach.
When I saw the captain slap the copilot’s hands, and take over, while the plane was bouncing, I knew we were too close to having an event.