Terrific article...thanks for the link. It really is amazing how little damage there is to the plane. I know it doesn't take much, but it really was just a graze. I wonder what exactly happened to the 737...
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Plane with 155 passengers disappears in Brazil
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SBT said:Yeh i know, he must have been pritty blind. What makes it worse is that i'm thinking of becoming a pilot
Well the plane was going 600 mph....that is FAST--I can see how maybe they didn't see something coming at them in time!
Air Traffic Control does not actually control the airplane, in case you didn't know. All they do is keep the airplanes from colliding by telling the pilots where to go. Now, if the airplane gets hijacked, I don't think that the hijackers are really going to care what Air Traffic Control has to say, and therefore, Air Traffic Control has no influence over what the airplane does. Hence, the hijackers are free to fly the airplane into a building.Cube54 said:
If you require a simpler explanation, let me know and I can try again using smaller words.
--Andrzej
The two American (U.S.) pilots who were flying the small plane have had their passports confiscated by a Brazilian judge.
Not that this is a big deal, the airline GOL had another thing happen earlier today...one of their planes slid off the runway.
http://today.reuters.com/news/artic...5_RTRIDST_0_BRAZIL-PLANE.XML&rpc=66&type=qcna
http://today.reuters.com/news/artic...5_RTRIDST_0_BRAZIL-PLANE.XML&rpc=66&type=qcna
Just clicked on the link and didn't see the article.macartistkel said:
Based on what I read in the thread so far, is that the two planes were heading towards at each other.
If one was going 600mph, and the other say 400mph, that would be a 1,000mph closing speed. To put it in other terms, that would be a closing speed of about 5 football fields per second. In other words, pretty darn fast.
There isn't a whole lot of time to see and avoid. Not to mention the time it takes for the human (pilot) to react to the situation and move the controls and then the airplane to react to the control inputs. Nothing happens instantaneously.
Also, for you non pilots out there, believe it or not, but a large object such as another plan can be completely hidden from your view at a distance due to the cockpit design of the windshields and their supporting structures. This compounds the see and avoid situation because this can cause a delay in you actually being able to see another aircraft in time to avoid it.
I was reading an article a few days ago (don't remember where) that made much more of the fact that they were instructed to be at FL370. Contrary to the filed flight plan, they were given pre-takeoff clearance to ascend to and maintain FL370 all the way to Manaus. There were also several later ATC contacts where ATC didn't question the altitude the Embraer was flying at.
The Embraer pilots should have questioned the deviation from their flight plans, but ATC seems to have led them astray and didn't catch the error in several opportunities.
The Embraer pilots should have questioned the deviation from their flight plans, but ATC seems to have led them astray and didn't catch the error in several opportunities.
That seems to be part of the unsolved puzzle, according to the CBS article which states:
"While recent reports seem to suggest that the pilots had been ordered to fly at 37,000 feet, their filed flight plan stated they were to drop to 36,000 feet after passing Brasilia and then rise to 38,000 feet some 500 miles later before reaching the jungle city of Manaus."
Even if their transponder malfunctioned and they lost radio contact, they had procedures and protocol to follow which seem not to have been employed. Still lots of unanswered questions.
That sucks..I hate hearing about plane crashes. I was on 4 planes this past week...only had a problem with one. It seemed to need new brakes but at least the problem only affected us once we landed safely on GROUND!
I hope some people end up surviving this crash. Gosh, That was a BRAND new 737-800 plane. SO terrible.
Plane crashes are awful. I have to admit, I have a secret desire to be involved in an emergency landing though...without any injuries to anyone, of course. Now if my flight had to land at some tiny airport in Saskatchewan...it would be sort of interesting.
The last couple of paragraphs from this most recent article (today's) does not sound too good for the U.S. pilots who are in a system where one is "guilty 'til proved innocent". And the comment that the [investigation] "could take up to 10 months" can be taken several ways. One being, your plane killed 155 Brazilian souls, and we're going to find a way to nail you. Meanwhile, they are in custody without travel docs. Whether it's proved they were at fault or will be found innocent, the drawn out and akward process has to be pure anguish for the crew.
U.S. pilots have had their passports released by Brazilian authorities and may return home, but are still required to return if further Braziian investigation of the crash implicates them. The pilots maintain their innocence of wrong doing.
No one else may being following this anymore since it's older news, but here's the latest clip of the U.S. pilots arriving home in the U.S. for the first time since the September crash. They could face a 12 years sentence if found negligent by Brazilian authorities. It'll still be interesting to see how this plays out.
U.S. Pilots and Brazilian Controllers Indicted. The U.S. pilots, Joseph Lepore and Jan Paul Paladino are due in court for interrogation on August 27.
• Two U.S. pilots, four Brazilian air traffic controllers indicted in 2006 plane crash
• 154 people died when the corporate jet and Brazilian airliner collided midair
• Pilots' attorney says allegations are "inaccurate, and the pilots are innocent"
• Crash was worst air disaster in Brazilian history
• Two U.S. pilots, four Brazilian air traffic controllers indicted in 2006 plane crash
• 154 people died when the corporate jet and Brazilian airliner collided midair
• Pilots' attorney says allegations are "inaccurate, and the pilots are innocent"
• Crash was worst air disaster in Brazilian history
