I read this article this morning and I don't know whether I spent more time laughing or sphincter-clenching! I scared my dog, though.
p.s. The comments rock!

" *opens door to comments section c**kpit*
I just want to say good luck to everyone, we're all counting on you. "

Any article that leaves out the Gimli Glider (new window) fails.

Fear_and_Loathing: Any article that leaves out the Gimli Glider (new window) fails.

My thoughts exactly. While not having to deal with the chaotic events described in the article, the pilots still did a farking amazing job.

Or this one.

Air Transat Flight 236 (new window)

This caption killed me:

"Um, can we start over? I feel like way too much shiat is going wrong."

Stompn_Tom: No Gimli Glider (new window) ?

Durn, you beat me to it. Kudos!

I'll probably get some flak for this but...

In regards to Captain's Sully miracle on the Hudson, I don't see what's heroic about that. It was pretty amazing what he did, and that's awesome of him, but for something to be heroic I feel like you have to take on some risk that you wouldn't otherwise have to in order to help others. He didn't do that. If that plane was empty he would have done the same thing. He was thrust into the situation without choice, and acted to make the safest landing, which any other pilot would have done also. So it's great what he did, but I just don't think it makes him a hero, per se.

UA 232 is a legend

EMT's and Fire Fighters study the ground response to try and plan for mass causality incidents.

185 PT triage in 86 min.

In other news, someone at Cracked recently discovered Mayday!/Air Crash Investigation...

And China Airlines 006 was partially caused by pilot error, so that somewhat detracts from the "badass" aspect of the crew's handling of the plane.

And I would like to submit British Airways Flight 38 (new window) for consideration. As this Boeing 777 was descending towards Heathrow Airport, all of its engines failed as the result of ice in the fuel lines. Through skillful maneuvering, the pilot managed to keep the plane flying long enough to reach the runway, instead of crashing in a crowded area of London. The plane was written off, but no one was killed.

Oh, and for anyone curious, this is the volcano that created the ash cloud British Airways Flight 9 flew through:


And here's the Gimli Glider for those who are curious:

That plane's still part of Air Canada's fleet.

brainiac-dumdum: TheOnion: I'll probably get some flak for this but...

In regards to Captain's Sully miracle on the Hudson, I don't see what's heroic about that. It was pretty amazing what he did, and that's awesome of him, but for something to be heroic I feel like you have to take on some risk that you wouldn't otherwise have to in order to help others. He didn't do that. If that plane was empty he would have done the same thing. He was thrust into the situation without choice, and acted to make the safest landing, which any other pilot would have done also. So it's great what he did, but I just don't think it makes him a hero, per se.

It's an article about badass pilots, not heroic pilots.

True, but I saw him speak once, and there was a lot of mention of him being a hero and all. But I suppose my comment is somewhat misplaced. He is a badass

I think Air Canada's lowest point was when that jet went down in the Newfoundland? New Brunswick? winter wilderness and the airlines Weeners was to send out a crew to spray paint over the Air Canada logo before the media showed up.

Classy move.

Fear_and_Loathing: Any article that leaves out the Gimli Glider (new window) fails.

My first thought on seeing the headline. No Gimli Glider? List fail. Hard.

TheOnion: He was thrust into the situation without choice, and acted to make the safest landing, which any other pilot would have done also.

It's not that he tried it, it's that he succeeded.

And, no, not every pilot would have succeeded in that situation.

TheOnion: I'll probably get some flak for this but...

In regards to Captain's Sully miracle on the Hudson, I don't see what's heroic about that. It was pretty amazing what he did, and that's awesome of him, but for something to be heroic I feel like you have to take on some risk that you wouldn't otherwise have to in order to help others. He didn't do that. If that plane was empty he would have done the same thing. He was thrust into the situation without choice, and acted to make the safest landing, which any other pilot would have done also. So it's great what he did, but I just don't think it makes him a hero, per se.

He's not hero just because he landed that plane, although it takes a particularly skilled pilot to land safely on water... he's a hero because he runs his own pilot safety school, and is now using his 15 minutes to trumpet for better basic airmanship skills in an increasingly autopilot-flown industry.

phlegmmo: Fear_and_Loathing: Any article that leaves out the Gimli Glider (new window) fails.

My thoughts exactly. While not having to deal with the chaotic events described in the article, the pilots still did a farking amazing job.

...except for monitoring and properly managing fuel loss.

Not seeing the attempted DHL shootdown at Baghdad in 2003 was disappointing. At least make a point of it in the UA232 entry, ffs. I just can't fathom the difficulty of successfully landing a widebody jet airliner with zero hydraulics.

FTA:

Hey, did we mention that at the time, no plane that lost all hydraulics ever landed safely? And that, in fact, no one had ever survived that situation?

Nitpick: four people survived Japan Airlines 123 in 1985.

Glendale:
Aloha Flight 243 is also notable.

I like that one for the fact that the plane in question had flown over 89,000 flights by the time of the incident. That's 13 flights per day since its delivery.

bravian: I seriously doubt that. These situations are all about proper decision making under duress. I really doubt most pilots would of considered ditching in the Hudson. And even if they did - would of been able to perform a water landing (a rarity in of itself) and without losing a single life. Sully pulled it off. That not only makes him badass but a hero in my book.

*weeps*

sinanju:
What they did couldn't even be successfully replicated in simulation.

Probably the simulator telling the pilot to get serious when trying to do a sideslip in a 767.

FuzedBox: Hurray for the DC-10!


An aircraft that uses bicycle chains as flap actuators?

Doran, cirby, YouPeopleAreCrazy:

OK, how's this: the plane continued to fly with Air Canada for 25 years after the accident, retiring in 2008.