Friday, January 16, 2009

It's a Miracle But Not a Mouthwash

Put some fucking chickenwire on the front of the jet engines already, m'kay?

A local television news affiliate did a story out at Sky Harbor, touting the chilling possibility that the Salt River could flood and if a plane landed in that it would be big trouble.

Nobody would drown. Nobody would even get wet.

Must. Walk. Dogs. Avoid. Television.

Good Pilot! Have a biscuit.

8 comments:

wstachour said...

Boy, the odds of hitting a bird are pretty low, and the odds of hitting a flock much lower yet; and the odds of it being a flock of birds which have the potential to take the engines out altogether almost nil. I've had a few birdstrikes in my day, but they're usually noisy and messy but not much worse (one of mine did some cosmetic damage to an engine cowling).

Kudos to the pilots for dead-sticking down to a safe landing. One practices power-off landings all the time with small airplanes, but not with a jet. They don't glide very well.

shrimplate said...

Did I say "good" pilot? I meant absolutely outstandingly great pilot. They tend to be a pretty good sort of folk, but this guy deserves a special nod.

My mistake.

It really was remarkable. I would make it a point to bring this whole thing up again in a few years when the pilots are renegotiating their contracts.

may said...

watch TV, because when you see the pictures, they are just chillingly amazing. and i am so happy for all the passengers, that they are all safe.

Marc said...

I think the news affiliate needs to get their meds checked. If they want to project scary scenarios, why not go for killer rabbits, pod people, or some other plausible event. A plane 'ditching' into a flooded Salt River would not be high on my list of plausible events.

Eli Blake said...

Word of the week: snarge.

What ticks me off is this:

1. FAA said, "Don't jump to any conclusions, we are investigating.

2. FAA said, "We have not yet recovered the engines, we are searching the bottom by sonar."

3. FAA said, "The pilot turned down to airports" (which was reported the first day, at which time initial reports were that he asked about one of them but then didn't have enough power to get over there."

4. FAA has prohibited the pilot and flight crew from speaking publically until the investigation is completed.

Now, I know there is a procedure that needs to be followed, and I know that no one has suggested that this is anything other than what has been reported, but the FAA sure is coming across like the FBI did when they fingered Richard Jewell.

wstachour said...

I think speculation is so wild in these matters, and the specifics--on which hinge so much that is salient--are understood by very few. So the NTSB's protocol (and they're but one organization involved, though the main one) is to say nothing until the investigation is complete--usually about six-12 months. By that time our interest has flagged and we're on to something else.

So other people talk, trying to feed the machine, and the details are wrong and speculation runs wild and rumors take the day, etc., etc.

Becca said...

WTF!? Did IQs suddenly drop while I've been away?

dbackdad said...

Landing in the Salt River is akin to landing in a mud puddle. Which local news idiot actually said this? I am curious to find out if their lobotomy scars are noticeable.