Posted by: Steve Hemmingsen - 11/20/2009 12:00 AM
Your blogger isn’t as rabid about not flying as John Madden who used to pass on the NFL Pro Bowl because it was either swim to
I’m not afraid of terrorists. I’m really not afraid that the plane in and of itself will just fall out of the sky. As I’ve said before, I’m afraid of the clowns running the airlines, and now of those flying the planes, or not flying them.
Case in point: that Northwest Airlines crew (or whatever it’s called these days) overflew
First the pilots were said to be arguing about company policy. The later story said they were playing with their laptops. I’ve even heard it suggested that maybe a stewardess was the laptop, as in the old “Coffee, Tea or Me” days. I think the more likely explanation is they just fell asleep.
The fact is, that the main function of a pilot these days is to make sure that the auto pilot is doing its job. The human pilots turn on the auto pilot almost before the plane leaves the runway. That was one of the factors in the flight that flew golfer Payne Stewart into the ground near
This is an easy one to solve. I saw a documentary about railroad locomotives safety. Even when it’s on cruise control ripping down the track, the engineer has to touch a specific button or any control at short intervals. I don’t remember if the train comes to a screeching halt if he falls asleep at the switch. That obviously wouldn’t work at 30 thousand feet, but such a device could certainly sound an ear piercing or blinding alarm that would awaken anybody but a dead pilot. It’s simple and it could lead to a lot more “live” passengers and fewer impromptu tours of
My lack of fear of flying used to hinge on the concept that the pilot didn’t want to die…or divert…any more than I did. Then I met a few…
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12:00 AM
