It's about the worst thing you'll ever hear on a cockpit voice recorder - the pilot saying, "Wow, pulled back the wrong throttle," seconds before the passenger plane falls out of the sky.
According to Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council investigators, those were among the last words uttered by Captain Liao Jian-zong before his Trans-Asia ATR turboprop plane went in. One engine lost power about three minutes into the flight and then the pilot cut the power to his remaining good engine.
Some pilots, however, catch a break. A month before the Trans-Asia disaster a pilot found his Cirrus SR-22 out of fuel over the Pacific west of Maui. Fortunately for the pilot the Cirrus comes with its own, built-in parachute. The pilot came down safely and was rescued by a passing cruise ship.
Mound, I had one bad flight experience in Europe - too much turbulence. I have fear of flying since then. Now almost daily there are news about plane crashing - it does not help.
ReplyDeleteWhen I got out of the air force, LD, I had some years where I found it uncomfortable being a passenger flying commercial. Sort of like being a passenger in someone else's car and stretching, compulsively, for the phantom brake pedal.
ReplyDeleteWe're beginning to equip cars with that same "lulled to sleep' technology such as backup sensors and blind spot warning systems. I've read that, because they're far from foolproof, they can create as many mishaps as they notionally prevent.
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