Originally Posted by
DogTailRed2
In regards the Concorde crash, assuming the pilots knew what the dire situation with the aircraft and fire was, would they have been able to have put the aircraft down?
Was there any clear ground in front of them?
I've often wondered if the aircraft was bellied along the ground whether it would have had a chance? All speculation based on hindsight of course.
A problem with Concorde was that its stall speed was quite high - well above 200 knots. An emergency landing in a field (gear down) is not apt to end well going that fast with a full load of fuel and an aircraft already on fire (granted, perhaps better than what ultimately happened, but a 'damned if you do - damned if you don't' choice at best). They reportedly tried to raise the gear (which would have helped reduce drag greatly) but the damage already done prevented that.
In 20-20 hindsight, I suspect they would have been better off to not shutdown the engine with the fire warning (#2?) and use whatever thrust they could still get from it to try to make another airfield, but something that would be next to impossible to realize real-time. The rapidly spready fire damage may well have made it a moot point anyway.