Originally Posted by
rubik101
Just to be contentious, as the point has been raised; Why did the DC-10 crew try to land the aircraft at an airport? Under the heading of; 'Attitude at Impact' I once wrote, in a very minor journal, a short piece querying the attitude of pilots when faced with an emergency for which they are patently not prepared. I am not being critical of those pilots who tried so herocially to land the aircraft, I am simply questioning their motives, their reason behind those decisions.
Sioux city is surrounded by flat, open farm land. The aircraft was controllable, up to a point, in that they could command pitch and lateral changes. Why did they not simply apply these techniques to get the aircraft straight and level, reduce the power and fly gently into the ground? I know our instincts and training are to rreturn to the nearest suitable runway, but why? This argument could also have been applied to the Concorde crash. Why not shut down the remaining engines and crash straight ahead instead of with full power applied to one side of the aircraft, rolling it on its back and, well, crashing?
Happy Landings.
How about the fact the emergency services are on the airfield!
O
