UPP
27th Jun 2001, 02:40
This is my first post.
For info, I was in avionics, working on engine control systems for military aircraft and the Concorde, but I no longer work in the industry, sadly.
I want to talk about the subject of Captain - as - Hero.
I was on a flight in 1980 or 81 on a British airline to Venice. We got there just as it was starting to get dark, and the controllers were on strike. We were diverted to Treviso. The Captain had been giving us a running commentary as to what was going on. Far from being alarmed we pax were quite amused at his increasing irritation with the Italian ATC.
We went straight to Treviso and then banked steeply. I looked out and saw the runway at 90 degrees to us (with no lights) and then was slammed forward in my seat as - I presume - the airbrakes were deployed. I looked down and wondered why we were still in the air!
The Captain went silent and as we were going down, the lights on the runway came on. Funny, that. Once we had parked, the Captain came back on and told us that Treviso had refused permission to land, but that, in his words, he "had to insist"!
We disembarked and were standing in a line from the cockpit door to the "control tower". Treviso was a one - horse airport then, and you just walked from the plane more or less out of the airport.
The Captain descended after a few minutes from the plane, setting many a female heart trembing (well, my girlfriends, anyway!). He looked just how you imagine a Captain. He was large, greying at the temples, had an air of authority....and was extremely angry.
As he walked past us, we blew his composure completely by bursting in to spontaneous applause. He tried not to, but he started laughing and then did a mock curtsey to us. People shook his hands as he walked past. He then got to the door of the tower, stopped for a second, and then walked in. You could hear the shouting from outside. We were all laughing because we knew someone was having a really bad day in there. I like to think that he grabbed someone and asked "Are you feeling lucky, punk? Well....are you?!"
Being British, he probably told them that they were all an "absolute shower"! Anybody British will understand that!
Definately one of those times when, even though we were all inconvenienced, nobody minded. We felt safe at all times because we knew we were in good hands. It may have upset my composure before hand if someone had told me he used to be a fast jet pilot, though.
For info, I was in avionics, working on engine control systems for military aircraft and the Concorde, but I no longer work in the industry, sadly.
I want to talk about the subject of Captain - as - Hero.
I was on a flight in 1980 or 81 on a British airline to Venice. We got there just as it was starting to get dark, and the controllers were on strike. We were diverted to Treviso. The Captain had been giving us a running commentary as to what was going on. Far from being alarmed we pax were quite amused at his increasing irritation with the Italian ATC.
We went straight to Treviso and then banked steeply. I looked out and saw the runway at 90 degrees to us (with no lights) and then was slammed forward in my seat as - I presume - the airbrakes were deployed. I looked down and wondered why we were still in the air!
The Captain went silent and as we were going down, the lights on the runway came on. Funny, that. Once we had parked, the Captain came back on and told us that Treviso had refused permission to land, but that, in his words, he "had to insist"!
We disembarked and were standing in a line from the cockpit door to the "control tower". Treviso was a one - horse airport then, and you just walked from the plane more or less out of the airport.
The Captain descended after a few minutes from the plane, setting many a female heart trembing (well, my girlfriends, anyway!). He looked just how you imagine a Captain. He was large, greying at the temples, had an air of authority....and was extremely angry.
As he walked past us, we blew his composure completely by bursting in to spontaneous applause. He tried not to, but he started laughing and then did a mock curtsey to us. People shook his hands as he walked past. He then got to the door of the tower, stopped for a second, and then walked in. You could hear the shouting from outside. We were all laughing because we knew someone was having a really bad day in there. I like to think that he grabbed someone and asked "Are you feeling lucky, punk? Well....are you?!"
Being British, he probably told them that they were all an "absolute shower"! Anybody British will understand that!
Definately one of those times when, even though we were all inconvenienced, nobody minded. We felt safe at all times because we knew we were in good hands. It may have upset my composure before hand if someone had told me he used to be a fast jet pilot, though.