Qantas A380 crew honoured
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Before joining Aer Lingus in 1946, Gordon-Burge was an RAF Coastal Command pilot in WW2.
Basil
The two citations in your link are well worth reading.
Truly outstanding courage and devotion to duty.
Basil
The two citations in your link are well worth reading.
Truly outstanding courage and devotion to duty.
).
Surely they where just doing what they are paid ( rather handsomely) to do??
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CDRW - Surely they where just doing what they are paid ( rather handsomely) to do??
Any emergency well dealt with which were out of what someone has been trained for is a great overcome lead by great pilots.
I`m happy that their task had been recognized .
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There is also a very interesting documentary on youtube
Special - Qantas QF32 - A380 Uncontained Engine Failure (1 of 4) - YouTube
Special - Qantas QF32 - A380 Uncontained Engine Failure (1 of 4) - YouTube
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"CDRW - Surely they where just doing what they are paid ( rather handsomely) to do??"
I can't believe you posted that comment.
So what if they are well paid, if possible I prefer to fly where the people up the front have some experience and as has been proved a number of times recently (Sully plus 2 x Qantas), a bit of experience and coolness under pressure has helped.
That way, as a passenger I get to leave the aircraft the same way I got on it, via the terminal.
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I can't believe you posted that comment.
So what if they are well paid, if possible I prefer to fly where the people up the front have some experience and as has been proved a number of times recently (Sully plus 2 x Qantas), a bit of experience and coolness under pressure has helped.
That way, as a passenger I get to leave the aircraft the same way I got on it, via the terminal.
.
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Please forgive me for adding my few penn'orth, professionals, as I am a 1000hr+ private pilot - albeit an old one!
But am I right in discerning here a similarity between the Australian pilots, the Poles who brought the LOT 767 to a textbook "forced" landing and others such as Sullenburger. Three excellent outcomes to emergencies and ALL were expert "handfliers" who had spent a great deal of time without automatics.
I know it relates to other threads but....
Just seeing a relationship....
rgsaero
But am I right in discerning here a similarity between the Australian pilots, the Poles who brought the LOT 767 to a textbook "forced" landing and others such as Sullenburger. Three excellent outcomes to emergencies and ALL were expert "handfliers" who had spent a great deal of time without automatics.
I know it relates to other threads but....
Just seeing a relationship....
rgsaero
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rgsaero
The other common aspect of all 3 was that they were all ex military pilots.
(By all 3 I mean Sully and the 2 Qantas incidents).
I wonder how much that has to do with being able to handle things under pressure and very high work load ?
.
The other common aspect of all 3 was that they were all ex military pilots.
(By all 3 I mean Sully and the 2 Qantas incidents).
I wonder how much that has to do with being able to handle things under pressure and very high work load ?
.
rgsaero
The other common aspect of all 3 was that they were all ex military pilots.
(By all 3 I mean Sully and the 2 Qantas incidents).
I wonder how much that has to do with being able to handle things under pressure and very high work load ?
The other common aspect of all 3 was that they were all ex military pilots.
(By all 3 I mean Sully and the 2 Qantas incidents).
I wonder how much that has to do with being able to handle things under pressure and very high work load ?
I've heard off the record that a civilian trained co-pilot was quite guiding in one of the incidents. And don't get me started on Eastern European ex-mil!
The military can provide superb pilots in a civilian world. But not always. Sadly, with the way training has gone, previously considered average ex-mil guy will stand out in some of the civilian outfits getting away with not investing in pilot training.
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The photo by the OP that starts the thread shows that - two men are used to wearing bow ties and three men are NOT used to wearing bow ties. 
Reading the citation is breathtaking. Another reason for ALL that fly (or are flown) to be grateful to this crew is that, by getting back in one piece it was possible to quickly discover what went wrong and thus keep everyone else safe. If the a/c had pranged and one (or more) of the FC lost - it might have taken years to discover why.
(It is apparent that 'CDRW' is a Troll.)
Reading the citation is breathtaking. Another reason for ALL that fly (or are flown) to be grateful to this crew is that, by getting back in one piece it was possible to quickly discover what went wrong and thus keep everyone else safe. If the a/c had pranged and one (or more) of the FC lost - it might have taken years to discover why.
(It is apparent that 'CDRW' is a Troll.)
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Having spent my life in aviation keeping heavies serviceable ,all I can say after reading through that report from the RAS interview is that the crew demand the utmost respect for handling the situation the way they did.By there own admission,they could not simulate it on the ground,to me that shows what tremendous airmanship prevailed on the flight deck that day.Agreed,they had perhaps more than a normal flight crew contingent but that does nothing to alter the fact of how they coped.Apart from engine failures,an enormous amount of ECAM messages,alternate law in abundance,hydraulic fluid loss, fuel loss,spurious indications,an aircraft in serious danger of going out of trim, busbar loss and to cap it all,an APU whose generators would not come on-line ....you could not script such a spectacular sequence of failures.They all deserve all the credit there is. No doubt this one will be spoken about for years to come.
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An instructor once told me how pilots are, in fact, overpaid - live mostly good lives, do what they love, and it all comes relatively easy. But they get one flight where what they do makes their job perks pay off. These boys earned their crust for their entire career that day!
Paxing All Over The World
I have just read the citations for the two other awards given that night. There are no words to describe the remarkable strength, physical and mental, shown by those involved. Read them, in addition to the subject of this thread, and be uplifted that our species can do these things - and at a moment's notice.
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Good on these QF pilots. Bravo, good job and many happy landings.
Having said that, let me say that there are many many other unsung heroes/heroines who saved aircrafts from harm with their pro-active actions pre - empting any big drama.
I remembered in another life as a training captain in SEAsia, I was conducting line training for a 744 F/O newly upgraded to trainee captain on the B734. We had a great, uneventful flight to BKK. However departing from BKK as we were cleared for immediate takeoff, with yours truly running through the final before takeoff checks, the trainee captain spooled up the engines once the checklist was comleted. I looked into the skies ahead as we began to roll down the long clear runway feeling really wonderful that we were taking off into the clear skies on the way home for a well earned rest. Suddenly the trainee called " abort " and went through the whole jing bang rejected take off thingy. I must said that I was taken by surprise; " what the hell??? " before I recovered, announced to BKK tower that we were rejecting. As I looked in askance at my trainee on the left, I saw a huge dense flock of birds ( later learnt that they were starlings ) from the left moving across the top of the golf course lying between the 2 runways. No need for any questions; we requested for the first exit on the right, alerted ATC ( who were none the wiser ). To cut a long story short, I could not have scanned the skies to the left that well but as we hit TOGA, the trainee had spied the flock of birds making the way across towards our runway. It was an excellent call for the trainee to reject the take off.
As we went through our after landing checks, PAs and further clearances we heard a landing aircraft on the left adjacent runway reporting multiple bird strikes! Holy smoke, we could have been the predecesor of USAir 1549 taking a drink in the Chao Phraya! Unfortunately my trainee captain pre-empted any chance of us making the headlines or a stab at notoriety! Thank heavens for that!
Having said that, let me say that there are many many other unsung heroes/heroines who saved aircrafts from harm with their pro-active actions pre - empting any big drama.
I remembered in another life as a training captain in SEAsia, I was conducting line training for a 744 F/O newly upgraded to trainee captain on the B734. We had a great, uneventful flight to BKK. However departing from BKK as we were cleared for immediate takeoff, with yours truly running through the final before takeoff checks, the trainee captain spooled up the engines once the checklist was comleted. I looked into the skies ahead as we began to roll down the long clear runway feeling really wonderful that we were taking off into the clear skies on the way home for a well earned rest. Suddenly the trainee called " abort " and went through the whole jing bang rejected take off thingy. I must said that I was taken by surprise; " what the hell??? " before I recovered, announced to BKK tower that we were rejecting. As I looked in askance at my trainee on the left, I saw a huge dense flock of birds ( later learnt that they were starlings ) from the left moving across the top of the golf course lying between the 2 runways. No need for any questions; we requested for the first exit on the right, alerted ATC ( who were none the wiser ). To cut a long story short, I could not have scanned the skies to the left that well but as we hit TOGA, the trainee had spied the flock of birds making the way across towards our runway. It was an excellent call for the trainee to reject the take off.
As we went through our after landing checks, PAs and further clearances we heard a landing aircraft on the left adjacent runway reporting multiple bird strikes! Holy smoke, we could have been the predecesor of USAir 1549 taking a drink in the Chao Phraya! Unfortunately my trainee captain pre-empted any chance of us making the headlines or a stab at notoriety! Thank heavens for that!