Give that man a medal!
A passenger jet left Burbank (CA) airport bound for New York. It never made it. Shortly after takeoff, the flight crew of the JetBlue airliner found that there was a warning light indicating a problem with their landing gear. They changed course and headed towards Long Beach where they did a low pass near the airport tower to visually confirm the problem.
The tower saw the trouble: the front landing gear under the nose of the plane had turned about 90 degrees off center, effectively turning it sideways. No one was exactly sure how the wheel would respond when a landing was attempted. It was decided to bring the plane down at Los Angeles International airport (LAX), because it has the longest runways in the area, with the widest stretch of land between buildings and runway.
Before a landing was attempted, the plane circled LAX for a few hours, burning off as much fuel as possible to lighten the jet. By this time, every news channel was covering the story. People all over the U.S. were glued to their TVs. News anchors were interviewing every conceivable expert: pilots who frequently flew that particular model of jet; aerodynamic engineers familiar with emergency landings; psychologists talking about what the passengers were experiencing.
It was a media blitzkreig. There were cameras on the ground, cameras in the air. Every possible angle was covered of this impending disaster. One hundred and forty-five lives were at stake. The jet kept circling, burning off fuel. Updates were frequently given. "We're being told the plane will attempt to land at 5pm". The updates were frequently changed. "We're now being told it will land at 5:30pm". Eventually, the plane began it's descent just after 6pm, west coast time.
As the plane began it's final approach, all theories of the possible outcome had been spent. It was fairly well agreed that there were 3 things that could happen:
1) The nose gear would right itself once it touched the ground and the plane would land safely.
2) The nose gear would collapse once it hit the ground and the plane would belly in.
3) The right angle of the wheel would cause the plane to veer wildly to either the left or the right, sending it off the runway towards buildings.
The plane began it's descent. Most of the TV talking heads became quiet, observing a moment of silence as America watched breathlessly. Frequent, rapidfire updates on the distance to landing were given: "2 miles out", "1 mile out", "A half mile out", "500 feet", "100 feet".
The plane glided in and the pilot kept the plane just above the runway for what seemed an eternity. He finally let the rear wheels just brush against the ground. The wheels then dropped down and firmly grabbed the runway. The pilot rode the jet on it's rear wheels for several seconds, burning off speed before letting the nose touch down.
The moment had come. Because the front gear was sideways, the now 'rear' tire of the two parallel tires was lower than the 'front' tire. The pilot eased the nose down until the 'rear' tire of the front gear touched. A puff of smoke shot out into the late afternoon sunlight. The JetBlue airliner put more weight on the gear, and with it, plumes of smoke erupted from the tire. Very rapidly, the 'rear' tire disintegrated, exposing it's metal hub to the ground.
Brilliant yellow-white sparks began to form a trail beneath the nose of the plane. Fire crews on the ground had already begun to chase the plane, starting the second the true rear wheels touched ground.
The 'front' tire was now touching the ground, but was overshadowed by the shower of sparks lighting up the runway. Through it all, the pilot kept the plane perfectly straight on it's path down the runway, never veering off course. The jet finally, miraculously, came to a halt on the runway. The flume of sparks had stopped. The nose gear held up the plane, as though it were a normal landing. No one was hurt in the landing. LAX was chosen for a landing site because of the length of its runways, an immense 12,000 feet. The landing used up nearly all that distance. It was pretty much a picture perfect landing.
In what has to be one of the most surreal situation in which to be involved, passengers on the plane later said that they were watching themselves landing, via their personal seat monitors tuned to MSNBC. They all praised the flight crew for being thoroughly professional and reassuring througout the whole incident.
Put in contrast to what the world saw unfolding during the recent hurricane Katrina disaster, this landing showed the difference between capable, qualified people doing what they are trained to do, as opposed to political cronies like Michael Brown, the deposed head FEMA, who were completely unqualified to hold their position.
LAX frequently performs simulations and practices for just such an emergency. Their training showed. If all the money spent on Homeland Security were put into training, planning AND supplies, we might have seen a much bigger difference in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.
The tower saw the trouble: the front landing gear under the nose of the plane had turned about 90 degrees off center, effectively turning it sideways. No one was exactly sure how the wheel would respond when a landing was attempted. It was decided to bring the plane down at Los Angeles International airport (LAX), because it has the longest runways in the area, with the widest stretch of land between buildings and runway.
Before a landing was attempted, the plane circled LAX for a few hours, burning off as much fuel as possible to lighten the jet. By this time, every news channel was covering the story. People all over the U.S. were glued to their TVs. News anchors were interviewing every conceivable expert: pilots who frequently flew that particular model of jet; aerodynamic engineers familiar with emergency landings; psychologists talking about what the passengers were experiencing.
It was a media blitzkreig. There were cameras on the ground, cameras in the air. Every possible angle was covered of this impending disaster. One hundred and forty-five lives were at stake. The jet kept circling, burning off fuel. Updates were frequently given. "We're being told the plane will attempt to land at 5pm". The updates were frequently changed. "We're now being told it will land at 5:30pm". Eventually, the plane began it's descent just after 6pm, west coast time.
As the plane began it's final approach, all theories of the possible outcome had been spent. It was fairly well agreed that there were 3 things that could happen:
1) The nose gear would right itself once it touched the ground and the plane would land safely.
2) The nose gear would collapse once it hit the ground and the plane would belly in.
3) The right angle of the wheel would cause the plane to veer wildly to either the left or the right, sending it off the runway towards buildings.
The plane began it's descent. Most of the TV talking heads became quiet, observing a moment of silence as America watched breathlessly. Frequent, rapidfire updates on the distance to landing were given: "2 miles out", "1 mile out", "A half mile out", "500 feet", "100 feet".
The plane glided in and the pilot kept the plane just above the runway for what seemed an eternity. He finally let the rear wheels just brush against the ground. The wheels then dropped down and firmly grabbed the runway. The pilot rode the jet on it's rear wheels for several seconds, burning off speed before letting the nose touch down.
The moment had come. Because the front gear was sideways, the now 'rear' tire of the two parallel tires was lower than the 'front' tire. The pilot eased the nose down until the 'rear' tire of the front gear touched. A puff of smoke shot out into the late afternoon sunlight. The JetBlue airliner put more weight on the gear, and with it, plumes of smoke erupted from the tire. Very rapidly, the 'rear' tire disintegrated, exposing it's metal hub to the ground.
Brilliant yellow-white sparks began to form a trail beneath the nose of the plane. Fire crews on the ground had already begun to chase the plane, starting the second the true rear wheels touched ground.The 'front' tire was now touching the ground, but was overshadowed by the shower of sparks lighting up the runway. Through it all, the pilot kept the plane perfectly straight on it's path down the runway, never veering off course. The jet finally, miraculously, came to a halt on the runway. The flume of sparks had stopped. The nose gear held up the plane, as though it were a normal landing. No one was hurt in the landing. LAX was chosen for a landing site because of the length of its runways, an immense 12,000 feet. The landing used up nearly all that distance. It was pretty much a picture perfect landing.
In what has to be one of the most surreal situation in which to be involved, passengers on the plane later said that they were watching themselves landing, via their personal seat monitors tuned to MSNBC. They all praised the flight crew for being thoroughly professional and reassuring througout the whole incident.
Put in contrast to what the world saw unfolding during the recent hurricane Katrina disaster, this landing showed the difference between capable, qualified people doing what they are trained to do, as opposed to political cronies like Michael Brown, the deposed head FEMA, who were completely unqualified to hold their position.
LAX frequently performs simulations and practices for just such an emergency. Their training showed. If all the money spent on Homeland Security were put into training, planning AND supplies, we might have seen a much bigger difference in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.
posted by George Willis at 6:50 PM
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