Posted on 12/10/2018 5:47:28 AM PST by Gamecock
Somehow I wasn’t familiar with the story of Aeroflot flight 6502 from Yekaterinburg to Kuibyshev to Grozny. On October 20, 1986 the pilot of the Tupolev Tu-134A bet his co-pilot that he could land the plane blind. He would draw the curtains on the cockpit windows and make an instrument-only approach.
One of the many bizarre things about this incident is, why would the co-pilot accept a bet in which if he wins he likely dies? There’s only the narrowest window in which he might win the bet and actually collect.
On approach to Grozny the pilot ignored the ground proximity warning. He ignored an instruction to execute a go-around. He touched down at about 172 miles per hour. The plane flipped and ultimately stopped upside down, killing 70 of the 94 souls on board.
On the ground the co-pilot tried to save the lives of passengers on the scene, but died of cardiac arrest himself while being transported to the hospital. The pilot received a 15 year sentence, though reportedly had that reduced to 6 years.
Eight years later, in 1994, the pilot of Aeroflot flight SU593 from Moscow to Hong Kong allowed his 16 year old son sit at the controls. He accidentally disengaged autopilot control of the Airbus A310’s ailerons. That sent the plane into a near vertical dive. While the pilot managed to level off the plane, he stalled the aircraft while pulling up and crashed into mountains in South Siberia.
“Hold my vodka.”
When ego kills.
Wow, just the amount of stupidity needed is mind blowing.
Many Russians appear to be absolutely raving lunatics. In one of the cars on ice youtube specials you see them one after another turning a corner to go down a hill and pile up. They just keep doing the same thing over and over.
"...draw the curtains on the cockpit windows..."
pilots are trained to land blind. The mistake was that that co-pilot was blinded also in this situation.
The child was allowed to take the controls, which is common practice when training anyone who doesn’t know how to fly. Again, the mistake wasn’t letting them take the controls, the mistake was made by the pilot who should have had his hands lightly touching the controls to ensure nothing unusual happened.
can get quite bright above the clouds.
Unbelievably tragic and unnecessary loss of life.
I’ve wondered the same about Russian behavior. Could it have to do with being under the thumb of crooked elitist communists where justice (or lack of) is dealt out with absolute violence?
Think of it, Stalin murdered practically the entire officer corp of his own Army, then many civilians. He starved Ukrainians to death. Kids were taught to spy on parents. Political commissars were everywhere. Rationing was common place even in the best of times.
I’d say the level of violence, crookedness and gangsterism is just a carry over from their commie days and thus built right into their current culture because of it. They simply know of no other way to treat fellow human beings.
All of the above is what we have to look forward to if little darlings like AOC get full control of the government. When the AOC’s are in full power, the Pelosi’s, Clinton’s and obama’s will look like angels.
“Landing blind” is not unusual for modern instrumented airports or modern GPS systems. You can see it all day long when very foggy.
I suspect these jokers were trying to land blind on a strip where visual guidance is required. Doh
Then there’s the case of the Aeroflot pilot who let his young son take the controls. The 13-year-old (IIRC) accidentally disengaged the autopilot and drove the plane into the ground, killing everyone on board.
Russia has rednecks, too, I see..................
And they think WE AMERICANS are crazy!..............
So they can sleep, silly................
Instrument landing at an airport without the facilities is not a good idea.............
So they pulled a Crazy Ivan maneuver.
“In one of the cars on ice youtube specials you see them one after another...”
I’ll watch Russian car crashes on YouTube occasionally. Russians are crazy drivers. I used to think it was the vodka. But no, they’re just crazy. Also...Russian pedestrian accident videos.. Apparently, pedestrians think crosswalks offer significant protection. Unfortunately, drivers consider crosswalks to be target rich environments. Literally, some truly horrible accidents.
I think that is part of it. Everyday life is filled with uncertainty and severe risk through the political system and lack of any confidence in the rule of law.
In order to live, one must take, what seem to us, significant risks everyday.
So taking large risks becomes simply an ordinary thing.
In addition, alcoholism is rampant.
“Many Russians appear to be absolutely raving lunatics. In one of the cars on ice youtube specials you see them one after another turning a corner to go down a hill and pile up. They just keep doing the same thing over and over.”
Saw the same thing here in PA not too long ago. Hundreds of cars piled up and some stuck for days. When ice is just the right wetness, you’ll fly faster downhill than on rolling tires.
Has happened to me during freezing rain. I was going maybe 2mph after a stop sign and just start flying downhill. Brakes and wheel absolutely useless. I ended up reaching 30-40mph with wheels locked and braced for impact into a ditch. Luckily I hit a patch of gravel and suddenly came to a halt maybe 2 feet from the ditch.
I’ve driven countless miles through snow, offroad on mud/rocks and never had an accident. Hell, I’ve drifted through snow and mud. But this 1/8” of wet ice almost got me from a near standing start
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