Posted on 08/18/2021 12:44:28 PM PDT by CFIIIMEIATP737
A pilot's account of leaving the Kabul Airport today after Air Traffic Control evacuates the tower.
Jim Banks
@RepJimBanks
Biden may go back to Delaware tonight?!
@BretBaier
Something is up and Americans deserve an explanation.
What’s up is more medical treatment for Biden.
That took balls. Hats off to that pilot.
He made the right choice, too.
What a blazing goat rodeo.
There is no way this look good in the middle of this kind of crisis to go back to Delaware...so you may be right.
We need a hell of a lot more, “Make Your Own Decision,” in America.
We also need a hell of a lot more “Honor Your Commitment,” which is severely lacking in this situation.
Damned impressive decision tree and execution. Good job, Captain.
In my mind I was thinking god forbid if we are caught or kept in Afghanistan, we could be used as hostages and I was worried for the safety of my passengers and crew.
My first officer agreed with me and we decided that approved or not we were departing, as we could not stay where we were.
I could see lots of military aircraft departing and I made the decision to take off. I had to avoid military traffic helicopters and troop carriers on the departure, but fortunately the visibility was clear. If it had been cloudy, I don't know how we would have done that.
Climbing out to 15,000 feet we contacted Doha ATC, who finally gave us traffic separation radar control and that's how we were able to return back to Pakistan.
So Doha is providing traffic control for the Kabul airport? Isn't that slightly over the horizon?
I agree. There was a lot going on, and a hell of a lot at stake.
Nobody would have second guessed him if he stayed on the ground...unless something bad happened, then all the armchair quarterbacks would say he should have taken off.
Reminds me of a scene from the James Clavell book “Whirlwhind” where they are at the end of the runway, waiting for clearance to take off, and they see a pickup truck full of hostile Iranians barreling towards them, and the pilot just says “Thank you tower, cleared for takeoff.” and shoves the throttle forward even though he hadn’t received it.
Again, some balls.
Something is up and Americans deserve an explanation.
Guess who has everything to gain the weaker we get the democrats have been working on it for 70 years.
“So Doha is providing traffic control for the Kabul airport? Isn’t that slightly over the horizon?”
It’s gotta be satellites. It’s almost 1200mi to Doha; 16.8 degrees rotation of the earth.
You can check my basic trig, but for anything above Kabul to be seen on the horizon at Doha it’d have to be 180 miles up.
elev = 4000(1/cos(16.8)-1)
if i had to guess, i’d say it was all via comms as they ask for help on the way out, and Doha simply picked up the call and arranged what they could from what they could see on their scopes
Diplomats onboard. You mean the folks who created and profitted were out first... nah. They are humble servants of the people. I bet this passenger manifest has been lost.
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