http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WO ... /pilot.dead.ap/index.html


Sad, imagine your co-pilot dying in the air

That got to be like the worst thing that could ever happen. Now they said it was natural, but if he got a heart attack or something, it would been a hell of a situation for the other pilot. Uff, R.I.P, and I feel sorry for the co-pilot

Wow. That'd shit you up a bit wouldn't it. I've been to cyprus about 9 times aswel.

Quote from Rish :

I've been to cyprus about 9 times aswel.

OMG! 9 times? You must be quite rich, Rish

I suppose that's one of the reasons there is a co-pilot.

Quote from MAGGOT :

I suppose that's one of the reasons there is a co-pilot.

co-pilots are usually new guys.. im sure this one wasnt new, but imagine if the pilot would die, and the new guy dont...

Quote from chanoman315 :

co-pilots are usually new guys.. im sure this one wasnt new, but imagine if the pilot would die, and the new guy dont...

Firstly RIP to the pilot...

But the new guy would have enough experience to fly the plane which is how he got there in the first place.

Quote from chanoman315 :

co-pilots are usually new guys.. im sure this one wasnt new, but imagine if the pilot would die, and the new guy dont...

He should still be more than capable of safely landing the plane. The BA flight that crash landed at Heathrow was being flown by the co-pilot and the pilot opted not to take controls when things went wrong.

Quote from ajp71 :

He should still be more than capable of safely landing the plane. The BA flight that crash landed at Heathrow was being flown by the co-pilot and the pilot opted not to take controls when things went wrong.

The co-pilot that landed the plane went to my school. Random fact for the day.

Quote from blackbird04217 :

But the new guy would have enough experience to fly the plane which is how he got there in the first place.

yes i know...

Sorry to be insensitive, but shit happens.

Modern passenger jets would be just fine 99,99% of the time even if both of the pilots dropped dead. They don´t fly the planes anymore. It´s all done by computers. They´re there just there to check everything is all right and take control when the computers fail. The chances of both pilots and the plane´s computer dying at the same flight are slim to say the least.

Quote from Kalev EST :

Modern passenger jets would be just fine 99,99% of the time even if both of the pilots dropped dead. They don´t fly the planes anymore. It´s all done by computers. They´re there just there to check everything is all right and take control when the computers fail. The chances of both pilots and the plane´s computer dying at the same flight are slim to say the least.

That's all good up to touchdown. At that point, it is the pilot that disengages the autoland system, reverses the engines, and applies the brakes. Without the pilots, the plane may very well land just fine. It's the busting through the fence at the end and running through some residential area at 160 mph that is where you will wish there was a pilot.



Actually, I'm not sure, but I believe the pilot does have to intercept the glideslope, or at least monitor the auto pilot until it intercepts the glideslope of the ILS, then switches to auto approach, then monitors the approach in autopilot. I imagine they have to drop the gear manually as well. At least, I do in flight sim.

And, not all airports have a runway with ILS.

Quote from mrodgers :

That's all good up to touchdown. At that point, it is the pilot that disengages the autoland system, reverses the engines, and applies the brakes. Without the pilots, the plane may very well land just fine. It's the busting through the fence at the end and running through some residential area at 160 mph that is where you will wish there was a pilot.



Actually, I'm not sure, but I believe the pilot does have to intercept the glideslope, or at least monitor the auto pilot until it intercepts the glideslope of the ILS, then switches to auto approach, then monitors the approach in autopilot. I imagine they have to drop the gear manually as well. At least, I do in flight sim.

And, not all airports have a runway with ILS.

true and the auto approach doesnt actually put the plane down but instead keeps it a few metres above the strip so you have to switch it off at the end and manually set the plane down

from a technological standpoint however there really isnt any reason why a plane couldnt do all of this by itself if the regulations would allow a fully automatic landing

Quote from pb32000 :

The co-pilot that landed the plane went to my school. Random fact for the day.

I have a friend who knows the captain, strange how small the world is

Quote from Kalev EST :

Modern passenger jets would be just fine 99,99% of the time even if both of the pilots dropped dead. They don´t fly the planes anymore. It´s all done by computers. They´re there just there to check everything is all right and take control when the computers fail. The chances of both pilots and the plane´s computer dying at the same flight are slim to say the least.

Apart from not being able to land the plane a computer also cannot deal with any emergency or unusual circumstances nearly as well as a human.

Please learn to read:

"A British airline said Monday that one of its flights was forced to divert to Turkey after the co-pilot died in mid-flight."

This reminds me of a time that I was flying with Olympic Airways and the pilot introduces himself and the co-pilot as "Mr Charos" and "Mr Makaritis" - the names translated from Greek mean "Mr Death" and "Mr Deceased".

I thought it was some sort of joke, but later when I asked a pilot I know about it he said that those were their actual names and it had been made a point to try and not have them on the same flight together but sometimes schedules wouldn't work out.

However, to get back on topic, I wonder what exactly are the "natural causes" of death for a 43 year old person at 30000 feet.

Quote from ajp71 :

Quote from pb32000 :

The co-pilot that landed the plane went to my school.

I have a friend who knows the captain, strange how small the world is

Wow, weird. A friend of mine was the guy who maintained the engines.

My friend is god, and without him planes wouldn't exist. What a small world.

Quote from wheel4hummer :

My friend is god, and without him planes wouldn't exist. What a small world.

Jeez whats got up your skirt?

Sad news, he was probably working his way up the ranks of commercial jets after being in the RAF, that would make sense given his age. Must be so horrible for the family.