From Chapter 4: "Preparation: When the Wind Blows" in Ingredients of Outliers Where’s the Flight Deck? If you’re sitting on a commercial airliner that’s preparing for takeoff and happen to overhear the captain asking that question, it probably wouldn’t do a whole lot for your peace of mind. An unlikely situation? Sure it is, but I heard of one case where it could have happened. Years ago, a senior captain of one of the major airlines was preparing to fly a Boeing 747 from Los Angeles to Seoul, Korea. It would be the first time he’d ever even set foot on a 747, much … [Read more...]
Near Fatal Experience
Being prepared is something that has saved my own tail in a few sticky situations. In fact, just last year, I was involved in a near fatal airplane crash. I was the passenger in the cockpit of a plane, which crashed on takeoff. A pilot friend was flying when a gust of wind hit us right at the moment of takeoff from a mountain airstrip. The plane veered off the runway to the left and then back to the right before striking a hangar. Luckily, the person in the backseat near the exit (also a pilot) kicked the door open a moment before impact. Otherwise, we would have been trapped. The pilot … [Read more...]