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Procedural drift and the sandbar

By Dave English

On 3 January 2015, the large ship MV Hoegh Osaka left the British port of Southhampton. An hour later she made a turn to port, then began listing markedly to one side. Soon enough the rudder and propellor were out the water. In flying terms, ‘departure from controlled float’ we could say. Fifteen minutes after the turn she was grounded on the Bramble Bank sandbar off the Isle of Wight. Settling down with a list that would eventually reach 52°. The ship was about half full, loaded with 1,200 Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles worth over $45 million. Now, this accident isn’t as serious as … Continue reading Procedural drift and the sandbar

Harrison Ford talks (some) flying

By Dave English

“When the engine quit, my training had prepared me to deal with it in a way. I really didn’t get scared. I just got busy. I knew what I was going to do, and I knew how to do it. The mantra aviators carry around in our heads is: Fly the airplane, first thing. Fly the airplane — even if it doesn’t have an engine, fly. Don’t give up that ship, matey. And even though I don’t remember the details of it, I guess I was able to do that, because the way I landed, the wings were level. I … Continue reading Harrison Ford talks (some) flying

“We’ll get that straight when we get airborne”

By Dave English

It’s better to look a little stupid now, than a lot stupid later. The US NTSB has released full investigative notes on last year’s crash of US Airways flight 1702, an A320 taking off from Philadelphia International airport. We can learn a lot from this crash of a fully airworthy Airbus. It actually got into the air, and then the captain decided to force it back onto the runway. There was substantial damage. It departed the runway. I’m glad all 149 passengers and 5 crew exited the aircraft via emergency exits with no serious injuries. But the jet didn’t look good: Airline … Continue reading “We’ll get that straight when we get airborne”