"Captain Fantastic"

[BigQ]

http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/arti ... id=8209663

An interesting 15 minute video on QF32

[PunkStarStudios]

Wow.
If that doesn't inspire pilots to be better pilots; they should hang up their stripes.

[complexintentions]

Actually all it does is confirm what every operator of them already knows, that the A380 is an absolute piece of shit.

[Gannet167]

I don't agree. I'm impressed that the situation played out as well as it did, many other aircraft wouldn't have survived that event. The engines are perhaps a POS, although allegedly "fixed" now. But engines are engines, you can get just about any engine you want on the airplane. Put GE's on it and it's a different story. I think this is a testament to the airplane.

[flyincanuck]

+1

Case in point:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTXr1QR3rbQ

[Panama Jack]

Actually all it does is confirm what every operator of them already knows, that the A380 is an absolute piece of shit.

Mais oui! C'est une Airbus!

[winds_in_flight_wtf]

Actually all it does is confirm what every operator of them already knows, that the A380 is an absolute piece of shit.

So I can apply the same ignorant attitude towards your attitude then.

What does an internal engine failure have to do with the aircraft being a POS? I suppose every aircraft platform in the world is a piece of shit as something was fixed / changed during the design phase. I suggest you take up sailing.

[Beefitarian]

Is this thing still in the "design stage"?

[Beefitarian]

Actually all it does is confirm what every operator of them already knows, that the A380 is an absolute piece of shit.

But...

KARL STEFANOVIC: Is the A380 safe?

RICHARD DE CRESPIGNY: Absolutely. This was the biggest testament to Airbus. Some people might think the aircraft collapsed under the onslaught, but no aircraft is ever designed to take the beating that this aircraft got. The wing was cluster-bombed. The aircraft had phenomenal damage in all systems, and it didn't just recover, it performed brilliantly. It is indestructible.

KARL STEFANOVIC: They said that about the 'Titanic'.

RICHARD DE CRESPIGNY: 'Titanic' sank.

"indestructible" sounds pretty good to me.

[FICU]

If this aircraft was in such dire straits and so close to being lost as the story pointed out why did they elect to circle for an hour and 3/4 before landing?

If this was a critical emergency why didn't they land immediately?

1 and 3/4 hours of running checklists or journalistic exaggeration?

[High and Behind]

If this aircraft was in such dire straits and so close to being lost as the story pointed out why did they elect to circle for an hour and 3/4 before landing?

If this was a critical emergency why didn't they land immediately?

1 and 3/4 hours of running checklists or journalistic exaggeration?
If this aircraft was in such dire straits and so close to being lost as the story pointed out why did they elect to circle for an hour and 3/4 before landing?

If this was a critical emergency why didn't they land immediately?

1 and 3/4 hours of running checklists or journalistic exaggeration?

They would have needed to burn off fuel because there fuel dump was inop. With all that weight, no thrust reverse and reduced braking capacity they would have overrun the runway. Not a good idea when the fuel tanks are venting all that fuel. The less sparks the better. Better off keeping her on the tarmac.

And hey ...they all walked away regardless of what anyone thinks of the airplane.
The crew did a great job.

[FICU]

If this aircraft was in such dire straits and so close to being lost as the story pointed out why did they elect to circle for an hour and 3/4 before landing?

They would have needed to burn off fuel because there fuel dump was inop.

Exactly so it was obviously very controllable and in a condition that allowed them to safely hold and it wasn't on the edge of falling out of the sky like the reporter makes it out to be.

I agree, great job by all of the crew.

[Beefitarian]

I'll agree with the both of you. I think the plane did well with holes in it. "indestructible"? That's just a silly thing to say asking for trouble.

[winds_in_flight_wtf]

Is this thing still in the "design stage"?

Rather than attack one word in my post, could you not use your superior intuition and see my point? How can someone literally be that deficient to conclude an aircraft is a POS due to an engine issue? If i edit my earlier statement .... I suppose every aircraft in history is a piece of shit. It is believable that every platform in history has been flawless off the bat? I would hate to know what you think when when it actually is the fault of the aircraft.

[Beefitarian]

I didn't mean to hurt you that bad. Partially I was thinking about all the grief Boeing is getting for being late while they are ironing out things before they start delivery.

[SunWuKong]

Actually all it does is confirm what every operator of them already knows, that the A380 is an absolute piece of shit.

Yeah we all know that. And the Queen B747 alone (1400 produced total/940 in service), killed 2852 human beings. 2852 person killed, this is more than the entire fly by wire airbus fleet (5000/6000 built and in service) produced of A319/A320/A320/A321/A330/A340/A380 all together has ever killed. But the A380 is an absolute piece of shit because it feels good to say it.

[Beefitarian]

And of course I should have said, "trying to iron things out before delivery."

Sorry winds, hug?

[High and Behind]

I believe the heart of this thread was to point out that a crew operated at the peak of there performance level while under incredible pressure. Not so much a dissertation on Boeing vs. Airbus.

The fact that the video article is probably a publicists tactic of implanting some Sully like hero moniker on the crew is not out of the realm of possibilities. And that some damage control to restore public faith in there choice of aircraft by calling it indestructible is perception fodder for the public trough.

But I digress.....

That the Captain took pride that he was in command at the time of the incident is a great statement. And that he prefaced that with almost a hint that he would have been the one to bare responsibility if things hadn't turned out as well as planned was not lost on me either. Shows a level of humility that is refreshing.

[OceansEdge]

+1

It's hard to talk about publicly and walk the fine line between - *shrug* "That's what I'm trained and paid to do. It's my job ma'am" and "F**K! I totally rocked that one didn't I?" It's pretty clear there's more than a little of both feelings tumbling around inside the guy's head - and rightly so.

[coreydotcom]

KARL STEFANOVIC: There'll be people watching this story who will say, "That guy is a dead-set hero for what he did that day!" How does that sit with you?

RICHARD DE CRESPIGNY: Well, I don't really like having the 'hero' term put on me. Point one, I was just doing my job.



+ a million to the captain.

People are so quick to qualify people as heroes. What was he supposed to do, cry? Someone doing a job does not equal a hero. Maybe an amazing pilot. Not a heroic one.

I'm an not making a comment about the pilot's skills. I am making a comment about the word hero.

[LuckyPilot]

After 17000 plus hours and 32 years of commercial flying, I understand fully and I,m sure most pilots do, we get paid for what goes wrong, and not for what goes right. We as a group tend to under score ourselves and our profession to the public, "as just doing my job" until someone like Sully or this Qantas crew demonstrate to the travelling public just how important it is to have well trained qualified pilots. As opposed to the disaster in Buffalo, which comes under the heading "You get what you pay for!"

Back to lurking, Cheers

[Like-a-G6]

Well OBVIOUSLY you’ve got a situation when there are 60+ separate system failures. It doesn’t matter how legendary a plane becomes, there are always going to be failures and crashes, that doesn't make it a pos.

No man can train for those conditions. Sure “Captain fantastic” did his best but what about the F/O and 2nd F/O, where are their “heroic” titles? In addition to that you’ve got the two senior captains doing the routine checks on board. People are way too quick to label one man a hero.

Controlling the aircraft after all that, now that’s LEGEND, wait for it... ARY

[SunWuKong]

exactly.

60+ separate system failures

with the same action: come back to the airport to land, nothing else to do for most of the "60 failures". More electronic, more information doesn't change the problem: one engine f*cked up. The same for your king air: you isolate the engine (elec, fuel, fire......) and come back to land.

Controlling the aircraft after all that, now that’s LEGEND, wait for it

Auto pilot?